That cheap level I swore by finally let me down after 8 years

I bought this $9 plastic level from a flea market back in 2016. Used it on probably 200+ shelves, frames, and a couple fence sections. Always thought those 60 dollar levels were a ripoff. Last weekend I hung a cabinet in my kitchen and it came out visibly crooked. Pulled out my old one, put it on a flat counter, and the bubble was a good 3 marks off center. It shifted somewhere along the way and I just never noticed. Now I'm wondering how many other projects I've messed up over the years because of that thing. Has anyone else had a cheap tool just slowly drift out of spec on them?

3 comments

3 Comments

harper_foster1mo ago

Right there with you! I had a cheap square that I used for years before realizing it was off by a solid 1/16th. Wondered why all my picture frames had this weird tiny gap at the corner joint.

faith_king1mo agoOG Member

1998 my dad bought me a 12" torpedo level from a gas station for 3 bucks. Still use it every day as a framer and it's dead nuts accurate. Checked it on a granite slab last month and it was perfect. Dropped it off a 12 foot ladder onto concrete last year, put a nice chip in the edge but the vial didn't budge. You gotta remember plastic levels aren't all made the same. Some are just injected garbage and some are actually decent unless you literally bend them. Your flea market find probably had a hairline crack in the vial or the frame warped from being left in a hot car. Not every cheap level does that.

roberts951mo ago

Built an entire deck off a level my grandpa gave me from the 70s. Looked fine for years until my neighbor pointed out the railing had a nice slope to it. Checked the level on a known flat surface and the bubble was so far off I could practically use it as a plumb bob. Spent the next weekend trying to figure out if every frame in my house is actually crooked or if I just got used to living in a funhouse. Pretty sure my bookcase is currently leaning at a 5 degree angle and I just tell myself it's "modern art.