This week’s post is an interesting tip about levels. Did you know that not all levels are, in fact, level? In more than a few cases, the glass (plastic) arcs that hold the bubble are, in many cases, microscopically twisted.
Before buying a level, here’s how to verify that it’s accurate.
Put the level on a horizontal surface, and bring it to where the bubble reads “level” by adding objects at one end (like business cards, coins, etc.)
Then rotate the level so that the end that was on your right is now on your left. If the level is accurate, the bubble should be in the same position.
If it isn’t, then the bubble is wrong, and the level isn’t level.
In the image shown here, this is the bubble after the level has been swapped left-to-right. It no longer shows level! This means this "level" is going back to the hardware store.
When you find one that is, repeat the process for the vertical axis – put the level on a vertical (wall) and pad it out with something at the bottom until it reads level, then flip the top and the bottom. If it reads the same both ways, the level is also accurate on the vertical bubble as well.