Finally gave in and tried a digital level after 15 years of using a bubble level

I was always the guy making fun of guys with digital levels on the line, called them overpriced toys. Last month I dropped my old Empire level off a 6 foot ladder at the hangar and the vial cracked. Borrowed a buddy's digital one and damn if it didn't make leveling the antenna mounts on a 737 way faster, no more squinting. The stupid thing beeps at you when it's dead on and it saved me about 20 minutes on the job. Anybody else cave and make the switch or am I late to the party?

2 comments

2 Comments

schmidt.grace1mo ago

Hold your horses there. I've been running my bubble levels for 20 years and I still think digital ones are a crutch for people who never learned to trust their eye. That crack in your Empire was bad luck but you could have grabbed another one for 30 bucks instead of messing with batteries and electronics that will die on you in the cold. Plus I've seen guys on site miss a call because their digital level got bumped and threw off zero calibration mid job. Bubble levels just work, no fuss no guessing.

alicec861mo agoMost Upvoted

Watch how people react to a simple pocket calculator these days. Same deal - they'll punch in 2+2 on their phone like the world depends on it instead of just knowing the answer. I caught myself doing it last week at the hardware store and had to stand there for a second wondering when my brain outsourced basic math to a piece of glass.