power leveling Useful Roadmap

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1. Byler says

   The description and manual says this has a compensator lock but it doesn’t. This lock is important for transporting the unit. It protects the delicate mechanism. I called CST Berger and discussed it. The unit never had a locking mechanism and they are going to remove that information from the web site. I asked if the mechanism was designed to survive without the lock. They said don’t transport it in the bed of my pickup, on the seat is better. I don’t think this thing would survive riding around in a contractor’s truck waiting for duty. Fine for the home owner, just treat it like a delicate tool. That is the bad.

   I have used a David White builder’s level for 25 years. It cost $600 in 1980 and is of superb quality. I belongs to my brother who lives on the opposite coast and it’s not easy to borrow it. Time to get a level for myself. I am familiar with how these work and know what to expect.

   Overall construction: It is a solid chuck of cast aluminum. Appears very solid.

   Optics: I tried it from 6 through 60 feet. At 50ft, I can clearly see if the stadia line is between the 1/16″ marks on my Stanley tape measure. That’s good enough for me. The focus knob turns smoothly.

   Leveling screws: Not much range of adjustment. Your tripod needs to be real close to level from the start. An annoyance, not a show stopper.

   This is a basic, no frills, unit designed for the home owner not a contractor. I am more than happy with the optical quality. CST’s more expensive models look cheap and have plastic housings. This model is solid and stable. I need to check accuracy and repeatability but it seems good so far. For half the price of their high end models, I think it is a good value. I’m a bit put off that their description lists a very important feature that it doesn’t have.

   Shipping was $18.50 and Contractor Tools took their sweet time processing the order, 6 days from order to ship date. When paying an $18 shipping fee, I would expect a little faster service than that. The unit was drop shipped from CST Berger. UPS messed up and got it to me in 2 days rather than their 5 day estimate on their web tracking site. That doesn’t happen often.

   February 8, 2010, 9:08 am
2. Sloane says

   I do not normally write reviews of products but I’ll tell you this level has changed my mind. I had been looking for about a week for a level to do some work around my place. Putting an addition on my house and a new deck, etc. I was not sure of what to expect for $160 price point. I figured I could always send it back if I was not happy. I had done some reading and found out that CST/Berger had quality transits and levels. I am a cabinetmaker by trade and a do it yourselfer for all other construction projects around our place. So I did not want to spend alot of money. I’d been to Home Depot and Lowes to check out what they had and for any decent transit and or level I was going to spend a minimum of $199 upwards to $399. And the units I saw looked cheap. They may have worked fine but I was hoping for a little more quality. Then I came upon this level while browsing Amazon. This is not a transit only a level but it would work fine for my needs so I ordered the unit. I chose overnight shipping for only $3.99 as a Prime Member and it arrived on time the next day. The surprise came though when I opened the unit. It was securely packaged in a nice black case for easy carrying to any job site. I pulled out the level and lo and behold the unit was made from cast metal. Not just hard plastic. The quality was clearly evident in this unit. Inside was an Inspection card called “Automatic Level Inspection Checklist” which was hand dated and ID by a factory inspector. This card detailed all the calibrations which were performed on the unit before it was sent to me. This gave me an extra measure of confidence that the unit was going to perform up to specs. I had already purchased the CST/Berger Tripod 5/8 X 11 and the Surveyor/Builders Measuring Rod, together they were around $120 from Home Depot. I attached the level to the tripod. I am not pulling your leg now! It took me 3 minutes to get the unit leveled and this included setting up the tripod. Believe me it was simple and easy. It has a horizontal bubble level which you use to get the unit close to level. However it does not need to be exactly level because the unit has a gravity compensator which compensates for any variation off level. Thus the term “Automatic Level”. You get it close to level and the level will do the rest. The optics are clear and it has a 26X scope on it. This really is an awesome level. You will not be disappointed. This CST/Berger professional quality contractors level is at a price point where the average consumer can afford it.

   February 8, 2010, 2:35 pm

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