Always used digital leveling on rail alignments until a old timer showed me the bubble method

Had a job at a 12 story office building in downtown Denver last Tuesday. The digital level kept giving me readings that were off by 0.3 degrees on every run. This guy Ralph who's been doing elevators since the 80s walks over and just eyeballs it with a spirit level and a straight edge. I thought he was nuts. But after 4 adjustments the car ran smoother than anything I've done with the digital in 2 years. I get the convenience but something about that mechanical check catches stuff the sensor misses. Anyone else ditch the high tech for old school on certain jobs?

2 comments

2 Comments

james9951mo ago

Yeah the bubble catches the drift before the sensor even knows it's off.

joel_mason221mo ago

@james995 that's the real trick right there... the bubble's way more sensitive than people give it credit for. It'll show you a drift starting way before the numbers on the display ever change. Most guys just watch the digital readout and miss the whole story. The bubble's old school but it catches the little things first. You can feel it in your gut when you see it start moving.