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Reason #4,724 not to buy unknown-name tools from Amazon

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dwasifar

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May 28, 2017
Messages
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So here's this level on Amazon:

gunpla1.png


Looks nice in faux Stabila yellow, four out of five stars review average, affordable, what's not to love? Well, let's see what our one-star outlier has to say about it:

gunpla2.png


Surely not, right? But it's true. They don't make it easy to see it; you have to zoom in on one of the pictures and squint.

gunpla3.png


And if you think about it, that makes sense, because 120cm is not 48". Maybe they should call it a "48 inch class" level like the TV makers do with their screen sizes.

Also, weirdly, the middle vial is not centered on either scale:

gunpla4.png


I'm thinking I'd pass. What say you?
 
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aka Larry

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The thing I've seen the most on cheap levels is the size of the bubble in relation to the centering marks. I've seen some with a bubble half the size of the marks. You basically have to guess when it's in the middle.
 
OP
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dwasifar

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Some of the positive reviews look a little suspicious:

gunpla5.png


Everyone wants a level to do and work very occurred for many usages on many serfest.
 
OP
D

dwasifar

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aka Larry said:
The thing I've seen the most on cheap levels is the size of the bubble in relation to the centering marks. I've seen some with a bubble half the size of the marks. You basically have to guess when it's in the middle.
Click to expand...

I've always wondered why they do that. It's not like a larger bubble would cost them anything.
 
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Handyandy23

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Nov 8, 2017
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Ontario, Canada
There are certain tools I think you can get away with cheaping out on, but when it comes down to something like a level, where it's entire purpose is to be accurate, I think it's best to spend the money on a quality one.

If you buy a level and can't be sure when it's level or what you're reading or measuring, then it's nothing more than a paper weight.
 
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strutaeng

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Dec 12, 2011
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Location
Dallas, TX
dwasifar said:
Some of the positive reviews look a little suspicious:

gunpla5.png


Everyone wants a level to do and work very occurred for many usages on many serfest.
Click to expand...

Chinese to "Ingles" word translator?

The price seems right, too, especially when you can purchase a basic box level at the big orange box for cheaper:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-48-in-Box-Beam-Level-1001616276/206578231

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Empire-48-in-Magnetic-Compact-Box-Level-650M-48/305470419

Maybe you are paying extra for the "Stabila" color?

I used to be all for Amazon, but after this ****, this was one of the reasons why I cut my prime membership.
 
C

CrazyTools

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Everywhere
THIS LEVEL DO GOOD LEVELING. MAKE YOU GOOD STRAIGHT FAST LEVEL GO ULTRA LEVEL. WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND FRESH LEVEL FOR ALL LEVEL ULTRA FAST LEVELS.

I'm leaving that review right now.
 
OP
D

dwasifar

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CrazyTools said:
THIS LEVEL DO GOOD LEVELING. MAKE YOU GOOD STRAIGHT FAST LEVEL GO ULTRA LEVEL. WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND FRESH LEVEL FOR ALL LEVEL ULTRA FAST LEVELS.

I'm leaving that review right now.
Click to expand...

We should have a competition for silliest review. Here, let me try:

I am for many leveling doing in years, and the level that is this tool is the tool that this is of the best leveling tool for my life. In several carpentery even the level is on always this time. It metal and marks on the inches or and the zentiemeters. And is price!
 
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jeffyhog

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Apr 26, 2015
Messages
150
Baught this leval to replace crappy leval from Home Depo that I dropped and it braked. Now I discover all my previous done jobs are not leval. This leval is the best!
 
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AceofSpad3s

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Oct 1, 2014
Messages
1,808
Just go to harbor freight and buy one of the box frame levels if you need something cheap for like $12.
It's a beam with a glass vial of alcohol, not some piece of complex aerospace equipment.

I have a 6 foot one, I just cross referenced it with probably 10 other levels plastic johnson,aluminum johnson, husky rebrand of kapros (all of these in 24 "and 48") a 10 inch stabila, something free from menards on rebate, a stanley wooden handyman one, some 6 inch green lee. Guess what, they all read the same when I had them on a level surface.
 
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Skin

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Boston
dwasifar said:
The capitalization makes me suspect this review was posted by a bot doing string substitution.
Click to expand...

I doubt most reviews are bots. Im more inclined to think they have entire centers or groups of people that do a few hundred a day not unlike the call centers setup just to scam people. If it was something as sophisticated as a bot program i'd have to think the person would be smart enough to give it a lexicon of correctly spelled words.
 
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D

dwasifar

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I don't need a cheap level, I was just poking around Amazon and that was one of the "suggested" things.

I am actually overstocked with levels right now. I have an old Craftsman that still reads true, two plastic Johnson levels that were 99 cents each at Menards after rebate, and two brand new Empire True Blue box levels that just arrived today from a warranty claim. So I'm set.
 
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D

dwasifar

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Skin said:
I doubt most reviews are bots. Im more inclined to think they have entire centers or groups of people that do a few hundred a day not unlike the call centers setup just to scam people. If it was something as sophisticated as a bot program i'd have to think the person would be smart enough to give it a lexicon of correctly spelled words.
Click to expand...

I don't think the pidgin English one was a bot. But I do think the "Great LEVEL" one could be. That review could be for anything with just one substituted word.
 
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nadogail

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Jan 23, 2009
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Location
Coronado, CA
When I get serious, I break out the 15 seconds of arc level I brought from a machine tooling house. For light work the Harbor Freight levels are "Close Enough".
 
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D

dwasifar

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BolognaBlake said:
Isn't Gunpla what people call building Gundams? I could be wrong.
Click to expand...

It is, which makes it impossible to do a Google search on this tool brand. All you get are Gundams. If you Google for "Gunpla tools," all the results are little modeling toolsets for building Gundams.
 
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tomwil

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E

engineer2

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I think the Chinese pick random Engrish names for their brands. Some **** I bought:
"Run Tasty" phone pouches
"Gossip" tie downs.
 
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MushCreek

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There is a way to check a level, and it should be done to any level, cheap or otherwise. Make yourself an adjustable surface. Put your level on it, and fine-tune the surface until it reads level, then pick up the level and turn it 180 degrees and check it again. If it doesn't read the same, the level is out. I have a precision tool maker's level (.0005" per foot), and that's how you calibrate it. Of course, most cheap carpenter's levels aren't easily adjustable, but it's good to know how much it's out. I have a 4' level with three vials, and one is out, so I marked it so I don't use that one. I also have a cheap 6' that ALL of the vials are out on, which just gets used as a straight edge.
 
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jgromada

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Maryland (between DC & Balt)
You always have to take reviews ... good and bad with a grain of salt. I bought a pair of specialty pliers used for electronics and jewelry making and they turned out fine. These pliers work the opposite of normal pliers (ie. you squeeze to release the pliers).

It was clearly provided in the description how these pliers worked and how they were designed. But there were at least a dozen comments that the pliers were "broken"! Can't fix stupid.
 
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BFBOB

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You can still get valid results from a level that's off. Check your surface, make note of how far off the bubble is, and in which direction. Rotate the level 180 degrees. If the bubble is off the same amount but in the opposite direction, your surface is level. If not, it isn't. Adjust, rinse and repeat.
Tedious, but in a pinch, it'll work.
 
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Two Speed

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Sep 20, 2014
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Ontario Canada
120cm = a hair shy of 47 1/4". If you are buying something from a metric centric place, consider the metric measurement correct cause the imperial measurement is just scabbed on for sale in north america.
 
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D

dwasifar

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MushCreek said:
There is a way to check a level, and it should be done to any level, cheap or otherwise. Make yourself an adjustable surface. Put your level on it, and fine-tune the surface until it reads level, then pick up the level and turn it 180 degrees and check it again.
Click to expand...

BFBOB said:
You can still get valid results from a level that's off. Check your surface, make note of how far off the bubble is, and in which direction. Rotate the level 180 degrees.
Click to expand...

If a level is not perfectly flat, neither of these practices is 100% reliable.

A level that's bowed or flared at the ends can pass the flip test as long as both ends are on the test surface, but will fail if one end is past the edge of the table.
 
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Bert_

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dwasifar said:
I don't need a cheap level, I was just poking around Amazon and that was one of the "suggested" things.

I am actually overstocked with levels right now. I have an old Craftsman that still reads true, two plastic Johnson levels that were 99 cents each at Menards after rebate, and two brand new Empire True Blue box levels that just arrived today from a warranty claim. So I'm set.
Click to expand...

Just grabbed one of those plastic levels for 99c. Not something I use a lot as an electrician but for 99c I'll throw it in the job trailer and not care if it ends up beat up.
 
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Nick Danger

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But look at the other images! A close up of each of the handgrips. With a handgrip that looks that good, you know it has to be a great LEVEL!
 
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D

dwasifar

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Nick Danger said:
But look at the other images! A close up of each of the handgrips. With a handgrip that looks that good, you know it has to be a great LEVEL!
Click to expand...

How can you be in two places at once when you're not anywhere at all?
 
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BFBOB

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dwasifar said:
If a level is not perfectly flat, neither of these practices is 100% reliable.

A level that's bowed or flared at the ends can pass the flip test as long as both ends are on the test surface, but will fail if one end is past the edge of the table.
Click to expand...

OK - you're right. I ASSumed the bad level was straight, flat, and just had its vial tilted.
 
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