Use one side to make a vertical and level mark on a wall, then flip the level and use the other side. If they agree, the level is good, if not get it adjusted, i.e. beat it to pieces.
I don't mean to sound harsh, but that's a pretty significant error to be a cabinet installer and admitting you don't know if your level is true or how to check it for level. Have you noticed your base cabinets being shimmed an inch on every job?
I would think that a lack of someone contacting you about unlevel cabinets means your level should be close. Otherwise the countertop guys would be complaining.
Just like stated by Sparky and T-man, make a mark and flip your level. You can do plumb also.
i've forever been amazed at the fact that no one ever checks their levels, let alone on a routine basis as it should be. all my levels are Stabila and i still give'm a ck whenever can. and don't get me started on the "landscape masons" that run 40'/60'/80' walls with home depot torpedo and two footers that they have no problem tossing, dropping, and standing on all day
I check the Stabila by putting it on top of the Empire and Stanley... I heard the Stabila is very sensitive... you know, like the princess and the pea.:jester:
When I flip my Stabila torpedo over it reads different... must be that big bump with a vial in it that throws things off.:blink:
I thought testing the level on surface and then turning was something everyone would have known. Reminds be back when I worked with this carpenter in the UK and he was so anal but very good at his job but he always used to do his Copes by scribing around an off cut! He got it perfect every time but I showed him how to do it by cutting a 45 and then cutting to the edge of that cut and he looked at me and said WTF that's new to me lol. He been in the trade over 40 years and he knows his **** but didnt know that. :laughing:
If you always flip it end to end when using it... she might take you down... but then you go right back up... see (and this from a company called "straight line design":laughing::
I have two 8' Stabilas, a 6', two 2's and a torpedo. I stack them up from time to time to check them out, then I flip them over. I also have a True Blue 6', 4' and 2' that get set on the Stabilas. The TBs are very close, but not 100% accurate. They get used for rough work.:whistling
For plumb, I clamp one of the 8' Stabilas so it's dead bubble and set the others to it to check them.
When buying a new level, I flip it seven ways to sundown after I find something in the store that reads dead bubble.
I'd say that is an inculcated skill that probably 90% of us just take for granted. But I know some pretty experienced contractors, as well as tradesmen, who honestly can't see those things without relying on mechanical aids. Strange, but true.
If you install a full kitchen worth of cabinets and only use a level, even if you checked it every hour, you may be surprised at the variations if checked against a laser.
ALways check your levels, especially before you buy one.
I was in the store buying a cheap level for one time use as I was away from home and needed one and did not want to spend a lot. Grabbed one and checked it out using the flip it over method. Way out
Needless to say I bought a different one.
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