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No Digital Level?

RVbySDI

Well Known Member
Working on the RV14A fuselage. Page 29-06 calls for using a digital level to put a 10 DEG twist in the upper longeron.
plans 29-06.jpg

Well, I don't have a digital level. So how do I measure this? Let's see, what do I have that will give me a measurement? I do have a bubble level. I also have a very old carpenter's protractor that works very well. I also just so happened to have a metal shelf just laying around that happens to be perfectly square. I have tables that are perfectly level. Putting all of those tools together and securing with some clamps I came up with a system that looks like this:

Carpenter's protractor1.jpg

Carpenter's protractor2.jpg

After building the small wooden blocks called out in the plans I got busy twisting the longerons. I made sure the side face of the longeron was plumb, the metal shelf was level, and my protractor was set for 10 DEG. Twist away! A few more twists! Ok, a few more twists! Finally, we get:

10 DEG ready to go.jpg

10 DEG!

Digital Level? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' Digital Level!

10 DEG on the firewall.jpg
 
Thanks for the info Kyle. I will look into that. However, I needed to keep working so this was the result of using what I had.

Posting this basically to say:
Think about what you are needing done and see if there is any other ways to accomplish your given task.
 
Working on my RV-3B project, I've concluded that two clamps per location is relatively secure. Sometimes one clamp will permit shifting. And those 3/4" Cleco side clamps are extremely handy.

Dave
 
You can always use trigonometry with a bubble level. If your bubble level is 2 ft long then 10 degrees is sin(10 deg)x24”=4.168” or 4 5/32 inches deflection at end of 24” level.
 
yes, but

Always admiration for ingenuity. That said, bubble levels are notoriously inaccurate and often non-repeatable if not using the same side and direction each time. I've used my phone app when I could get away with it. As someone mentioned, a very useful and free tool. You'll need to brush up on your elementary trig as someone else mentioned. Now, save yourself some future aggravation and a lot of time and get a digital level. One with relative and absolute readouts is even better. Can make a lot of two-man jobs into one man jobs and the accuracy is much improved. They're pretty cheap and will pay for themselves in time. Before anyone says anything, the left full deflect was before shimming.

Best of luck, Sir.
 

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No Digital Level

I didn't think I had one, but there's a free app for this...so now I have one (for free).
 
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