HELP! broke vial on Starrett #98

ARC-170

ARC-170

Jeff L.
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Oct 17, 2018
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I was getting my lathe re-leveled today and I accidentally hit the vial on the tail stock ram and broke the glass on the vial. It was my grandfather's; I can hear him rolling in his grave! I can buy a vial sub-assembly for about $117 or I can get the vial alone for about $15. How do I go about replacing it? Do the ends pull out somehow? Or, am I just going to have to go with the whole vial sub assembly?
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This was posted recently. They would probably have good advice for you.

www.hobby-machinist.com

Correct way to repair a spirit level

Plaster of Paris is the correct material to hold the vial in a spirit level. The reason why is that plaster is easy to remove WHEN it breaks again. Consider that the reason you’re replacing the vial is because it’s broken. If it broke once, it will break again. Some have said that bathroom...
www.hobby-machinist.com www.hobby-machinist.com
 
Sorry for your loss. Replacing a vial in a level capsule is a huge learning curve. I've done a couple and have a couple of more which need vials and will probably buy the complete assembly next time.

FWIW, I've got an oooold Starrett catalog which instructs to return broken levels to the factory in Athol, MA and the vial would be replaced and the level recalibrated for $1.50 plus shipping.

There are a couple of YouTube videos which show how to pull apart the ends, how to get out the plaster, how to replace the plaster and how to re-level the level. After watching, either you'll say, "I can do that." or you'll start saving the $117.

jack vines
 
Timing is everything....

Starrett's philosophy is to send _everything_ back to them for repair... :grin:
I need a pinion gear to repair my first dial caliper, sure no problem just send them the calipers and $125.00 and . . .
 
So I looked at a few videos on doing this and it looks like a real PITA. Pulling the ends out looks like the hard part, and I'm not sure I want to risk breaking them or marring them trying to get them out.

I called Starrett (nice people, by the way!) and they quoted me an estimate of $87 plus shipping to overhaul it. This includes "changing out the vials, scraping the base and putting it into tolerance", according to the email they sent me. It has two other bubble levels on it and one (the one below the main vial) looks like there's no bubble so it might be worth it. The bubble level assembly is $117 plus shipping so I'm not sure how they can quote $87, but I guess I'll find out.

This was my grandfather's so it has a little sentimental value, so I think it's worth it to fix it, especially now that I need to use it. It's been sitting for about 20 years and I'm not sure how much he used it.
 
$87 sounds reasonable for two vials along with scraping and calibrating.
And it was GrandDad's so that settles it. :grin:

There was a lot of (2) starretts in the Greeneville auction - went for $200.00
They only showed a picture of one though and no details as to model #'s.
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ARC-170 said:
So I looked at a few videos on doing this and it looks like a real PITA. Pulling the ends out looks like the hard part, and I'm not sure I want to risk breaking them or marring them trying to get them out.

I called Starrett (nice people, by the way!) and they quoted me an estimate of $87 plus shipping to overhaul it. This includes "changing out the vials, scraping the base and putting it into tolerance", according to the email they sent me. It has two other bubble levels on it and one (the one below the main vial) looks like there's no bubble so it might be worth it. The bubble level assembly is $117 plus shipping so I'm not sure how they can quote $87, but I guess I'll find out.

This was my grandfather's so it has a little sentimental value, so I think it's worth it to fix it, especially now that I need to use it. It's been sitting for about 20 years and I'm not sure how much he used it.
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Packard V8 said:
FWIW, I've got an oooold Starrett catalog which instructs to return broken levels to the factory in Athol, MA and the vial would be replaced and the level recalibrated for $1.50 plus shipping.
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I like that price better! :)
 
It’s easy to replace, lots of you tube vids on it.

I had to boil mine in water for hour or so to get all the 50 year old plaster to dissolve out.

Note, the Starrett 199 vials also fit, if you wanted a 0.0005 per foot per graduation measurement. It’s really sensitive though.


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AndySomogyi said:
It’s easy to replace, lots of you tube vids on it.
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Going to beg to differ on this one. I've repaired a lot of metrological intstruments and building a jig to pull the ends off a Starrett level tube, getting the plaster out, getting the vial set in plaster, pressing in the ends square to each other, and recalibrating the level is a MAJOR PITA.

jack vines
 
Packard V8 said:
Going to beg to differ on this one. I've repaired a lot of metrological intstruments and building a jig to pull the ends off a Starrett level tube, getting the plaster out, getting the vial set in plaster, pressing in the ends square to each other, and recalibrating the level is a MAJOR PITA.

jack vines
Click to expand...

All you have to do is clamp one end in a soft jaw, grab the other end with pliers wrapped in tape, as not to mar the finish and the end comes right out. The ends are not pressed in very hard at all, maybe 15-20 lbs of force. Only need one end out. Break out the old glass bits. Soak or heat in water to dissolve old plaster. The paper aligns the tube, so pack plaster in one side, slide tube in, more plaster on the end. End cap slides in easy with a vise. Just try not to put too much plaster in. Easy to adjust and center the vial in the opening.

Pulling replacing the vial is about 45 minutes, and I’ve never replaced this kind before. Longest thing was boiling the tube to dissolve old plaster, that took about an hour.

You should self-align a level regularly, self aligning it should take no more than 5 minutes. A self-aligning jig is nothing more than a bar with a fine pitch screw at one end.

I didn’t think it was that hard.




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