- Joined
- Dec 24, 2020
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So I sort of went down a rabbit hole on master precision levels and now I'm wondering who made what. Sorry in advance...this won't be short!
I needed a larger level to span the ways on my 16" victor, and got a deal on a really nice Lufkin No. 59 that fit the bill. I really like the Lufkin and it's really a substantial, solid piece that is surprisingly heavy when you grab it.
I started leveling the Victor and realized it would be easier/faster to level the machine with two levels...one across the ways and one along the ways, and look at both as I made my adjustments. With that in mind I had my eye out for another similar level and I got a deal on a Starrett No. 199 at a local auction.
I should have stopped there, but I saw a Schultes level at another local auction and it appeared identical to the Lufkin, other than slight markings differences...well, I bought that one since it was crazy cheap (literally like $65). When you put the two next to one another they were clearly made by the same company and just had different tops put on them for each brand.
That got me wondering which of the two actually made the levels so I kept looking at eBay, FB Marketplace, and regular Google searches to see if I could find anything else. I then noticed a Starrett 15" level that looked nothing like all the other 15" Starretts that I've seen....interesting. Shortly after that, I see a Schultes 15" level that looks identical to this odd style Starrett 15" level.
It seems like maybe Schultes made all of these levels. We've got a Schultes and Lufkin that are identical and a Schultes and a Starrett that are identical but a different form factor than the Schultes/Lufkin style. What I haven't seen is a Schulte's (or Lufkin) that looks like the current Starrett No. 199 which has a hollow body when viewed from the end. If you've seen one of those I'd love to see pictures.
Anybody have old catalogs or references on these? My sense is the webbed body Starrett and Schultes are older, but that's just a guess.
Here are the Lufkin No. 59 and Schultes M15...sure look to be identical other than markings:
Here are the web pics I borrowed of the Starrett and Schultes that don't have model numbers. The Starrett in a Schultes box is also very interesting:
I needed a larger level to span the ways on my 16" victor, and got a deal on a really nice Lufkin No. 59 that fit the bill. I really like the Lufkin and it's really a substantial, solid piece that is surprisingly heavy when you grab it.
I started leveling the Victor and realized it would be easier/faster to level the machine with two levels...one across the ways and one along the ways, and look at both as I made my adjustments. With that in mind I had my eye out for another similar level and I got a deal on a Starrett No. 199 at a local auction.
I should have stopped there, but I saw a Schultes level at another local auction and it appeared identical to the Lufkin, other than slight markings differences...well, I bought that one since it was crazy cheap (literally like $65). When you put the two next to one another they were clearly made by the same company and just had different tops put on them for each brand.
That got me wondering which of the two actually made the levels so I kept looking at eBay, FB Marketplace, and regular Google searches to see if I could find anything else. I then noticed a Starrett 15" level that looked nothing like all the other 15" Starretts that I've seen....interesting. Shortly after that, I see a Schultes 15" level that looks identical to this odd style Starrett 15" level.
It seems like maybe Schultes made all of these levels. We've got a Schultes and Lufkin that are identical and a Schultes and a Starrett that are identical but a different form factor than the Schultes/Lufkin style. What I haven't seen is a Schulte's (or Lufkin) that looks like the current Starrett No. 199 which has a hollow body when viewed from the end. If you've seen one of those I'd love to see pictures.
Anybody have old catalogs or references on these? My sense is the webbed body Starrett and Schultes are older, but that's just a guess.
Here are the Lufkin No. 59 and Schultes M15...sure look to be identical other than markings:
Here are the web pics I borrowed of the Starrett and Schultes that don't have model numbers. The Starrett in a Schultes box is also very interesting:
