LAMB TOOL WORKS PRECISION LEVEL 1600 Instruction manual

The Lamb Tool Works Precision Level has been designed to perform numerous tasks,
which include helping to accurately and precisely set up European style sliding table
saws, setting jointer tables, milling machines, lathes, and just about any other piece of
equipment where flatness or level becomes important to the accuracy of the machine.
The LTW level can be used in two ways, one, as shipped it will be set to “level”, so
anything can be checked to be level. But, most machines in woodworking aren’t level to
begin with and don’t have feasible options of being set level. The LTW level is
adjustable so that surfaces can be set coplanar to each other, regardless of whether
the whole machine is “level to the world” or not. This is accomplished by having the vial
attached firmly at one end, while the other side is adjustable and spring-loaded. This
lets you set the vial level on a specific surface and then make any other surface
coplanar within less than .001” per foot (the accuracy per division on the vial) by
comparing readings from surface to surface.
The following pages detail some of the methods of use, and also, how to reset the LTW
level to be “level” if you have used it in the comparison mode. These are just examples
of some of the many uses the LTW level has. It would be impossible to detail all the
uses of this versatile tool.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at Customer Service if we can be of
any help. This document is also available at www.lambtoolworks.com for download.
Please read all the directions before making adjustments to the Lamb Tool Works
Precision Level.
LAMB TOOL WORKS
PRECISION LEVEL MODEL 1600
Page 1

The LTW level comes
shipped in the box
shown to the right. It is
double boxed in another,
larger box to adequately
protect it during
shipment. The box flap
is tight, it might be
helpful to use a putty
knife inserted to help
open so as not to tear off
the flap. You will notice
the included hex key for
adjusting the level.
Removing the top piece
of foam shows the LTW
level cradled in foam to
protect it.
Unboxing the Level
Page 2

This is a close up of the
vial, showing the ability to
adjust it for level. One side
is fixed permanently using
the socket screw and a
nylon washer under the
vial with Loctite. Do not
adjust this side. The right
side is where adjustments
for level are made, where
there are a stack of spring
washers between the vial
and the level body. The
adjusting screw is a fine
pitch thread, so adjusting
for level is relatively easy
even though the vial is
very accurate.
To level the cast iron top of
a saw table, place the
LTW level as shown to see
if the machine is fairly
close to level to begin with.
If the bubble is to the left,
then the left side of the
machine is high; to the
right, then the right side is
high.
At this point you have two
options: use feeler gages
or adjust the vial. We
cover how to do both in
the following pages.
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Determine which side of the bubble is high and put the adjusting screw on the opposite side by
spinning the level 180º if necessary. This is because the spring stack has limited travel going
down, with a lot more adjustability going up. Insert the supplied 1/8” long arm hex wrench,
slowly turning it counterclockwise until the vial reads level, or the edge of the bubble is on a
specific line, whichever is easier for you to see. Now you can position the LTW level anywhere
on the saw and verify coplanar to the position you calibrated to.
Once you have finished calibrating the LTW level, you can then slide it to the rear and see if it
is still level. If you have the saw table flat, all future adjustments become a lot easier to
accomplish. How adjustments to specific saws are accomplished will have to be determined by
the user, as they all vary somewhat. When you have the front and rear edges in the same
plane, a straight edge front to back is best to determine if there are dips or high spots in the
length of the table.
Comparative Method by Adjusting the Vial
Page 4

When the saw table flatness is established,
you can use the same settings on the LTW
level to adjust the sliding table. It is best to
have your slider’s bearings directly between
the position of the level and the support bolts
on the lower slider carriage so things are
solid and you get a consistent reading.
The height of the sliding table above the cast
iron saw top is also easily checked by using
feeler gages along the edges of the slider as
shown. First in the front of the saw, then in
the rear.
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If you would prefer to leave
the LTW level as set from
the factory at level, you can
always use feeler gages to
achieve level and then
transfer the feeler gages to
wherever you are getting
comparison readings. In
this example, .042” of
feeler gages were required
to get a level reading. To
check the rear of the table,
the LTW level and the
feeler gages will have to be
transferred and the same
distance maintained
between the feeler gages
and the end that is resting
on the table.
Here is the LTW level in the
rear position, showing the
feeler gages sticking out
the back of the saw table.
Care must be used to
maintain the position of the
shims so that you get
consistent readings.
Leaving the Vial Level and Using Shims
Page 6

This method of using
shims is probably not
the best idea if you
intend to use the LTW
level to also adjust
your slider. Because
the position of the
feeler gages needs to
be consistent, on a
narrower sliding table,
the feeler gages
would be off the table,
or the opposite end of
the level could be
hanging off the table
on the other side as
shown in this picture.
This would vary the
contact points and
throw off the readings
of the LTW level.
The image below is somewhat tongue in cheek, but it shows another feature of the LTW Level.
There are three 5/16-18 threaded holes on the bottom surface. They can be used to secure the
LTW level to a longer beam, say a 6’ level or maybe a jointed straight piece of wood. This
allows you to have a precision level of any length.
Using a set screw as shown (of course a shorter one would be most common) you could
accommodate an extremely out-of-level floor by resting on one edge of the level and using the
set screw as a jack to hold the level up, similar in manner to our description of using shims
above. Given that the distance from the hole to the edge is roughly 13.35” you could also use a
little trigonometry and set specific angles. For example if you wanted 5º, your formula would be
sin 5º x 13.35, so .0871” x 13.35” = 1.163” which is the distance the set screw would be out
from the bottom of the level. This might come in handy if you wanted to tilt your drill press table
to be perpendicular to an angled surface to drill a hole.
Page 7

If you have used the adjusting screw to set the vial to a level reading on your machine and
would like to reset the vial to be truly level again, this is the procedure to accomplish this.
1) It might be wise to find a reference surface to use for calibration, something static, that
doesn’t change. It could be the granite counter tops in the kitchen, a smooth desk top, or
any of your stationary machines in the shop. Using the LTW level as shipped, find out what
thickness of feeler gages makes it read level on top of this reference surface. Say we use
the saw table as pictured in this document above, we found .042” was level. With the LTW
level shimmed, you should be able to turn the level 180º and get the same reading either
way, even if the bubble isn’t perfectly centered when you have the level shimmed, as long
as the reading is the same when flipped, the vial is level.
2) If you haven’t found a reference surface and gotten a value, you can start from the
beginning. In this example we are using the sliding table surface of the saw. We used a 4 foot
carpenter’s level and checked to see if the machine is level. If not, using feeler gages on one
end of the level, calculate what it takes to be as level as you can detect. Remember a
carpenter’s level will not be anywhere near as accurate as the LTW Level, but it will get you
close. If the level is 4 foot long, its spacing will be approximately 3 times the length of the LTW
Level. So you will divide whatever shim stack you arrive at by 3 to use as at a starting point for
the LTW level. Say we come up with .030”, then we start with .010”.
Reseting the Vial to Level
Page 8

3) Place the LTW level in the same location on the slider, using the calculated stack of feeler
gages if necessary. Adjust the vial to read level, remember, there is a limited amount of
travel in the vial adjustment, so if the springs start to compress too much, spin the level and
attempt to use the adjustment with it facing the opposite direction. Here we have adjusted
the vial centered (camera angle makes it look slightly to the left).
4) Spin the level 180º and the bubble will be a specific amount off to one side. Raise or lower
the vial accordingly to place the bubble half way between the two readings.
Page 9

5) It was estimated to be four marks on the vial off-center. So you would adjust the screw to
bring it back to two-off the original reading (again, camera angle makes it appear slightly to
the left).
6) Now you can spin the LTW level and verify that the reading, whether it is exactly centered or
not, is the same in either direction. You can now raise/lower the shim stack to establish a
specific thickness to reset the level in the future. If you know it takes .012” on the right hand
side, it makes it very easy to adjust the vial back to level at any given point in time, as long as
your “reference” surface hasn’t changed.
Page 10

We hope you enjoy your new Lamb Tool Works Precision Level and find it useful in many
ways.
A few specifications for those that are interested:
Length:!!!!!16”
Width:!! ! ! ! ! 3”
Height:!!!!! 3”
Vial Sensitivity:!!!!.001” per foot
Flatness of bottom surface:!!.0005-.001”
Threaded holes:!!!!5/16”-18 Thread
LAMB TOOL WORKS
[email protected]
5015 W Saddlehorn Rd Phoenix AZ 85083 US
+1.6023498292
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