Replacing a Broken Vial & Calibrating a Starrett No. 98 Machinist Level 

Thanks for Sharing That Keith.... It takes a Big MAN to show his mistakes...We all make mistakes and bad decisions.... But having the guts to show them for the world to see shows what type of Man you are..... Thank you again....

Keith puts tube in vice: "I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened." ―Obi-Wan Kenobi

There are 2 tiny pieces of spring steel between the barrel and the tube that provide a nice drag on the barrel. Most people pull the barrel off and lose the springs. Looks like you can see them fall at 8:07. For anyone else watching, once you have one end cap off, put the whole thing in a big zip lock back and pull the barrel off. You'll find the two springs in the bag. They are tiny and virtually impossible to find if you drop them on a shop floor (ask me how I know).

There is going to be a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking on this one and how it should have been handled. However I am grateful you went ahead and posted this one for all to see. There is still plenty to learn from in this video. You could have just as easily swept this one under the rug and none would have been the wiser.

How many screamed "NO!" when he put the tube in the vise?

I tried replacing a vial once. Got the new vial in, took it out of the box and proceeded to drop it on the garage floor. Replacement vial ordered. Destroyed the tube trying to get it apart. Finally ordered a complete tube assembly. Thanks for showing us that it can be a tough job.

I found myself shouting at you when you squeezed the tube in the vice. Oh Keith!!

This reminds me of myself one time I was trying to removed a stuck mouthpiece out of a trumpet without the proper tool. It went from bad to worse and it ended up crumpled up in the garbage can. I still cannot believe I did that, but in the heat of battle sometimes you aren't thinking clearly. The best advice you could pass on to your viewers is to take a step back and take a break and think it through. Kudos for publishing it! At least learning took place.

My trick for holding delicate round things - drill/bore a hole in a piece of wood the same size as the part, and cut the wood in half with a band saw to split the hole. That creates a sort of "instant soft jaw" to hold the delicate part.

I can imagine some old timer that worked for starrett and knows the procedure almost fainting with a cool rag on his forehead while someone is fanning him watching this lol

Thank you for for sharing this Mr. Rucker it shows true quality of character to open one’s self to the ridicule of others. Every once in a while it is good to be reminded that things sometimes don’t go easily the way we wanted.

Keith, thank you for sharing your work on this precision vial. I like your honesty by showing us how you made a rushed mistake like all humans do; no theater here and thank you for this cincerity . It tells me you're real and trustworthy. Only, I think, like me many times afterwards, you were not in the right mood to do this repair at this moment in time. I recommend reading "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" to recognize this feeling just like I do after ruining a piece ;-). The Zen part is about recognizing the moments you like to start but you're better of not to do so. After many years I'm really getting better at it, or it's a valid guideline, but occasionally, "in the heat of the moment or a customer breathing in my neck, still f**k pieces up and be sorry that I didn't listen to my own Zen in a timely matter. Maybe relax a little? Have some fun with a turkey? I can wait a long time for your videos or no stress could be valid here? You're a wonderful person to watch and maybe even better after some relaxation time..? . Stay safe, be happy, and thank you Keith! Best, Job

Great info on tool repair. Goes to show even with good intentions we have to modify our plans to get the job done. Well done sir!

Next episode of his channel may be "Making the Inside Tube for a Starrett 98 Level.

The surface you use to set the level does not have to be perfectly level, as long as the bubble reads the same in both directions, it is level

Yes, this is how not to replace a broken vial. We learned a lot from this, as well as Keith.

something for next time i might have used a piping bag to squeeze the plaster of paris in the tube

Great info Keith, keep'um coming.

When you reassemble put the end caps in the freezer for an hour or two. Caps will slide right in. Also put a wrap of paper on both ends between the cover tube and the vile tube, keeps a little tension on the cover so it isn't loose but can turn smoothly.

I got the chill's when I saw this. WOW. It's a precision tool. I recently replaced two units bought from starrett

At 1:30: "precision ground bubble". I'd love to see how starrit grinds their bubbles!

I could watch this channel all day! Very informative and well presented!

Why didn't you use a collet in a lathe or mill to grip the tube around it's perimeter?

I dont know if you will see this comment Keith, but if you do just a heads up for the future when dealing with extracting something like those end caps with vice grips. You can use a slide hammer and and an adaptor bolt that you use in place of the adjusting screw on the vice grips to attach them to the slide hammer shaft. My slide hammer came with the adaptor and has been very handy for those occasions where I need to be able to grab an object to be extracted.

Precision instruments are to be repaired by highly skilled people who are well acquainted with the way those instruments are built. Attacking them with a vise grip and a hammer and squeezing them in a vise is not the way to proceed. My humble opinion.

Good job Keith, enjoyed the comments!

As soon as you clamped the tube in the vise after getting out the one end I cringed, I had a feeling that the job was gonna go all to hell. Ha! Nice try.

I just shut my eyes when he even thought about doing the job ....🤣

thanks for the video keith, your a good man

A lens wrench will grab a tube (full circle only; no cutaway parts) with incredible strength. They are easy to make (and must be made to nearly an exact fit). A hole in a flat plate the exact size of the workpiece; a slit from the edge to the hole; contour the area around the hole to make a stiff collar, and around the slit to make a pair of handles. Spread the handles slightly to get the wrench on the workpiece and gently squeeze the handles together (widen the slit a little if needed). This will give enormous gripping power for torque without crushing a hollow workpiece. If the workpiece diameter matches a reamer in your inventory, such a wrench can be made in minutes. If you have to bore the hole to get it exact, it will take longer. Had you considered just pulling the ends apart? Some kind of frame, and clevises with pins to get a hold on the ends. You could construct a temporary frame with 1-2-3 blocks. Pull with a bit of threaded rod. I know it's easy to armchair-quarterback after the fact, but sometimes a little extra time can reveal alternate solutions. You get things done just fine, but watching the process just seems to generate ideas.

THANK YOU...for sharing. Watched and very much enjoyed.

Seems like a little bit of heat on the ends would expand the tube enough to pull the ends out?

The difficulty of removing the ends from the first one combined with the marks already on it makes me think that somebody might have used some kind of adhesive to lock them into place.

I stopped seven minutes in to read the comments because I know I'm not the only one who is wincing by this point! Too much force...

Keith, I knew as soon as you put that tube in the vise, something was going to go wrong. I would have put that drill bit in the tube and used it in the vise. You can still salvage that tube with that drill bit. Thanks for the video. Jon

I just picked up one of these Starrett 98's at the Moultrie swap meet last month...........almost perfect condition, thanks for the lesson on how to get it calibrated, got it dead nuts now.

Wow I could have never repaired mine without seeing how you did it. Really a good video thank you so much.

Very interesting Keith - thanks for yet another useful video.

I thought another possible more modern replacement for the plaster might be ordinary silicone caulk. Pretty removable and it seals to both metal and glass but it's a little flexible after it cures unlike plaster. I don't know if that would be an issue in this kind of application but I might have tried it. And, yeah, when Keith put that tube in the vise, I cringed and thought "V blocks in horizontal position!"

One theory to all the naysayers out there talking about ruining the tube in the vise....maybe it was a "subliminal" lesson that Keith was trying to teach us. If you think about it, the tube had nicks and gouges in it, and having another tube was his first choice anyhow. I do love ALL the comments by the way, and I learn even more from them, for example, a rod inside the tube before grabbing it with a collet because I didn't think about that aspect and I am sure it would have slipped on me or maybe crushed a bit. Sometimes the best lessons include the mistakes that people make. I know that if I had the patience to do all the work there is to make educational videos, there would be a lot of "bleeps" in them because I do not have one iota of the temperament that Keith has. Just my thoughts. Thank You Keith for another wonderful video!!!

honestly i saw that tube collapsing as soon as you put it in the vise. i really expected you to at least fabricate a close fit mandrill on the lathe...

Nice recovery and also noticed a disappearing kitten tattoo like I have. Thanks for taking on this subject since many of us will tackle home improvement.

Thank you Keith. I also have the same 12" starrett # 98 but would like to add another one to my collection. I find them with a broken bobble for a reasonable price all the time but have been a little hesitant to purchase it. After watching your video I now feel confidant that I can fix one myself. thank you for your great content keep up the good work

1:30 . . ."precision ground bubble"... Damn, Starrett must have some interesting manufacturing techniques 😎 😆.

Is the paper used for contrast, "acid free paper". Otherwise it will yellow over time.

Dang I am already trying to buy one of these...do not need more people on the lookout for them! Need to level some machines on the cheap and do not want to send any money off to China for one of the import levels. Nice job with the repair and recalibration!

Bad day in the shop Keith. We all get them and its a bummer when we do. I don't think your mind was on the job when you stuck it in the vise. But you got there in the end. Really enjoyed the vid as i might have to do that one day on my level. Now i no how, and how not to, all in the one vid. lol

i admire your skill and knowledge, watching your channel is a pleasure keith keep them coming!

Happy New Year, Keith. Here's to a better one than 2020.

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Keith for showing how to calibrate the level...I've passed up purchasing a used one because I didn't know this info.

Keith messed up so you don't have too. Someone some day will run into the same problem with stuck ends, maybe they see this video and see what not to do and possibly find a good suggestion on how to proceed from all the comments suggesting alternative methods to deal with a stuck end.

Slide hammer was the tool you needed

“hammer mechanic” is what grandpa used to say about that kind of work (loose translation). Disappointed in the use of even more force instead of re-considering the situation.

Thank you very much Keith, I have so very much to learn and I soak up so much from you guys sharing your skills on youtube. I am very grateful!. I am also grateful for the fact that I was tested positive for Covid-19 just over 2 weeks ago and fortunately I did not experience a single symptom. I'm 64 so was worried for a while. I work in a hospital so am aware of the effect it can have. Also, my new mill and lathe arrived on the day of my test so happy days. Thank you so much, regards Gareth (from Wales).

Levels are the only self-proving measuring device. All you needs is a flat surface, its actually better if the surface is NOT level as its easier to fine the level line on the plane.

Enjoyed Keith! ATB, robin

Better now than when it started.

Good content prob wouldnt have attempted vial replacement before watching video.👍👍

I had the same problem. I ended up clamping the tab in a vise , a little WD down the tube and heating with turbo torch to 200F. Came right out.

Starrett has dispatched its enforcement division!

Love to see a video of you fabricating a new barrel to refurbish that level

Tom Lipton probably had the same reaction I did while watching those caps being removed.

Thanks for this one. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who cringed a little at the tube in the vice, but there was something wrong with it anyway if the end caps were that tight. I kind of wonder if somebody hadn't done that at each end and hammered the ends in or something. You ended up with a working level and that was the goal.

This is a much appreciated video. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I have one which needs attention as well.

Maaan....! Can't believe you put that thin wall tubing in the vice...!!! What were you thinking...LOL ( That must have been a test to see if anyone was watching )

i did that same job a couple of years ago. i used a {rifle) barrel vise to hold the tube and align the ends. worked well.

Paper sheet best is to have fine diagonal dark lies drawn on it, or a colour contrasting to the graduations, so that refraction makes reading the bubble easier.

Hey Kieth, just at the end there did you say “12 inch is a nice size to have?” Funny, my wife says the same thing😂😂😂 Cheers Stuart 🇦🇺

I think submerging the level in warm water would have loosened/disolved the plaster.

My guess is that you're gonna get varying "levels" of comment grief over almost every step in this odyssey of personal discovery, so I'm only gonna say that it's a cold, raining morning here, and you really got my blood warmed up and moving! This would have been an easy one for you to give up on, but you didn't, so thanks for sharing!

Thanks Keith, off to buy some plaster of Paris tomorrow. Have had a 98 sitting on the shelf waiting for the missing ingredient.

Thanks, I'll have to check the calibration on the one I inherited from my great grandfather

thank you sir, i always enjoy yer stuff. i have to admit though this time i winced a couple times when you were workin to get that apart.

I recently obtained a Starrett 98-12 level, and it is exactly like the one with the "wrong vial". Mine has deep knurls and logo imprint and is in excellent condition, and the vial only has black infilled inscribed lines. My interpretation on seeing the replacement vials on Starrett's site, with the dots on the face, the installed vial is just an older style.

That's a shame it broke, good thing you had the spares to make it good again. I had a weird feeling when you clamped it in the vice to get the second end off. wonder if heating it up or soaking it in some hot water may have helped, regardless its too late now. Maybe I'm weird but when it broke the little voice in my head was thinking yay now hes going to machine a custom one and make a cool video on doing it :-).

Get the torch, put some heat on it!! LOL

Interesting (but a tad painful). Inspired me to look up Starrett’s repair information. Very refreshing attitude toward repair. And their levels aren’t outrageously expensive (if you need that level of accuracy). Thanks for the video.

Keith Always on the Level

A little heat would have made removal of the ends much easier. We get caught up in the moment, and forget some of our knowledge. I cringed when you clamped the vial tube in the vise. If you have a ball bearing, or turn a ball of the proper size, you can force it through the tube and straighten it. Good luck in the New Year. May 2021 be much kinder to us all than 2020 has been.

My guess Keith will take down this video by the end of the day and repost it on April 1st.

Not sure if it was mentioned, after the first lot of plaster of Paris was put in and the vial was inserted, there didn't seem to be any check on whether the vial had actually made contact with the PoP, this would leave a loose vial. Not sure why water wasn't used to aid removal of the end caps.

Can you turn a piece of brass the proper size to press thru the bent tube to re shape it and make it useable? Also could you put it in a collet to hold it to press the other end out? Just some ideas I have used in the past for a job similar. Happy New Year.

Would have used a punch to tap the second plug out. Getting it initially apart could you have used a pin in each of the fastening holes with one in a chuck on the lathe and another in either the tailstock or in the tool holder to pull them out?

Surely a little heating (followed by freezing?) ought to have been the first thing to try when disassembling the stuck tube? After all, the glass was already broken.

I didn't have a precision level on hand when I set up my new 11" x 27" VFD lathe, so, with the base stand leveled off, and being curious as to how much the lathe bed itself may be out of alignment and not wanting to spend $300+ on a machinist level I instead purchased a $3 laser pen, fashioned a holding fixture using 1- 2- 3 blocks to get above the prisms, mounted it so as to span the rails under the headstock and marked where the dot was at about a 9 foot distant wall, and carefully moved the device down to the tailstock end, and marked that spot as well. It was 1/4" apart or only .0023" IN TOTAL LENGTH (about .06mm) bed twist right out of the box, yeah, I think I can live with that, no need to shim or even think about it again. ☺

No wonder I paid Starrett to put a new bubble vial in my level. I was wincing that Keith was surely going to twist the brass tube into a pretzel.

On the Level as usual.

I was surprized the way you went about the removal. Did you clean up the base with a precision stone before you set up the bubble - this is not a critism just I like to see all the steps and learn.

I would have been afraid to bang up the adjusting holes on the end caps and would have put a some kerosene or something on the tube parts to try to loosen them. A small amount of heat on the tube might have helped pull the parts apart too. A dent-puller might have been more gentle than the vise-grip teeth on the end caps. I have seen this style level without the base attached, provided as replacement levels for artillery pieces. I don't know the accuracy, but they went for about $10 each at a gun show.. I'm kind of surprised you did put on a coat of black crinkle paint on the base.

That was painful to watch, but thanks for showing us that you, like the rest of us humans, make mistakes from time to time. I think I would have tried punching it out from the inside. Grip it in one hand and drive a wooden down through the end to punch out the cap.

OK, I will move on from the why didn't you and try to figure how you might savage the bent tube so you might build a rough level using the short vial and a shop made base ( Windy Hill maybe?). How about a rod the diameter of the inside diameter pushed through from the good end with some massaging or an expanding mandrel? I know, a lot of work but a great project to video! Greg

Hi Keith. You could use hot glue; that’s easy to get out later with IPA (IsoPropyl Alcohol); it’d be easy to machine out with that drill bit, or an end mill, too. You can also reheat the tube (gently!) to melt the hot glue and get the glass vial out. This seems like a better option than plaster, epoxy, or super glue. 🙂

What was the reason you didn't send it back to Starrett for repair besides the money? like another poster I was yelling at the screen don't clamp it in the vice, just break out the vial break out the setting compound and tap the end out with a long skinny punch.....

I am surprised that he didn't start by dropping a couple of drops if high quality thread cutting fluid in the joint and I expected him to pull the cap out with a press instead of pounding on it. Ron W4BIN

This is a place where the difference between precision and accuracy does come into play. One vial is more precise than the other, but accuracy is kind of orthogonal to an appropriate discussion of levels. (Unless & until you want to discuss the marks on the vials.)

It looks someone has used glue, to close the two sides. I would have tried a heatgun.

I suspect your right as you said Keith and the previous owner had something to do with how tight those end caps were held in.Hind sight after the fact is always 20/20. But I have learned over the years a lathe makes a pretty decent light duty screw type press and puller. Bailing wire though each mounting hole and twisted around could be held in one way or another in a lathe chuck at one end and the other wire end in the tool post. Then use either the carriage or top slide to pull. Obviously one end will almost always come off first. So with the one cap off, turn a shaft to closely fit the bore, install both in the correct sized collet and then use the lathe to pull the other end. I'd bet Starrett has a simple bench mounted lever operated puller to do the same job in seconds.

The plaster of paris is also a thermal insulator. It's less likely to expand and contract under working conditions and effect placement and calibration of the vial.

You may be able to recover that crushed tube with a brass or hardwood mandrel that just fits into the tube and a soft face hammer. It looked like it developed a crack that would always be there, but it should be possible to get it round again. I'd expect there is a good chance you can drift off that far end with a mandrel or punch of some sort, then maybe sand or turn the plugs down slightly or the inside of the tubing slightly larger to ease the fit.