# Masonry Torpedo Levels



## dmorabito (Jan 10, 2015)

Over the last year, I think I've been through about 4 torpedo levels of different brands. I'm sick of buying different ones and want to know what the best ones are for cement work. They have cracked, bent, or are not legible anymore because of all of the lodged cement. Which are the best????


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## heavyc (Jul 2, 2013)

Go Kobalt if available in your area. Lowes brand lifetime warranty no questions hassle free return policy.
Problem solved.


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## S.U.M (Apr 17, 2013)

I have always used these very strong only ever owned 3 in the past 9 years, 1 got stole, 1 is in my garage, and 1 in my tool box in the truck.


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## heavyc (Jul 2, 2013)

S.U.M said:


> View attachment 146810
> 
> 
> I have always used these very strong only ever owned 3 in the past 9 years, 1 got stole, 1 is in my garage, and 1 in my tool box in the truck.


That's on an unlimited budget lol.
Honestly how often is a torpedo used.


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## GettingBy (Aug 19, 2010)

Can you coat them with something that concrete doesn't stick to?


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

heavyc said:


> That's on an unlimited budget lol.
> Honestly how often is a torpedo used.


The torpedo comes as part of a set when you buy a 2' and 4'. The three are cheaper than buying the 4' and 2' seperately. I use a torpedo for soldiers. On some homes I'd use one every day


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## S.U.M (Apr 17, 2013)

Use it quite often depending what I'm doing. It comes as a set of 3 with a 2'and 4' sometimes Canadian tire will have them on sale too.


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## S.U.M (Apr 17, 2013)

Oh Dom beat me too it.


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## heavyc (Jul 2, 2013)

dom-mas said:


> The torpedo comes as part of a set when you buy a 2' and 4'. The three are cheaper than buying the 4' and 2' seperately. I use a torpedo for soldiers. On some homes I'd use one every day


I use to have the % breakdown in production loss for every time a Mason has to pick a level up. So if you use a torpedo all day long your productivity would be quite low?


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## S.U.M (Apr 17, 2013)

heavyc said:


> I use to have the % breakdown in production loss for every time a Mason has to pick a level up. So if you use a torpedo all day long your productivity would be quite low?



He didn't say he uses it all day long,


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## heavyc (Jul 2, 2013)

I guess using one every day then on one soldier? Or what ever else you would use one ever day for?
Over read it your right, but the fact is every time a Mason has to use their level lowers production.


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## S.U.M (Apr 17, 2013)

Not necessarily, I use a string line when building soldiers on new wall or new opening but I think Dom mostly does restoration, so for brick replacement, setting sills, small solider course, setting stone, the torpedo level comes in handy for these things. I have used a torpedo level when doing solider course just depends on the situation.


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## heavyc (Jul 2, 2013)

Agreed! Great to gather all these different perspectives. Plus keeps the learning experiences interesting.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

S.U.M said:


> Not necessarily, I use a string line when building soldiers on new wall or new opening but I think Dom mostly does restoration, so for brick replacement, setting sills, small solider course, setting stone, the torpedo level comes in handy for these things. I have used a torpedo level when doing solider course just depends on the situation.


I do about 50/50 new work and restoration. I don't do a ton of new brick work but on almost every house I do there are likely to be some soldiers. i use string for levellling the top and keeping soldiers in line but I use the torpedo for plumbing. A 16' double garage door has 65-80 bricks depending on the brick size, I plumb every 3rd brick. Not much i hate more than drunke soldiers

Every window and door has soldiers, and sometimes there's a band course or some other detail. Yes on some houses I do soldiers every day


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## heavyc (Jul 2, 2013)

Back to the torpedo and the stabila package. What's the cost of package? Pretty expensive torpedo. That's why I recommend to dmorabito to go kobalt. A whopping ten spot and you have a torpedo warrantied for life.


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## S.U.M (Apr 17, 2013)

dom-mas said:


> I do about 50/50 new work and restoration. I don't do a ton of new brick work but on almost every house I do there are likely to be some soldiers. i use string for levellling the top and keeping soldiers in line but I use the torpedo for plumbing. A 16' double garage door has 65-80 bricks depending on the brick size, I plumb every 3rd brick. Not much i hate more than drunke soldiers
> 
> Every window and door has soldiers, and sometimes there's a band course or some other detail. Yes on some houses I do soldiers every day



Same here but more like 70% restoration which I prefer, 30% new.


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## S.U.M (Apr 17, 2013)

$229 for the set at my local supplier And to correct myself Canadian tire don't sell them I was thinkin of the stanly fat max, 😳.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

S.U.M said:


> Same here but more like 70% restoration which I prefer, 30% new.


Some years I do almost entirely resto. I was on one project for almost 8 mos straight. Then other years I'll do 3 customs which take 3 mos each or more.

I just like change. Can't stand doing the same thing over and over.

I find restoration has both the possibility for the most and least amount of money to be made (which is why sometimes I can only do T&M) but new construction pretty much make the same all the time (per day over the course of a project not day in/day out)


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## Kniggit (Apr 11, 2013)

No 45° bubble? About all I use a torpedo for is laying out a herringbone with the afore mentioned bubble and on corners of rowlocks.


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## CJKarl (Nov 21, 2006)

I just buy the average Joe Homeowner model. I mean I'm not doing tool and die work. The slight bumps on even a good brick are going to throw a torpedo off a bit.. They're only a few bucks.


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## Knight-Builder (Feb 19, 2015)

fjn said:


> Regarding the pot I stirred by mentioning the Huge contractor giving away perfectly good tools at end of job,let me say this. As in most things,it boils down to perspective and what works for one person,may not work for the next. This company I referenced ,at last count operates in 38 states and is expanding to International markets via a Great Lakes deep dock that is literally the gateway to the world. Does it really make much sense for them to box up a bunch of hand tools and ship them back to their base camp at the end of every job. For them to go from never doing road work in 1979 to the worlds largest bridge builder by 2013 they are not prone to making many false moves. They have been in business since 1898 ,they have had plenty of time to assess what business model does and does not work for them.
> 
> 
> I do not feel it is appropriate for me to name other companies,however,if one is curious,google worlds largest bridge builder and the "mystery" company will appear .


You seem to imply that the company in question is U.S. based, when they're actually French. And I'm not sure a great lakes dock is their version of a Suez Canal to the world. 

Anyway, semantics mode off... knew a couple of their mid level guys in the UK.


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

Knight-Builder said:


> You seem to imply that the company in question is U.S. based, when they're actually French. And I'm not sure a great lakes dock is their version of a Suez Canal to the world.
> 
> Anyway, semantics mode off... knew a couple of their mid level guys in the UK.





Well,actually if one was to track the largest construction firms or bridge builders on any particular site on any given day,one will find they do not hold their position indefinitely. Their rankings leap frog from time to time. 


Kind of like the richest guy in the world rank. Mr Gates holds the title and every once and a while,the guy from Mexico is said to be richer.


Aside from all that, the gist of the tool "give away" perspective is strictly too show not one size fits all.Different business models fit different companies.


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## Knight-Builder (Feb 19, 2015)

fjn said:


> Well,actually if one was to track the largest construction firms or bridge builders on any particular site on any given day,one will find they do not hold their position indefinitely. Their rankings leap frog from time to time.
> 
> 
> Kind of like the richest guy in the world rank. Mr Gates holds the title and every once and a while,the guy from Mexico is said to be richer.
> ...


Ok... I'm talking about Vinci. They are and have been the largest construction firm, bridges included, for quite a while now.


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## Fouthgeneration (Jan 7, 2014)

For the billion $ a year company, giving away tools that are deprecated out accounting wise allows them to buy and write off the tools for the next job. 

Due to US and state tax law companies that replace all their "hand tools" are rewarded tax wise, and profit wise on cost plus contracts...use up a 1200.00 saw get cost plus 15%, you just earned 180.00$...free and clear.

I think your wife might have a few "power" tools around the bedroom.:whistling


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## Knight-Builder (Feb 19, 2015)

I'm still wondering which company fjn was talking about.


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## Fancis Casini (Jan 31, 2013)

I think your wife might have a few "power" tools around the bedroom.:whistling[/QUOTE]

those huge equipement auctions have been around forever....car and truck leasing is a small form of it....basic roll over staying ahead of the up keep.imo


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

Knight-Builder said:


> I'm still wondering which company fjn was talking about.





As I previously mentioned,the gist of my message is that there is not one size fits all business model for a company regarding their tool policy.

Some companies keep their tools in service until the paint is worn completely off. Other companies figure hand tools as totally disposable and write them off as a cost of business for each separate job.


There is not a one size fits all policy how tools are viewed by any given construction company. That is the long and short of it.


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## Knight-Builder (Feb 19, 2015)

fjn said:


> As I previously mentioned,the gist of my message is that there is not one size fits all business model for a company regarding their tool policy.
> 
> Some companies keep their tools in service until the paint is worn completely off. Other companies figure hand tools as totally disposable and write them off as a cost of business for each separate job.
> 
> ...


I get all that and understand that different equipment retention procedures work better for different companies.

What I'm not sure about is why you're afraid to say which company you were talking about. I'm curious is all and interested to know what other mega construction companies there are out there that get a lot of bridge jobs.


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

Knight-Builder said:


> I get all that and understand that different equipment retention procedures work better for different companies.
> 
> What I'm not sure about is why you're afraid to say which company you were talking about. I'm curious is all and interested to know what other mega construction companies there are out there that get a lot of bridge jobs.





As I had mentioned previously,I do not feel comfortable nor do I think it is appropriate to mention other peoples construction companies in an open forum.


If you search back through many years of threads on CT, I think you will notice it is the rarest of posts where a member specifically names another company by name. To me I think of it as professional ethics.


If you are adamant in knowing who they are,the best I will do is give you a few hints. They are Chicago based,and as I mentioned previously,they were established in 1898. With that,you should be able to figure it out without further disclosure from me.


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

I give away as much line as anyone wants at the end of each job. Bout all I can sport.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

I only give away the tangled line


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

As an aside...I has a labe last year that went to an "alternative" elementary school. They did stuff like knitting instead of math, and as punishment had to untangle balls of yarn as detention/punishment. I could give him tangles and he'd have it all nicely wound in moments....

and that's about what he had going for him. He certainly didn't have any math skills


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

dom-mas said:


> and that's about what he had going for him. He certainly didn't have any math skills


What, you want someone who can count to 16 too? :thumbup:


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## heavyc (Jul 2, 2013)

:blink:What was this thread about?
I can't remember?


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## Fouthgeneration (Jan 7, 2014)

"It sank out of sight, write after it was....torpedoed.":jester:


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