Of the various instruments that my late colleague collected and that I told his wife I would see whether others had interest in, probably my favorite of the levels is this early 1960's-vintage Wild Heerbrugg N-2.
The instrument itself is in excellent condition and in fact shows only minimal evidence of field use. Apparently, it was used for a particular project.
The "HWY 35" on the Dymo label is almost certainly Interstate Highway 35. The date of acquistion of 1962 would probably mean that it was used in the construction of Interstate 35 either through Austin or on the segment of the interstate between Austin and San Antonio.
What particularly grabs me about this particular thing is the record of "checking".
At the time, the Texas Highway Department maintained a fairly robust surveying capability. This was before nearly all that work came to be farmed out to consultants with varying levels of dedication to the tasks. In the day, I'm pretty sure there was a central instrument repair facility in Austin to which the various district offices sent their instruments for repair or "checking". Considering there are five check marks on the label, I guess it was well checked. :>
It doesn't hurt one's appreciation of European level designs to keep in mind that instruments not unlike this one were still commonly in use in the US when the Wild N2 shown above was made.
This level can be rotated (scope turned upside). This allows one to point at the rod-adjust the split bubble-read rod-rotate scope-adjust split bubble-read rod. Then mean the two readings.
> This level can be rotated (scope turned upside). This allows one to point at the rod-adjust the split bubble-read rod-rotate scope-adjust split bubble-read rod. Then mean the two readings.
Here's a link to what appears to be an operating manual for the N2.
Hello Mr. McMillan,
Has this level sold?
Regards,
Gabe.
