Rabone machine level

[Arthur GoodwinParticipant @arthurgoodwin45738]

Hi all

Over the moon when I won this on ebay.

Got it for a tenner, bargain I thought till it arrived today.

The glass phial is cracked and the bubble has escaped.

Tried to source a replacement but everybody seems only to have up to 11mm in diameter.

The Rabone tube has an i. D of 14mm.

Does anybody a, have one theycansell or b, have any idea where to get one from

Thanks in advance

[Arthur GoodwinParticipant @arthurgoodwin45738]

Replacing the bubble

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

I'd be inclined (sorry, not intended as a pun) to make up some tubular spacers and use the 11mm ones.

Or these people might be able to help – no connection, just searched for Rabone level spares.

Rob

[Oven ManParticipant @ovenman]

I picked up one of these from Aliexpress in China. Don't know how the accuracy compares with the real thing but better than a broken one.

Peter

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

I think there was an article on baking precision bubbles in MEW in the early days…

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

The dia. of the bubble tube can be anything you can get. better if you can get one that has lines etched on it. Mounting a bubble smaller than the tube dia.is easy using some paper made into a sort of concertina form, folding it layer by layer till you get a sliding fit. cap/fill the ennds with plaster of paris making sure that the sealing point is clear and under no pressure from the plaster of paris.

[Dennis WAParticipant @denniswa]

See also the 2017 thread by Andrew Tinsley

https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=129638

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Posted by John Haine on 28/04/2020 22:30:30:

I think there was an article on baking precision bubbles in MEW in the early days…

Well, it might be possible to bake one, but I think I meant "make"…

[Arthur GoodwinParticipant @arthurgoodwin45738]

Thank you guys

[Robin KingParticipant @robinking15611]

Posted by John Haine on 29/04/2020 09:18:55:

Posted by John Haine on 28/04/2020 22:30:30:

I think there was an article on baking precision bubbles in MEW in the early days…

Well, it might be possible to bake one, but I think I meant "make"…

That's a shame, I was looking forward to a recipe for 'bubble cake' ……

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

I can confirm that the paper concertina and plaster of Paris method of repair works very well indeed. I am afraid that I have forgotten the source of the new capsule, but one of the above replies gives a starting point.

The main problem was getting the end cap off without damaging it, putting it back on was almost as bad! It was a force fit on my example..

Andrew.

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