Had an old timer tell me my leveling was off by a 16th and it bugged me for months

I was working on a Mowrey elevator at an apartment complex near Lincoln, Nebraska last spring. This retired mechanic was just hanging around watching me work and he said "your car level is off by about the width of a dime." I brushed it off at first because everything looked fine to me. But after he left I put my good Starrett level on the sill and sure enough it was off by about 1/16th of an inch. I spent the next 6 months rechecking every door level I set and now I actually use a feeler gauge to double check my work. Has anyone else had a random comment from a stranger completely change how you do a basic part of the job?

2 comments

2 Comments

kevin_hernandez831mo ago

Maybe it's just me but a 16th tolerance sounds like overkill for most residential stuff. Half that would still keep the doors operating fine without making you crazy rechecking everything.

ivanl761mo ago

Fair point, I used to hate tight tolerances but you changed my mind on this one.