A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I were antique hunting in Dayton, Ohio, where I ran into this old level in the back of a barn. I figured it was a Stanley Rule and Level Co level, but the amount of brass in the front intrigued me as it wasn’t the usual design I see all the time.

I really don’t restore levels too often, but I decided to ask how much it was as I thought it would be a fun little restoration project. After the lady told me $10.00, I took it home.

Restoring it was pretty straightforward. I applied some citrus based paint stripper on it to remove the old grime, then washed it off with a soapy dish liquid. Then I applied elbow grease to buff out brass with steel wool and liquid brass cleaner. Then, coated the level with a few coats of shellac.

You can see on the side that it’s faintly stamped 11, which I figured makes it a Stanley No 11. Stanley made No 11’s in mahagony and rosewood. When I was cleaning the wood, I got excited thinking the level was made from rosewood, but I’m pretty sure it’s mahagony. The fact that the brass is only the corners and not completely covering the end makes it an older level.

You can see the Stanley Rule & Level Co. so it’s possible it’s before they acquired their plane line.

I’m not sure how to date the level as I am unaware of a type study on Stanley Levels, but if I had to take a guess, I’d say it’s around 1860-80’s in age. And it’s in pretty nice shape for being as old as it is.

Does anyone know how old it is? Drop a comment and let me know.