Wednesday, August 31, 2016
The Beny Hands Free Level
Cool Tools: I have used The Beny for well over a year. The Beny’s ability to attach to several different building materials and give me a level and plumb reading while keeping my hands free has been invaluable. Over last year I have personally used this newly invented tool to rebuild the deck on our home, the stairs to that deck, and the rebuilding of our three season room.
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5 comments:
I think that this product brings a lot to the world of levels; however, I do question one major aspect of The Beny Hands Free Level: the elastic extension. It seems like the extension to The Beny for it to wrap around larger objects is not as sturdy as it could be and appears like it could fatigue over time, causing the device to not function fully. There is also the plastic stick which seems to assist the user in aligning the extension with the main body of the unit. To me, at least, this seems fairly inaccurate if it does effect the unit itself at all; however, I am unsure of the magnitude of that effect. Beyond this, it seems like an extremely inspired idea which was executed well and has a multitude of uses. It is also an ingenious advancement to a tool found on every worksite which, to date, has remained fairly unchanged over the years.
This looks like a great tool. The article and the video don’t go into a lot of detail about how the level works – or I should say attaches to the material being used. In theater I can see this being used a lot on leveling legs and stairs. It seems like it could also come in quite handy when leveling hanging or flying scenery. I’ve often been told that the longer a level is, the more accurate it is. I question the accuracy of this level given its size. Also, the fact that the video showed this level being attached to things like a 2x4 to be used as a level seems to suggest that the 2x4 (or whatever material being used) must have two absolutely parallel and even sides, otherwise the level will not sit flat and you won’t get an accurate reading. All that being said, I’d give it a try. If the price is right.
This level is really awesome. With normal levels, you have to hold them up and rotate them all the time and often you have to put them down before you screw/ nail/ whatever together and half the time your hold on the material slips and you have to start over again. When people started putting magnets on the levels, I thought that was exceedingly useful, especially for leveling masking or metal framed scenery. But it’s only useful when what you're leveling is magnetic, which is why the Beny level is so much more useful. And with the really easy clipping on, you're ready to go so quick. I also like how you can make it into a normal long level by attaching it to wood, but my question and worry would be how can you know your chosen piece of lumber is actually straight itself and will give you a true reading. Though, I guess the applications when you would need to make a long level are way less than when you can just use the level itself. It seems from the video people were only adapting it so they could level large pieces of stone, which doesn't come up as often as other materials.
This is not exactly what I was expecting when I clicked this link but I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it would be a little bigger and would have a magnet or pins or some high tech way of holding itself in place. I would like it to be a little bigger and I probably wouldn’t use it on a 2x4 as an independent level, but it is absolutely perfect for installing beams, studs, and pretty much anything that you need to hold while you attach or have to plumb/level in 2 or more directions. The simple design is great, you literally just clip it to anything. I am sure some carpenters would say it has too small of a profile to be reliable, which is a fair point, but I also believe that this tool would be constantly relied on by anyone who buys it. I think it definitely has a place in theater. Usually during an install there are just enough or more than enough hands to go around and getting someone to hold a level isn’t a major set back, but having this tool could speed up some processes.
This is a really interesting tool due to its size, functionality, and the seemingly intuitive use of the tool. The hands free aspect of this tool looks like it could be very handy in theater applications, and not just standard contractor work. While it seems that it is able to grip multiple surfaces relatively easily, however I would be intrigue to see more on its ability to attach to the various strange surfaces that we often see in the theatrical world. The Benny seems very versatile already, with only using a bubble level, and I would like to think that it will be a great building block for a future tool. Things that would be interesting to add to the tool are features such as a laser level to the standard configuration. I feel like this is a sign of good tool, one that inspires more usages outside of the original purpose. I always find cool new tools rather interesting and exciting, and this tool is no exception to that statement.
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