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The elusive STARRETT No.12 Protractor Level Accessory

SalemRule

Cast Iron
Joined
Jul 26, 2018
Despite the fact that every Starrett No.12 Protractor included this little gem up until (unknown date), when the Level began being attached by screws (more or less permanently), and despite the fact that those early No.12 Protractors are not difficult to acquire, the LEVEL ATTACHMENT is nearly unknown.

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Starrett Catalog No.17 from 1902

Anyone have one ?

(want to sell it?)
 
WOW! ……….that's TWO ''sought after by Americans'' tools I own )D


CORRECTION -please ignore the above, having reread the OP, (for the umpteenth time!) I realise my screwed on type of #12 protractor, is both later and not the subject of the post.



However my second item remains - a Holtzapffel &Co, Charing Cross, London. 2ft 4 fold rule in box wood and ivory with a mix of German silver & steel mounts and hinges.
 
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I have but it's not for sale.Got it when I bought my first tools from my retired tool maker neighbor. View attachment 254230

That's a nice Protractor, but it is much later.

Yours may be a century old, but it is still the improved version where the Level is screwed to the Head.

Those are rarely lost. In fact I've never seen one missing (there would be two empty, threaded, holes where the Level would be).

The early version (see catalog 17) illustrates and explains the early level which is a loose attachment that rarely travels from generation to generation along with the Protractor it belongs to.
 
Catalog 17 makes the usage a little difficult to imagine.

FIRST: Turn the Level Attachment 180 degrees from how it is illustrated.

TWO: Remove the Rule.

THREE: Insert the Level Attachment in place of the Rule. The Level Attachment and Rule cannot be used at the same time.
 
I have a few of them. The Standard Tool Co. one I think is much rarer, especially the one for the Bellows Patent square which is at a right angle to the one from the protractor.
 
I have a few of them. The Standard Tool Co. one I think is much rarer, especially the one for the Bellows Patent square which is at a right angle to the one from the protractor.

Well, yes.

Still, I'll bet I could point you towards EVERY single listing on eBay right now, and for the last 90 Days, and not find a single instance of this Starrett item.

Which would be common, if not for the carelessness of generations of descendants who just throw Grandpa's junk in the trash.

:cryin:
 
In the meantime, I just combed through Starrett Catalog No.18 - the earliest Catalog which is common (the value of a 17 vs 18 is HUGE), and this early Level Attachment continued to be the norm.
 
I agree that using a 90 day window for collecting would make many things seem rare. My perspective is 40 years of searching about and you find one here and another there makes them not seem so scarce.
 
I agree that using a 90 day window for collecting would make many things seem rare. My perspective is 40 years of searching about and you find one here and another there makes them not seem so scarce.

Well, although my focus on collecting Machinist Tools was admittedly subdued for the past two decades, I am certain that, judging by the items I sold you even 30 years ago, that I certainly paid my dues in searching them out.

You were a very early collector, and have travelled many miles and put in countless hours over the years.

And never discount the fact that, as you have often and honestly admitted, that demand for early Machinist Tools was very light in your early days.

These little guys are not easy to come by. I would never have passed one by without questioning what it was, at least.

So they seem scarce to rare to me.

I have just one, and will post pics tomorrow.

And, at least I have discovered Catalog No.19, circa 1910, has only the modern, screwed-on version of the No.12 Protractor Head level offered.

Starrett stubbornly clinged to the older concept for too long, but at last saw wisdom.
 
This little fella?
Front View .jpgBubble Level Vial.jpgEnd View.jpgBubble Level Bottom.jpgMounting Screws.jpg
John

The level is part of the set Grandfather Ludwig had as a tool and die machinist. He came over about 1921.
 
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Here is what might be rare about these. How many of you found them with the protractor head or separate? You kind of figure a lot of The heads were ordered with the level attachment and we know there are a lot of the protractor heads out there. Hence a bunch of these, but how many stayed together?

I think all of mine were found in junk boxes at flea markets. Where did you find yours?
 
I don't have one of these attachments, but we have a lot of combination square sets in general. When I started sorting and organizing our measuring tools they were all mix-matched and painted/marked like they had been that way for some time (as in: Brown & Sharpe rule, with a Stanley square, Starrett protractor, etc.). I imagine that like most reference-grade measuring tools, machinists just didn't give a lot of thought to how complete or correct they were. I like keeping them complete though as even if they are cross compatible, there are minor fit differences, and like anything else if the tool in your hand looks and feels like a mess, it'll often be treated the same.
 








 
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