A while back our Stanley friend Jimmy Addison once asked us what we thought about a level that could stick to wood. We laughed a bit and went about our merry way, knowing that levels don’t stick to wood –- until Stanley released their Clamp level a few weeks ago. The Clamp level will grab and hold to 2×4’s or as seen here, to 4×4’s.
Just horsing around with the sample unit Stanley had out at their Texas Motor Speedway event this year, I must say I was impressed. It’s pretty much a standard aluminum beam level at first glance; however when you get closer you notice it’s as wide as a 2×4 with clamps on either end. The silver clamp mechanism can reach out and grip a 2×4 with no sweat. It’s got a solid grip on the wood and is easy to lock and unlock the clamp in position. We then said –- as most good Texas boys would –- “That’s great but what about 4×4’s if we want to use it for fencing?” They then flipped out the red spurs on one end of the level and smacked it on the 4×4. It held fast, even with one clamp and the chamfer that all 4×4’s seem to have.
A level that doesn’t fall off a stud or fence post — didn’t see that one coming. More information when we come across it, but expect to start seeing this in the tool aisle very soon. It will feature a price point that is not really any higher than other Stanley rigs of the same construction, so it’s affordable enough to throw one in the truck. We’ve got to stop laughing when the Stanley guys ask us what we think about tools that don’t exist yet.
Clamp Level [Stanley Tools]
