Vintage Torpedo Level Refurbished

Chase March 27, 2019

Vintage Torpedo Level Refurbished

The restoration project for today was a vintage mini 9" inch aluminum 3 vial Torpedo Level. And this will consist of resurfacing and refinishing a cheap tool into something better.

As for the make or model, I had no idea when I first posted but I stumbled onto some pics of a couple being sold on Etsy that are pretty dang close made by or outsourced by a company now long gone by the name of Oxwall Tools.

In short, Oxwall Tools started in 1947 and begin making tools and then outsourcing the manufacturing of "cheap tools". From what I've read the quality and workmanship was, well... "Cheap". If you'd like to read more on Oxwall Tools there's actually a short blog article written about them entitled, "Vanished Tool Makers: Oxwall Tools". Just follow the link provided.

Now I don't necessarily think the one I have is an Oxwall Tools as there are some differences. But I do believe that whomever manufactured the one for Oxwall Tools, also manufactured the one I have.

As you'll notice below, the differences being, first and foremost it isn't stamped Oxwall. Mine has no stamp mark at all.

Second being on the ones stamped Oxwall, you'll notice the top has been ground or sanded till the screws slots are gone making them pretty tuff to remove. Lastly the color blue on mine is a lighter shade, but that may have changed during the course of manufacturing.

Those differences aren't a bad thing however. Without the Oxwall stamp, hopefully one would consider this is a high end Torpedo Level once I'm done with it. But you can see what I started with as the workmanship is pretty much the same as in the pics of the one being sold taken from Etsy.

The finish on this level was very ruff. It looked like they wire wheeled it or hit it with a 60 to 80 grit drum sander or both, painted it and said it's ready for sale. Sometimes it only takes five minutes for something to go from cheap to higher end depending on the quality and care put into the finish. They obviously went for cheap. No matter, it's easily fixed.

First thing was to resurface the business side which I did by hand as I did with the rest. Starting all sanding with 320 moving up to 1000 grit. This was done using wet sandpaper on a piece of glass. Then hand polish. This is how it turned out after doing so...

Not perfect but looked a lot better than when I started. And I was going to leave it at that. But I said what the heck. Krylon had sent me some paint to try after another blend of theirs failed so, what the heck. Let's paint it.

I taped it off, and sprayed it. This is the end result.

It's not bad. The paint dried quick to the touch for enamel paint. Eight minutes is what they claim it takes.

I don't particularly like the color now that's done, I wish I had gone with a darker color. Or at least a richer yellow. This yellow is too light. But it's painted and I'm not painting it again. It was a pain to get coverage with the rattle can in those small areas but I got it done with 5-6 coats wasting a lot of paint though doing so.

It's true as a level on all 3 vials, one heck of better finish than when I started, and the enamel paint should hold up for quite a time.

But... It's not done yet.

While looking it over I thought, why not paint the little holes where the vials are black? That'll set the yellow paint off a little more. So I did.

And this is the result...

Much better now right? The black is just enough to accent it and tie the polished aluminum and yellow all together. And makes the vials stand out more, which you want, making them easier to read.

And that's it. It's finished.
At least for now. I want to let the paint cure and put it back on the sanding block to fine tune the paint edges and see if I can't get the sides and top a little more. The original sanding was that bad. In fact they dug in some areas more than they should've. Since I'm doing the sanding by hand, it'll take some doing to true up the sides and remove further blemishes. In looking it over further, I believe I have enough play to get most out, and as mentioned, further sanding will put a nice sharp edge to the paint once cured. It's a project I'll come back to in a week or two. Enamel takes time to cure.

However, even as it is, it's gone from cheap discarded tool to a tool that anyone would be proud to own and put in their tool box with just a couple hours work.
I know because...
In the end, it's going in my tool box! :-)
And as far as I know, it'll be the only one like it when I'm done.

Just to give you a size comparison here's a pic of it sitting next to yet another discarded yet standard size torpedo level, which will probably be donated since I can't get what's on it off.