leveling rod in canvas bag
Date: circa 1935
Inventory Number: 2003-1-0183
Classification: Leveling Rod
Subject:
Maker: W. & L. E. Gurley (1845 - 1968)
Cultural Region:
Place of Origin:
Troy,
Dimensions:
132.5 x 16 x 7.6 cm (52 3/16 x 6 5/16 x 3 in.)
Accessories: canvas bag
Description:
Three-piece leveling rod. When assembled, it is a long wooden rod with a scale in black and red numbers on a white background. The rod has a sliding brass sight.
This rod has a scale that increases upwards and is in decimal notation. Stored in a canvas bag when not in use.
This rod has a scale that increases upwards and is in decimal notation. Stored in a canvas bag when not in use.
Signedcloth tag on bag: GURLEY
FunctionA leveling rod is a surveying instrument. A helper would plant it vertically on the ground and an engineer would point at it with a transit. Communicating via hand signals with the helper, he would try to align the brass sight to the level of the transit to determine the horizontal line between them. By using trigonometry, the transit operator could also determine the distance to the leveling rod by measuring the vertical distance between points on the rod's scale.