Surveying Equipment

Extendable surveyors ruler consisting of three sections which extend one out of the next.
Wooden frame with copper alloy top and bottom sections. Faces painted white.
Also called a levelling staff. This type of object was used at the turn of the century, (Colliery Surveying, O’Donohue 1904) although the most common type of staff was 14ft long. Underground favoured a shorter size e.g. a 6ft staff which slosed down to 2ft 6 (this example) Objects were still being used at the turn of the century. Black dashes and white spaces on the front rep 100ths of a foot, could be read from a distancered figs = feet and black figs 10th of a foot. Black diamond marks each alternate 5 100ths of a foot.
Digital image on Keeper’s computer – S:/Keeper/MyPictures/Exhibitions/DisplayNewVisitorCentre. Taken October 2003.

Exhibition Label Text: Levelling Stave, 20th Century.
The stave was used to determine vertical heights off an horizontal plane. The numbers, figures and symbols were clearly visible through the telescope attachment of a level, and indicated the height of the point being measured. Levelling staves were often used on the surface, however, this is an underground example. It is shorter than surface staves because the heights being measured underground were gennerally smaller than those of the surface. It was also easier to carry.
l: 78 x w: 7.6 x d: 5.3 cms Largest outer section.

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