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Lines & plumb bobs

AWF PRO Plumb bob kit, 16 oz and 8 oz brass, 4 tips

The only bobs here with spare points — which is the part of a plumb bob that actually wears out.

AWF PRO plumb bob kit with brass bobs, reel and zipped case

AWF PRO Plumb bob kit, 16 oz and 8 oz brass, 4 tips

The only bobs here with spare points — which is the part of a plumb bob that actually wears out.

Supplied
An 8 oz bob, a 16 oz bob, a retractable line reel, two pencils, a pencil sharpener and a blue zipped carry case — stated. Two weights in one kit is unique on this shelf: a light bob settles slower but reaches further up a wall before it fouls, and a heavy one holds still in a draft
Material
SOLID BRASS, stated, precision made. It is the only brass on this shelf — the rest are steel, plated or chromed — and brass matters for a specific reason: it is denser than steel, so a brass bob of the same weight is smaller and swings in less air, and it does not rust at all rather than resisting rust
Functions
FOUR replaceable steel tips — two per bob, one of them hidden in the cap — with caps and tips interchangeable between the two sizes. Nobody else on this shelf sells a spare tip of any kind, and the tip is the part that goes: a point dropped onto concrete rolls over, and a rolled point puts the bob off center
Body and fittings
A reel with approximately 14 feet of bright orange BRAIDED nylon cord, RARE-EARTH magnets to attach it to steel or iron, and a fold-out bracket to hang it on a nail, screw or tack. A locking lever holds the cord; press again and the line self-retracts
Scale
The cord attaches by removing a screw-in cap, threading the cord through the center opening and knotting it — stated. Center threading is what keeps a bob hanging true, and a screw cap is what lets a worn cord be replaced rather than retied around a hook
Also stated
A specialty sharpener designed for cutting CARPENTER pencils, which is a different cone from a round pencil and is the reason an ordinary sharpener destroys a flat pencil. No settling time and no bob dimensions are published
Amazon reference
B074SW83JH
EAN
0855493007698
  • Four replaceable steel tips, unique on this shelf
  • Solid brass: denser than steel and it cannot rust
  • Fifty dollars, the most expensive thing on this shelf

Best for: Owning one kit for years, where a blunted point would otherwise end the tool

≈ $50
Check price on Amazon

Specifications

Supplied
An 8 oz bob, a 16 oz bob, a retractable line reel, two pencils, a pencil sharpener and a blue zipped carry case — stated. Two weights in one kit is unique on this shelf: a light bob settles slower but reaches further up a wall before it fouls, and a heavy one holds still in a draft
Material
SOLID BRASS, stated, precision made. It is the only brass on this shelf — the rest are steel, plated or chromed — and brass matters for a specific reason: it is denser than steel, so a brass bob of the same weight is smaller and swings in less air, and it does not rust at all rather than resisting rust
Functions
FOUR replaceable steel tips — two per bob, one of them hidden in the cap — with caps and tips interchangeable between the two sizes. Nobody else on this shelf sells a spare tip of any kind, and the tip is the part that goes: a point dropped onto concrete rolls over, and a rolled point puts the bob off center
Body and fittings
A reel with approximately 14 feet of bright orange BRAIDED nylon cord, RARE-EARTH magnets to attach it to steel or iron, and a fold-out bracket to hang it on a nail, screw or tack. A locking lever holds the cord; press again and the line self-retracts
Scale
The cord attaches by removing a screw-in cap, threading the cord through the center opening and knotting it — stated. Center threading is what keeps a bob hanging true, and a screw cap is what lets a worn cord be replaced rather than retied around a hook
Also stated
A specialty sharpener designed for cutting CARPENTER pencils, which is a different cone from a round pencil and is the reason an ordinary sharpener destroys a flat pencil. No settling time and no bob dimensions are published
Amazon reference
B074SW83JH
EAN
0855493007698

What the maker puts in writing

  • Two precision-made ALL BRASS plumb bobs: 16 oz and 8 oz
  • “Each plumb bob comes with 2 replaceable steel tips (one is hidden in cap), for a total of 4 steel tips. Both sizes use the same interchangeable caps and tips”
  • A reel with approximately 14 feet of bright orange braided nylon cord, rare earth magnets to attach to steel or iron, and a fold-out bracket for a nail, screw or tack
  • Locking lever holds the cord; press again and the line self-retracts
  • Cord attaches by removing the screw-in cap, threading through the center opening and knotting
  • A specialty pencil sharpener designed for cutting CARPENTERS pencils, 2 pencils, zipped case

No settling time. No bob dimensions.

Spare points, which nothing else here sells

Because the point is what a plumb bob dies of.

The tip is the only part that touches anything. It is hardened steel in a soft body, and one drop onto concrete rolls it over.

After that the bob still hangs true and its point no longer marks where the line falls — which is worse than a broken tool, because it still looks right.

Every other bob on this shelf has a fixed tip. AWF supplies two per bob, one of them hidden in each cap, and the caps swap between the 8 oz and the 16 oz.

Four tips, both bobs.

Brass, for a reason that is not corrosion

Although it is that too.

Brass is DENSER than steel. So a brass bob of a given weight is physically smaller — less surface for a draft to push, and this shelf’s introduction says a heavy bob swings less in a draft.

And brass does not rust at all, where the steel bobs here are nickel- or chrome-plated to resist it. Plating is a skin; a dropped plated bob has a rust seed in the chip.

Two weights, one kit

Eight ounces and sixteen.

A light bob settles slower and reaches further up a wall before it fouls on something. A heavy one holds still in a draft.

The caps and tips interchange, so it is one kit rather than two tools.

And the sharpener cuts a wedge

Which sounds like a throwaway and is not.

A flat carpenter pencil has a rectangular lead. An ordinary rotary sharpener jams on the flat body or grinds the lead to a round point — and the wide chisel edge is the whole reason a flat pencil exists.

A specialty sharpener holds the flat body and cuts a chisel.

It arrives as a bonus and turns out to be why you keep the case.

Availability

On sale at around 50 € on the American Amazon store at the time of checking.

Prices and availability are what Keepa reported on the date this page was updated; both move.

Prices quoted in this text were read on 8 October 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.

What gets asked here

Why do replaceable tips matter?

Because the point is what a plumb bob dies of. The tip is the only part that touches anything, it is hardened steel in a soft body, and a single drop onto concrete rolls it over — after which the bob still hangs true but its point no longer marks where the line falls. Every other bob on this shelf has a fixed tip, so a blunted one is a bob to replace. AWF supplies two per bob with one hidden inside each cap, and the caps swap between the 8 oz and the 16 oz, so four tips serve both.

Is brass better than steel?

For two reasons, and one of them is not the obvious one. Brass is denser than steel, so a brass bob of a given weight is physically smaller — which means less surface for a draft to push, and this shelf's introduction says a heavy bob swings less in a draft. And brass does not rust at all, where the steel bobs on this shelf are nickel-plated or chrome-plated to resist it: plating is a skin, and a plated bob that has been dropped is a bob with a rust seed in the chip. The trade is price, and this is the most expensive kit here.

What does a carpenter-pencil sharpener do differently?

It cuts a wedge, not a cone. A flat carpenter pencil has a rectangular lead, and an ordinary rotary sharpener either jams on the flat body or grinds the lead to a round point that defeats the purpose — the wide chisel edge is what lays a visible line on rough timber. A specialty sharpener holds the flat body and cuts a chisel. AWF includes one with two pencils, which is the kind of thing that arrives as a bonus and turns out to be the reason you keep the case.

More mason lines and plumb bobs

  • General Tools hexagonal nickel-plated steel plumb bob

    General Tools Hexagonal steel plumb bob, 8 oz, GGG-P-501e

    The only plumb bob on this shelf measured against a published specification — and the cheapest bob on it.

    Also stated
    Conforms to government specification GGG-P-501e, stated — the US federal specification for plumb bobs, which fixes the form, the weight tolerance and the finish. It is the ONLY standard cited anywhere on this shelf and the only one in the American chantier for this site: every other bob here is sold on its material and its weight, with nothing against which either is checked
    Stated dimension or range
    8 oz, 4 inches long and 7/8 inches wide — the only bob DIMENSIONS published on this shelf. Length and width matter on a bob: a long thin bob hangs closer to a wall before it fouls, and a short wide one has more surface for a draft to push
    Material
    A hexagonal body of COLD-DRAWN steel, nickel plated to prevent rust. Cold-drawn rather than cast or turned from bar: the grain runs along the body, which is why a cold-drawn bob survives being dropped on its side. Hexagonal, stated, which also means it will not roll off a board
    Body and fittings
    A removable cord cap for easy cord replacement, sized for 3/32 inch cords. A named cord size is unusually practical: it means a replacement can be bought by specification rather than by trying it
    Supplied
    A 10-foot 3 mm (0.12 in) BRAIDED cord and the removable cap. Ten feet is the shortest line on this shelf — the retracting reels carry 14 and 14.5 feet and the mason's line reel carries 250 — but it is braided, which this shelf's introduction says resists the stretch that makes a twisted line sag differently at each setting
    Measuring mode
    No settling time is published, and this shelf's introduction says weight sets how quickly a bob settles. Eight ounces is the middle-light end of this shelf, which runs 5 to 21 oz; one maker here publishes six seconds for a ten-ounce bob
    Amazon reference
    B00004T7TI
    EAN
    0038728426154
    • The only published standard on this shelf: GGG-P-501e
    • The only published bob dimensions: 4 in by 7/8 in
    • Ten feet of cord, the shortest line here

    Best for: A bob that has to be the right shape and weight, bought once and kept in a toolbox

    ≈ $7
    Check price on Amazon
  • HCCMLOVE eight-ounce steel plumb bob with line board and pencils

    HCCMLOVE Plumb bob set, 8 oz, 16 ft braided line

    Sixteen feet of braided line, which is more than any other bob here carries — wound on a card rather than a reel.

    Stated dimension or range
    8 oz / 227 g, with 16 FT (5 m (16 ft)) of nylon braided line. Sixteen feet is the longest bob line on this shelf — the retracting reels carry 14 and 14.5 ft and a steel bob ships 10 ft — and on a stairwell or a two-story drop that difference is the whole job
    Material
    High-quality steel, stated corrosion-resistant, with a sharp point for calibration. NYLON BRAIDED line, stated — which this shelf's introduction says resists the stretch that makes a twisted line sag differently at each setting
    Functions
    A FAST Stabilizing DEVICE at the end of the bob, stated to speed up the stabilization of the line. No time is given — the Tajima bobs on this shelf publish six seconds — but the feature is the same idea: this shelf's introduction says weight sets how quickly a bob settles, and a damping device is the other way to get there without adding mass
    Body and fittings
    A safety cap over the point, stated to make it safer to use, and an anti-slip band at the waist of the bob to prevent it slipping off the line. The cap is the same answer to the same problem as the elastomer tip guard on another bob here: the point is what a plumb bob dies of
    Supplied
    The bob, a line board holding the 16 ft of braided line, TWO pencils and a sharpener. The line board is a card rather than a reel: the line is unwound by hand and rewound by hand, and the board can be held or weighted down to fix the top of the line, which is how HCCMLOVE describes using it
    Reference and mounting
    Nylon clips to adjust the line length for different heights, stated. No magnet, no pin and no hook: the top of the line is fixed by holding the board or weighting it, which is the simplest arrangement on this shelf and the least secure
    Amazon reference
    B0C86R3MNR
    EAN
    0765365646538
    • Sixteen feet of line, the longest bob cord on this shelf
    • Braided nylon, which resists stretch
    • A line board, not a reel: wound and unwound by hand

    Best for: A tall drop on a budget, where sixteen feet of line matters more than a reel to wind it on

    ≈ $15
    Check price on Amazon
  • Johnson five-ounce hexagonal machined steel plumb bob

    Johnson Hexagonal steel plumb bob, 5 oz

    The lightest bob here, and the only one sold for the job a surveyor actually keeps one for: centering a tripod.

    Stated dimension or range
    5 oz — the lightest bob on this shelf, where the heaviest is 21 oz. Light is the right choice for a tripod hook, where the bob hangs a few inches and settles in a moment; this shelf's introduction says a heavy bob steadies faster and swings less in a draft, and both of those matter on a long drop rather than a short one
    Functions
    Stated to be used with JOHNSON TRIPODS to center them while using optical and laser instruments. It is the only bob on this shelf sold for that job, and it is the job a surveyor keeps a bob for: an instrument reads angles from wherever its tripod actually stands, so a theodolite or a level over a station mark has to be positioned by dropping a point from its own center
    Material
    A hexagonal MACHINED steel body with a corrosion-resistant plated finish, stated. Machined rather than cold-drawn — which is the other bob on this shelf — means turned to shape, so the concentricity of the point to the body is a machining tolerance rather than a drawing one
    Body and fittings
    A hexagonal body stated to prevent it rolling off, and a removable cap stated to allow quick, easy and accurate Centered string installation. Centered is the operative word: a bob whose string is not on the axis hangs at a slight angle and its point lands beside the truth
    Supplied
    The bob. No line, no reel and no case — so the string is bought separately, and the cap is what makes that a specified job rather than a knot round a hook
    Also stated
    Named for foundation contractors, excavation contractors and surveyors, for lining up and transferring points. No settling time, no dimensions, no tip guard and no spare tip is published
    Amazon reference
    B00002N7U8
    EAN
    0049448050000
    • Five ounces, which is right for a tripod hook
    • The only bob here stated for centering a tripod
    • No line supplied at all

    Best for: Centering a tripod over a station mark, and transferring points indoors

    ≈ $9
    Check price on Amazon

Elsewhere in the spares drawer

  • Klein Tools 69034 ceramic replacement fuse, 10 by 38 millimeters

    Klein Tools Fast-acting ceramic fuse, 10 A, 10 × 38 mm (0.39 × 1.50 in)

    The only fuse here that states dimensions, current, voltage and body material — and the most expensive per piece by a wide margin.

    Body type
    FAST-ACTING CERAMIC, stated in so many words. This shelf's introduction says ceramic sand-filled bodies are specified where the meter must interrupt a high-energy fault and that a glass fuse of the same current rating does not do the same job. Of the three American fuses on this shelf, this is the ONLY one that puts its body material in writing
    Stated dimension or range
    10 × 38 mm (0.39 × 1.50 in), stated in the product title. That is the high-energy instrument format — markedly larger than the 5 × 20 mm (0.20 × 0.79 in) and 6.3 × 32 mm (0.25 × 1.26 in) bodies of the three fuses already published here
    Current rating
    10 A, stated. The two other American fuses on this shelf are both 11 A, so this is the only 10 A part of the three — and this shelf's introduction is explicit that you replace with the exact part the manual specifies, not with the fuse that fits
    Voltage rating
    1000 V, stated. No fuse previously published on this shelf is rated above 690 V. A 1000 V rating is what a CAT III or CAT IV current input needs, and it is the figure that most often differs between the right fuse and the one that fits the holder
    Breaking characteristic
    Fast-acting, stated. Klein adds that it "reduces the risk of internal arc flashes during operation" — which is the whole purpose this shelf's introduction describes: a fuse in a current input is a safety component before it is a consumable
    Supplied
    ONE fuse, at $15.99. That is the most expensive piece on this shelf by a long way: the YUNFOOK two-pack works out at $5.85 each and the Fluke five-pack at $8.48 each. Klein states compatibility with its MM600, MM700 and MM720 meters, and notes Cat. No. 69035 as a companion part
    Also stated
    Klein also claims "long-lasting performance" and "reliable and safe", which say nothing measurable. Two of the seven bullets on this listing are of that kind — and on a safety component, the four numbers matter and the adjectives do not
    Amazon reference
    B01JBMZ3B8
    EAN
    0092644690341
    • Says it is ceramic, which the other two never do
    • All four of the hub's numbers published
    • Fifteen ninety-nine for a single fuse

    Best for: A Klein MM600, MM700 or MM720 whose current input has blown, where the manual names this part number

    ≈ $16
    Check price on Amazon
  • PeakTech P 7610 high-voltage instrument fuse alongside a multimeter

    PeakTech Fast-acting fuse, 0.5 A, 6.3 × 32 mm (0.25 × 1.26 in)

    The instrument-grade format: 6.3 × 32 mm (0.25 × 1.26 in) at a rated 690 V, super fast-acting, which is what a properly specified meter current input takes.

    Amazon reference
    B07SQQXXP3 (identical on 5 markets)
    EAN
    4250569402852
    Stated dimension or range
    6.3 × 32 mm (0.25 × 1.26 in)
    Fuse rating
    500 mA · 690 V rated · super fast-acting (FF)
    • A 690 V rating, far above the 250 V of the general-purpose fuses here
    • The 6.3 × 32 mm (0.25 × 1.26 in) format used by instrument current inputs
    • One value only — 500 mA, which fits the low current range and not the 10 A input

    Best for: The meter whose manual specifies exactly this — and it should be checked, not assumed.

    Search Amazon for this model
  • SeKi ceramic 5 by 20 millimeter fuses in a row on a workbench

    SeKi Ceramic fuses, 10 A, 5 × 20 mm (0.20 × 0.79 in), ten-pack

    Ten ceramic fuses with all four specifications stated — size, current, voltage and characteristic — which is the only way a replacement fuse can be chosen.

    Amazon reference
    B0CVXQGP7P (identical on 5 markets)
    EAN
    4053171962161
    Stated dimension or range
    5 × 20 mm (0.20 × 0.79 in) ceramic
    Fuse rating
    10 A / 250 V · time-delay (T)
    • All four figures published: 5 × 20 mm (0.20 × 0.79 in), 10 A, 250 V, time-delay
    • Ceramic bodies, which is what a meter's current input normally specifies
    • A 250 V rating is below what many meters specify for the current input

    Best for: The meter whose manual specifies exactly 5 × 20 mm (0.20 × 0.79 in), 10 A, 250 V, time-delay — and no other.

    Search Amazon for this model

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