I just started this hobby and heres what Ive learned so far.
The 4x6 metal bandsaw from Harbor Freight, Delta, Jet and one or two others are the same machine. Find the best price including shipping and get that one. Take off the blade that comes with it and get a Lenox bimetal 18 tpi. It cuts like a hot knife through butter compared to the factory blade. You can spend lots more for a band saw, but you dont need to.
The Grizzly knife belt grinder does well enough for a beginner as Ive found you can waste just as much money on badly ground blades on that as a $1,000 Bader. I can see the need, eventually, for a variable grinder speed grinder once I figure out what Im doing and with lots of practice. I have the optional 10 wheel and the factory 8wheel for the Grizzly. I prefer the 10 wheel. Even with just 1hp, you cant stop the belt.
The sanding belt shoe on the Grizzly has a canvas, graphite coated pad for a belt backing. This wears out in almost no time and becomes wavy making a decent flat grind here almost impossible. Reading from the forums here, I have epoxied a 2x9x1/4 piece of plate glass to replace the canvas pad. Ill let you know how well it works. Several others here swear by it. Check the archives.
If at all possible, drill all the holes for pins, bolsters, weight reduction, etc before you profile the blade edge. Eventually, a blade is going to get grabbed by a bit in your drill press and start swinging. It will take a few days off your life when that happens. A dull piece of steel will still hurt, but probably a lot less than a semi sharp blade will. When you do profile the blade edge, leave a 1/16th on the edge for the very final sharpening.
Dont underestimate super glue. A dab on a bolster or scale to the tang will hold just enough to help when you drill a pin hole. When you are done drilling, just knock it off. I cant recall where I picked this up, but it is one of my favorite tips.
Blue painters tape (looks like masking tape) peels off easy when covering a sharp blade and leaves no gummy residue like duct tape or masking tape.
The Norton Norzon Plus 60 grit belt is unbelievable. It cuts metal and lasts longer than any of the others Ive tried. Worth the money. Industrial Abrasives has belts that work out to $2 apiece when you buy 12, get 12 free for $48 bucks. They are not great but at 2 bucks apiece, they work good 'nuf.
A dremmel will flat mess up a blade. Its just too hard to control evenly. I have three dremmels and use them often for this and that. I cuss them every time I use the damn things.
Bigger isnt always better. (I know, I know.) I thought bigger hand files would be better ie 12, 14, 10. I tend to use the smaller ones more since I find them easier to control. Maybe with more experience, bigger will be better. The cheaper the files, the quicker they dull. Nicholson brand seems to work well. There is bastard cut, second cut and smooth cut. The bastard cut leaves deep scratches that are tough to clean up. I use the second and smooth cuts more often. Grind the teeth off one of the edges on flat files for tight inside edge clean up. Clean the file often, it helps.
You cant have too much micarta. It makes great blade templates, sanding blocks/sticks and push sticks.
Scientific graph paper is the easiest Ive found for blade drawings and layouts. I draw a blade, cut it out the paper template, transfer it to the metal, once the blade is profiled on the grinder, I trace it back to the graph paper for a reference copy. Its all a bit anal, but it works for me.
If I ever manage a sharp grind line or decent plunge cut, Ill let you know.
The 4x6 metal bandsaw from Harbor Freight, Delta, Jet and one or two others are the same machine. Find the best price including shipping and get that one. Take off the blade that comes with it and get a Lenox bimetal 18 tpi. It cuts like a hot knife through butter compared to the factory blade. You can spend lots more for a band saw, but you dont need to.
The Grizzly knife belt grinder does well enough for a beginner as Ive found you can waste just as much money on badly ground blades on that as a $1,000 Bader. I can see the need, eventually, for a variable grinder speed grinder once I figure out what Im doing and with lots of practice. I have the optional 10 wheel and the factory 8wheel for the Grizzly. I prefer the 10 wheel. Even with just 1hp, you cant stop the belt.
The sanding belt shoe on the Grizzly has a canvas, graphite coated pad for a belt backing. This wears out in almost no time and becomes wavy making a decent flat grind here almost impossible. Reading from the forums here, I have epoxied a 2x9x1/4 piece of plate glass to replace the canvas pad. Ill let you know how well it works. Several others here swear by it. Check the archives.
If at all possible, drill all the holes for pins, bolsters, weight reduction, etc before you profile the blade edge. Eventually, a blade is going to get grabbed by a bit in your drill press and start swinging. It will take a few days off your life when that happens. A dull piece of steel will still hurt, but probably a lot less than a semi sharp blade will. When you do profile the blade edge, leave a 1/16th on the edge for the very final sharpening.
Dont underestimate super glue. A dab on a bolster or scale to the tang will hold just enough to help when you drill a pin hole. When you are done drilling, just knock it off. I cant recall where I picked this up, but it is one of my favorite tips.
Blue painters tape (looks like masking tape) peels off easy when covering a sharp blade and leaves no gummy residue like duct tape or masking tape.
The Norton Norzon Plus 60 grit belt is unbelievable. It cuts metal and lasts longer than any of the others Ive tried. Worth the money. Industrial Abrasives has belts that work out to $2 apiece when you buy 12, get 12 free for $48 bucks. They are not great but at 2 bucks apiece, they work good 'nuf.
A dremmel will flat mess up a blade. Its just too hard to control evenly. I have three dremmels and use them often for this and that. I cuss them every time I use the damn things.
Bigger isnt always better. (I know, I know.) I thought bigger hand files would be better ie 12, 14, 10. I tend to use the smaller ones more since I find them easier to control. Maybe with more experience, bigger will be better. The cheaper the files, the quicker they dull. Nicholson brand seems to work well. There is bastard cut, second cut and smooth cut. The bastard cut leaves deep scratches that are tough to clean up. I use the second and smooth cuts more often. Grind the teeth off one of the edges on flat files for tight inside edge clean up. Clean the file often, it helps.
You cant have too much micarta. It makes great blade templates, sanding blocks/sticks and push sticks.
Scientific graph paper is the easiest Ive found for blade drawings and layouts. I draw a blade, cut it out the paper template, transfer it to the metal, once the blade is profiled on the grinder, I trace it back to the graph paper for a reference copy. Its all a bit anal, but it works for me.
If I ever manage a sharp grind line or decent plunge cut, Ill let you know.
