Alternative cutting option instead of a saw?

eyeeatingfish

eyeeatingfish

Joined
Dec 9, 2003
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I dont have a band saw and am not sure if one is in my future and so I end up grinding away a lot of material with my belt sander. This takes a bit of time and a lot of heat. I do have a scroll saw but its kind of slow and breaks blades rather easy. It was burning up G10 the other day. Dont think they work as well on harder materials like stabilized wood and g10. Soft wood is ok.

So I wondered if I could mount a cutting bit on my drill press and use that to cut out shapes in handle scales. This would save me a lot of time in grinding convex areas too. Does anyone know if this idea would work? I was thinkinf of something that dremel offers such as thee items below.
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/AttachmentsAndAccessories/Pages/AttachmentsDetail.aspx?pid=561

Am I onto something?
 
A small wood cutting band saw works great for handle material and are very economical to purchase especially if you can find one used on Craigslist or a local yard sale. I don't think what you are talking about using would work very well. Those type bits work good in drywall and thin veneers but a 3/8 thick piece of dried hard wood or synthetic handle material is not what they were designed to do in my opinion. Don't forget that dremel tools turn major rpm's as well.
 
Drill presses were not designed for the side pressure that you would use. I suspect it would break the drill press.
 
not only would it be hard on the drill press it would grab and pull your workpiece and possibly grab your hand. an end mill or any similar cutter should never be used in such a manner. you can also break a cutter very easily used in that manner on metal.
 
As stated above, that's not a goos idea. I once used a commercial drill press to router the edge of wood. Worked, but scared the hell out of me. My fingers got way to close to that spinner blade. What you could use the drill press for is to drill out some of the material with larger drill bits. You can even get a bit just about the same size as your finger groves. That would save you some time. Also you can get a cheapy electric hand scroll saw to do some of your cutting.
 
you can however clamp a piece of metal in a drill press with a piece of wood underneath and take plunge cuts to remove metal. you will just need to move the workpiece for each cut but its a lot safer.
 
Maybe I just have a cheap drill press but if I am drilling one hole too close to another the whole thing will really pull sideways going into the other whole, or indentation etc.

Is there anything you can put on a drill press where you could plunge it into something that would be able to remove material like a lathe or planer? Or anything that could drill/cut a space where it is only partial material? For example lets say I want to make a finger groove but I have a rectangle and the groove is close to the edge so that you really just want to take out a semi-circle amount of material? Does that make sense?
 
Don't give up on files. A large rat tail file would form a finger groove in handle material, probably much quicker than cut you're trying to make. Otherwise, the small wheel attachments on some grinders might be a good option. Save your drill press to do as accurate holes as possible.

Good luck with it, Craig
 
Not sure what your financial situation is, but $200 spent on a DeWalt portaband will never be regreted. Based on usefulness per cost, this was one of the best investments I made in knifemaking tools.

Erin
 
The counter sink drill bits sold at home depot and lowes for about 6 bucks will flex much less than a regular drill bit. You can drill very close to the previous hold and they will not flex into it. I use it for guards and although not the best solution, it works until I find a mill. The dewalt portaband is well worth the cash and you will find many uses for it.
 
I want to find a small band saw that I can add step pulleys so it will have a slow speed option for metal.
 
If you have a decent powered belt grinder, then you shouldn't need the band saw right away.

I cut my steel and handle pieces with a hack saw, then profile them on the grinder with a 36 grit belt. It only takes me minutes to do the profile, whether it is wood or CPM S30V.

Also, slowing down a wood cutting band saw will cost you as much in the long run, as if you would have bought a metal cutting band saw from the start. Check online auctions for used metal saws, but be sure that all components are there before purchasing.

Mike L.
 
I got a portable from Harbor Freight for $70 (I think), it's a variable speed metal cutting saw and I clamp it into a vise with a mount I made from scrap bed frame. It will cut handle materials and steel just fine. It's not a high dollar portable and it is loud, but it works just fine for me so far. I just picked up a 4x6 HV saw, so I don't know how much use the portable will see after the near future, but I don't feel like it was a bad purchase. At least I can always keep it around in case I run out of blades for my other saw.

The time and money you spend trying to find another solution might make it more reasonable to buy a cheapo saw. If you make a ton of knives you might wear it out, but by the time you do, you should be able to sell/trade a knife to afford a new one ;)
 
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