Anyone with a milling machine and spare time?

[David Schott]

Hello,
Havent posted here in a long time! I am still alive and making knives. Its good to be back!

I am making slipjoints right now and am sick of attaching bolsters. I do not have a milling machine but want to go the integral bolster route. I got to thinking that it probably wouldnt be too much work for someone to make up some blanks. What I am looking for would be a number of integral slipjoint liner blanks. I was thinking the blank could be in a very raw form, such as someone just taking a 1"X1/8" wide bar of 416SS and milling out a number of 3-5" sections down to about .040 or .060. I could then cut where desired and shape the liners from there.

Am I wrong in assuming this kind of general milling is not too much of a chore?

Does anyone know if what I am describing is available anywhere? I'd like to purchase some until I acquire a milling machine.

Thanks!

 

[Atlas Knife Company]

Ah, I see. Like this? Although I'd prefer it in Titanium, I see what your thinking.

 

[David Schott]

Exactly! Obviously we'd need to work out specifics for how long the bolster sections and liner sections would be but milling-wise the task seems fairly straightforward...anyone have thoughts on this?

 

[Chuck Gedraitis Knives]

There is a better way, which would save time and materials. Bill Ruple spot welds his bolsters to his liners. Think of all the material you are wasting milling down bars that are 1/8in thick. You will need 1/8in stock for the bolsters and stainless liner material.

You could use a file guide as a jig so the bolsters are lined up in the same place on each liner. Then just spot weld them in place and go from there.

http://www.harborfreight.com/115-volt-spot-welder-45689.html?utm_term=45689&utm_medium=cse&utm_source=googlebase

 

[ken erickson]

I mill my bolsters/frame from either 410 sheet stock .138 nominal thickness or 416 bar stock .187 depending on the pattern. Most slipjoint liners are less than .040 thick. I shoot for .032 to.038 again depending on the pattern. On 3 1/2 closed length knives, using .138 stock I end up with a scale that is .100 give or take. As far as spacing the length of the recess in pre-milled blanks, the problem I see, is your locked into a certain size knife. This would be fine if you have one pattern that you will be making again and again. My personal thoughts would be to either solder or spot weld bolsters until I had my own mill. The reason I prefer to mill integral bolsters/frames is that I can rest assured that a "seam will never be seen".

Ken

 

[David Schott]

Thanks chuck and Ken! I'll probably just save for a milling machine for now rather than go the spot weld route...I want the mill for those super clean nail pulls anyways....

Ken do you think the blank idea would work for single bolster knives? Ie an integral bolster section then 5" of liner that could be cut down to shape? Just a thought...I agree that the "no seam ever seen" is a nice feature

 

[ken erickson]

I want the mill for those super clean nail pulls anyways....

Ken do you think the blank idea would work for single bolster knives? Ie an integral bolster section then 5" of liner that could be cut down to shape?

I agree on the fly cut pulls. I used to use a shaped grinding wheel for my nail pull, and while pretty good, still can not compare to the very clean, sharp, fly cut pull. The downside to using a fly cutter for nail pulls, is you need to be 100% sure of the location and depth, as they are cut in pre-heat treat.

The idea of using a pre-milled blank makes much more sense when the cap bolster is deleted. One thing to consider if your just getting started with slipjoints is to concentrate on building Quality shadow patterns until you save enough change to get that mill.Just a thought. Another thing the mill will be useful for is relieving the inside liners.

Good luck in your endeavors and I am looking forward to seeing your work in the slipjoint arena:thumbup:

Ken

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Zaph,
Why don't you mill a few dozen sets in titanium....
I'll bet you see why they do this mainly in 400 series stainless.

 

[Nathan the Machinist]

Zaph,
Why don't you mill a few dozen sets in titanium....
I'll bet you see why they do this mainly in 400 series stainless.

You know, you might be surprised. Most of the Ti in most of the conditions that I've worked with wasn't as bad as the reputation. And most of the stainless isn't too great to machine. I'd rather cut 416 stainless over full hard 6-6-4 titanium any day. But CP TI vs 304 or 316 - I think it is almost a wash...

 

[David Schott]

Thanks for the info everyone! For now I think I'll stick to soldering/pinning and save up for that milling machine! I have enough knives on the bench to pay for the machine so i'm hoping itll be an xmas present to myself.