Apartments and knifemaking

peripatew

peripatew

Joined
Jul 31, 2007
Messages
1,421
I'm curious what people's shops look like who live in apartments? How and where do you use a small grinder?

I'm moving, and will likely be in an apartment for up to a year. I'd like to continue making knives, but seems like it might be difficult.

Help!
 
I had my grinder etc in the garden shed for a while. Just use a good respirator. Also I had a finishing bench in my Barracks room when I was stationed in Iceland. I could grind and forge at the Auto Hobby Shop. Then all the finishing was done with a dremel tool, files and sandpaper.
 
I've never lived in an apratment but I used to do it all in my bedroom, I had one of those delta clay sharpening wheels, it would sling a mud line all the way around my lil' 10x10 room. (I had an understanding family who didn't mind the constant whine of a dremel however).

I don't know how hardcore you are about it but often bathrooms will have soundboard under the drywall for privacy, great for muffling noise if you get desperate for a place to grind and the neighbors are already annoyed.
 
One of the guiding questions of my life! Any where I want to live would be WAAYYYY too expensive to own (enough) land to build a shop.
 
i am in an apartment, it has 2 bedrooms and one is storage for all my tools, steel, and suplys. i take my tools out side to use.
 
Purchase a small enclosed trailer. Put all the equipment in it. Hook it up to the car and tow it to a friends house where you can unload the gear and work. This is also good for being able to go do demos and go to hammer-ins. Put all the equipment on portable bases.Add a portable generator and you can work wherever you want.Total cost ,including the generator should be around $1000.

I am in the process of converting a 10X6' BBQ wagon (lunch trailer) to a smithing trailer.There is a side door, a back door, and two 40# propane tanks. Three sides open up as awnings. There are counters, with shelves below,all around the inside, and a small sink.Has two 20 amp breakers and a 50' power cord. It was free from my BBQ makin' knife friend ( He doesn't do festivals anymore). I guess all those knives I make for him as gifts were a good investment.
Stacy
 
I used to look to rent partial houses with basements. 5 horsepower motors though were not something I used.

-Page
 
I would do heavy profiling with a grinder at my job then come home and draw file my bevels. I made several knives in an apartment without any problems.
 
if you can get to your electrical box you can have whatever type of outlet size you need as long as its single phase......willy
 
I share the same problem. Bought the dremel drill press and I take it out on my porch then I hand sand and file on my coffee table. It kinda sucks but it works for now.
 
I now work in a bicycle-shed. It is about 1,5 times the size of where I started.
I used a drill-press, dremel and elbowgrease.

This is where I started, app. 3feet by 5feet:
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I work out on my porch (i live in an apartment as well, 3rd floor). used a metal deck chair with wood arm rests to mount a 2x4' sheet of MDF for a work bench. Have my delta 1x42/8" grinder mounted to it..provides plenty of stability. a good handdrill (soon to be cheap drill press), files, dremel, coping saw, and the delta grinder are what Ive got so far. Its worked relatively well. that and lots of clamps.
 
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