Basement belt grinder?

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williamph

Joined
Feb 21, 2016
Messages
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Hi all, new here and starting my journey into knifemaking, Im from Colorado and I've been hand engraving for a little while now which is what got me here. Anyway...

I know this has kind of been asked before because I searched for it however looking for some answers that may be a little more suited to my situation. So here goes...

I live in an apartment and have access to a back yard I can grind in by running an extension cord out the window or whatever. But, it snows quite a bit here in Colorado and would still like to work during the winter as well but it gets very cold outside and I do not have a shed to use either.

My apartment is in the basement and there is like a small room, sort of like a utility closet, with the hot water heater, furnace etc.. Other than those things it would be perfect as its a concrete floor and just framed in walls, no drywall. So my question is, for you guys that work in this kind of environment, Im pretty certain i dont want any dust etc.. in any of those things (furnace etc). I could potentially plastic off a small area to grind in with a zipper door like they use for painting houses, but would this be enough? A filtration system isnt really in the cards right now except for maybe a funnel below the grinder into a water bucket and a respirator. So is this setup worth pursuing or should i just bite the bullet and grind outside on nice days? Thanks for your help!

EDIT: I had my eye on a 2x72 grinder but would possibly sacrifice size and go for a 2x42 if it would help my chances of using it inside.
 
You will be shocked at how much dust grinding creates, especially handle materials. Grinding steel creates heat and steel dust that will ignite and smolder red. This smoldering metal dust can be difficult to detect. If I was in your situation, I would make a Gough file jig and do it by hand. You can shape handles outdoors when the weather is better, or by hand taking the majority of material off with a rasp (larger particles, less free floating dust) and finish sand by hand. creating a ventilation system that will suck the dust out and capture it would be kind of a must, but doing this in the same space as a furnace is dangerous. Even those of us with dedicated shop space struggle with keeping the dust down and the work area safe.
 
I figured as much. Thanks

Im not opposed to wheeling a setup outside but of course id rather be inside in the warmth and not have to do all the back and forth.

Also Kevin I see your from Harford County, I grew up there! Small world.
 
Would something like a koolmist help to reduce dust levels? I know it wouldn't work on natural wood handles, but how about for micarta/stabilized wood? I would be interested to hear from folks with experience using one.
 
Agreed with Kevin. The only way I think you could feasibly pull this off is with a REALLY awesome dust collection system ... and some sort of airtight barrier between the area you would be grinding and your living spaces. Even then, you'd still be at the mercy of the fumes and the tracking of fine particulate matter into areas that you reside. Steel, resinous materials, wood and other knife making materials release more than just dust when you grind on them ...

Nope, I don't think I'd recommend it at all.
 
Thanks guys then its settled, wont be doing that, and i figured it probably wasnt a good idea but wasnt sure if it was done before.
 
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