Beckerhead Knife Making and Modification Thread

Dres is right. You need SLOW speed and pressure to cut steel. There are no cheap metal-cutting blades that are any good. You need hard teeth and a soft spine.

-Daizee
 
worldwood said:
I have a couple questions,

1. Would a jigsaw and metal cutting blades work good enough for cutting steel?

2. Can you use a cheap bandsaw on steel? Do they make metal cutting blades for the cheap bandsaws? Or does it take one of the porta band saws?

Im looking for the cheapest yet still effective way of cutting stock to size.... Without always using a hacksaw LOL

Thanks!!
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I am going to try it with my VS scroll saw and some metal gutting blades.....though I doubt it'll be very effective. What about an angle grinder, WW? Process is dirty as hell, but workable. Wheels are cost effective and the tools are pretty cheap and portable....
 
I just watched several youtube videos where people are cutting through steel with a jigsaw and i seen hundreds of jigsaw blades made specifically for metal so i figured id ask. Obviously people do it, but i dont know how long it would last doing it. Bosch even has a jigsaw made specifically for metal but it costs a little more. Just curious if anyone here has used one for that purpose.

granitestateofmind said:
I am going to try it with my VS scroll saw and some metal gutting blades.....though I doubt it'll be very effective. What about an angle grinder, WW? Process is dirty as hell, but workable. Wheels are cost effective and the tools are pretty cheap and portable....
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Would an angle grinder work good for cutting steel into sections? Like would it be accurate or would it waste a lot of the steel.... Guess i need to watch some more videos LOL

Basically i have some 4' sections of steel and i want to cut them into different lengths to use without wasting a bunch of the material.

I know for certain a porta band saw works. I have talked with several knife makers who use one specifically for the task im wanting, but i was looking for a cheaper solution for now.
 
dresnor said:
I don't know about the jigsaw but I doubt it would work.

If by cheap you mean woodcutting bandsaws for cutting steel, then no. The run way to fast for cutting steel. I looked into that at well. They are useful for cutting out handles though. They don't cut as accurate as a scroll saw does but it will get you close.

Jeremy
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Yes sir, i have used lots of band saws and scroll saws on wood, just never tried it on steel LOL

It would be nice if there was a half decent priced machine that could cut steel into sections AND cut out wood handles.... Probably no such luck though. Even if it was a couple hundred bucks would be fine... But not 500-1000+ Thats way out of my price range for now.
 
Cut off wheels for a 4" angle grinder are very thin kerf and don't waste much metal at all.
 
yeah, an angle grinder will work. With abrasives you want high speed. With blades you want low-speed.

But angle grinders freak me out, so I won't recommend it unless you have experience with 'em already.
It will throw a massive shower of sparks, so make sure that's ok in your environment.
 
I hear ya buddy. I see wood cutting bandsaws at yard sales all the time. $20-$50. If they cut steel I would have a few of them.

I did see a video of a portaband set up vertically on a stand. it looked really cool. Just a couple of screws and it is back to being portable.

I was also told that if you use an angle grinder you are more likely to work harden the steel by overheating it, making it harder to work later. I am not sure if it is true with all steels but I was told that with O1 it would make my job harder by making the steel harder.

Jeremy
 
tradewater said:
Cut off wheels for a 4" angle grinder are very thin kerf and don't waste much metal at all.
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Thanks for the info!! They dont seem to cost too much either so that works!!

daizee said:
yeah, an angle grinder will work. With abrasives you want high speed. With blades you want low-speed.

But angle grinders freak me out, so I won't recommend it unless you have experience with 'em already.
It will throw a massive shower of sparks, so make sure that's ok in your environment.
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I do everything in my basement. All concrete flooring. I dont mind sparks, i wear full face mask and a resp-o-rator.

Is there something else i should be aware of with the sparks, other than causing a fire?

Thanks for the info!

dresnor said:
I hear ya buddy. I see wood cutting bandsaws at yard sales all the time. $20-$50. If they cut steel I would have a few of them.

I did see a video of a portaband set up vertically on a stand. it looked really cool. Just a couple of screws and it is back to being portable.

Jeremy
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If i seen a wood band saw for 50 bucks id buy it RIGHT NOW :D LOL
 
I thought he was talking about cutting off sections of steel to length. An angle grinder would be fine for that. Accurate, thin kerf..lot's of sparks. A bi-metal blade (for ferrous or non-ferrous) can be put on any band saw and will cut annealed steel all day long. You may have to look around to have them made up in the size you need, but it's not that hard to find a vendor. I have a 1938 Gallmeyer and Livingston band saw and I just buy 91 inch ferrous cutting blades for it. I also have a little yard sale band saw with a bi-metal blade and it cuts steel fine. Any band saw will work. If pics would be helpful, I can post some.
 
This'll be cool - my Craftsman 12" bandsaw is a two-speed model, tho I don't know how slow it runs on the lowest speed. I'll be looking for some 80" blades then, I guess.
 
tradewater said:
I thought he was talking about cutting off sections of steel to length. An angle grinder would be fine for that. Accurate, thin kerf..lot's of sparks. A bi-metal blade (for ferrous or non-ferrous) can be put on any band saw and will cut annealed steel all day long. You may have to look around to have them made up in the size you need, but it's not that hard to find a vendor. I have a 1938 Gallmeyer and Livingston band saw and I just buy 91 inch ferrous cutting blades for it. I also have a little yard sale band saw with a bi-metal blade and it cuts steel fine. Any band saw will work. If pics would be helpful, I can post some.
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I am talking about cutting steel to length. Like taking 4 foot lengths and cutting them down to 8-10" sections.

Im interested in pictures as well :D
 
Crummy, quickie pictures, but here you go.


Here's the old 1938 saw.

P1020240.jpg


P1020241.jpg



I slowed it down by switching out the pulleys and a local hardware store makes up blades for me.

P1020247.jpg



Here is a 25 dollar yardsale Toolcraft bandsaw. Same thing, I switched out the pulley.

P1020245.jpg



The 15 dollar Harbor Freight side grinder I've been using like a rented mule with cheap cut off wheel. You can see how thin it is.

P1020248.jpg


P1020249.jpg



Now, I am certainly NOT a knifemaker by any stretch, but I've made a few and done a fair bit of metal mangling. I use both those band saws to cut steel with no problems.
 
TMHunt said:
I've been tooling around with that too. Hell, your just one state over, we ought coordinate our time, you come down for that weekend and we can use my shop. I should have all the tools covered.
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Wow, Todd. That is an incredible offer. I need to figure out a design, and then go from there. Not sure what I will need as far as tools, other than a couple big masonry bits.

The next weekend I'd be able to get away will be after Christmas, and I am not sure I can wait that long.:D
 
Thanks for the pics Trade!!

Ill have to pick me up an angle grinder real soon!

I have went by several yard sales... but here all i ever find is damned video games, clothes, shoes, baby toys and crap like that. I have seen 1 yard sale that had tools and it was only a dremel, a hammer, and a couple other things that i bought on the spot. Other than that i never see anything good. I need to leave Philadelphia just to go yard selling for tools LOL Id love to find a band saw for 50 or less. Even just to use on wood for making scales.
 
Angle grinders work just fine in my shop for sectioning bars and knocking off corners to get sort-of close to a profile. NEVER try to make a curved cut with one, and always make sure the disk is spinning towards a safe direction (not just for sparks but in case the disk shatters... use one enough and it will happen eventually...) Always wear a heavy coat/apron, earplugs and face-shield.

zuluninja said:
I find that if I polish a knife too much I end up not using it; it looks too pretty to me. Lately I have been forcing myself to go no farther than 300 grit when sanding a blade.
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I've never understood the whole "too pretty to use" thing. The finer the finish, the easier a blade is to keep clean and to a lesser extent, the better it cuts. 400 grit (either hand-sanded or by machine) is about the minimum standard to get a good clean finish with some modicum of corrosion resistance. (the rougher a blade is the quicker it will rust.) Not only that, coarser grinds/finishes just look like you're trying to hide something ;) If that's not an issue, you may as well just rough-grind 'em up to 220 and media-blast and/or powder coat 'em.

Just one man's opinion, of course.
 
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