Beckerhead Knife Making and Modification Thread

You can drill holes in tight corners the band saw won't get to and save yourself some trouble, it's easy to get the blade caught in tight angles and you can mess up easy and cut past the lines you want to avoid. Just make sure you offset the bit far enough as well or you will drill into the "good" part of the knife.
Angle grinders are great for getting closer to your finished profile, and a dremel with different sized sanding drums are perfect for getting it right where you want it.
 
Got the Sears 2x42 grinder last week. Finally found some time to throw a few sparks.



 
Awesome pics Dunkem!

With that drill press, grinder, dremel, tap magic..... Looking like my work area... Just much cleaner LOL

No worries, everything will be covered in black dust soon enough :D
 
Good eye seeing the dremel back there. Amazing how much black dust it made in just a few minutes. And I totally stole some ideas from your threads about supplies - like Tap Magic.
 
DunkEm said:
Good eye seeing the dremel back there. Amazing how much black dust it made in just a few minutes. And I totally stole some ideas from your threads about supplies - like Tap Magic.
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Tap magic is the BOMB. I think Trade is the one that suggested that to me, but i may be mistaken... It was someone here.

The black dust is RUTHLESS, a couple hours and everything is covered with a layer of it. I been sneaking my wife's bag-less carpet vacuum down to the basement and cleaning up with the hose attachment when she is at work.... Im pretty sure she is going to kill me one of these days LMAO

What ya grinding on there?
 
worldwood said:
What ya grinding on there?
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It's a piece of 1080. It will be my fourth knife. Nothing fancy, but slowly (hopefully) getting close to producing something worth having.

Saw that your blades made it to Todd's. Looking forward to seeing the result.

edit:

Hmmm...just read Todd's comments closely and your reply over in the other thread. My stock is all 1/8" thick as well. Might have to look for some thicker next time I get around to ordering.
 
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worldwood said:
Tap magic is the BOMB. I think Trade is the one that suggested that to me, but i may be mistaken... It was someone here.

The black dust is RUTHLESS, a couple hours and everything is covered with a layer of it. I been sneaking my wife's bag-less carpet vacuum down to the basement and cleaning up with the hose attachment when she is at work.... Im pretty sure she is going to kill me one of these days LMAO

What ya grinding on there?
Click to expand...

You can help cut down a lot of that dust either by putting a bucket of water under the bottom of the belt to use as a dip bucket.... the craftsman seems to throw a lot of its dust just straight down and back which is good because my set up doesnt allow me to put the belt over an area to put some sort of large catch basin underneath it... SO I have a stainless dog bowl dish that is just the perfect size to fit under the bottom wheel. A little bit of water and soap and viola! I have cut down on a considerable amount of dust and I have been making some pretty awesome looking soup under my grinder! MMMM tetanus.... LOL :D

I think also one of those medical kidney or rectangle shaped basins might fit and would give a lot more volume to catch dust, just remember the dish soap cause it helps brake the surface tension of the water allowing the dust to fall to the bottom.

Also have been thinking about rigging up a smaller wet dry vac to run with water in it "wet" with a system of hoses to catch micarta/wood dust. Probably wouldnt use it for metal grinding but that micarta dust GETS EVERYWHERE... You could have a sealed/airtight box inside of a sealed/airtight box in the room while grinding micarta and it would still get in both boxes... lol This is why on the knife I am working with Todd on I just used a file and sandpaper... clean up was sssooo much easier.
 
Speaking of that blade I guess I can drop a picture of it here for giggles. Almost done I think, getting close at least...

 
DunkEm said:
It's a piece of 1080. It will be my fourth knife. Nothing fancy, but slowly (hopefully) getting close to producing something worth having.

Saw that your blades made it to Todd's. Looking forward to seeing the result.
Click to expand...

Thanks man,

Grinding for sure takes practice. I can see a very slight improvement in my bevel lines being straighter on the practice piece im working on now. I figured out i was making the mistake of pushing the blade into the belt instead of letting the belt do the work for me. I already ruined a good (expensive) trizact belt too... Messing around trying to sharpen a knife on it and the edge cut the dame thing. I was mad about that LOL Those ~6 dollars a pop add up QUICK!!

Hell i enjoy using the tools just as much as i enjoy trying to make steel sharp. Now im looking at scroll saws and angle grinders. Budget friendly ones. i think i may have settled on a WEN 1.2-Amp 16 in. Variable Speed Scroll Saw and im trying to figure out if the Makita or Dewalt would be better for a 4.5" angle grinder.

Got a little off the books work this week to help someone move and clean up the place they are moving out of, and i may be able to afford both when its over.
 
iwouldhurtafly said:
You can help cut down a lot of that dust either by putting a bucket of water under the bottom of the belt to use as a dip bucket.... the craftsman seems to throw a lot of its dust just straight down and back which is good because my set up doesnt allow me to put the belt over an area to put some sort of large catch basin underneath it... SO I have a stainless dog bowl dish that is just the perfect size to fit under the bottom wheel. A little bit of water and soap and viola! I have cut down on a considerable amount of dust and I have been making some pretty awesome looking soup under my grinder! MMMM tetanus.... LOL :D

I think also one of those medical kidney or rectangle shaped basins might fit and would give a lot more volume to catch dust, just remember the dish soap cause it helps brake the surface tension of the water allowing the dust to fall to the bottom.

Also have been thinking about rigging up a smaller wet dry vac to run with water in it "wet" with a system of hoses to catch micarta/wood dust. Probably wouldnt use it for metal grinding but that micarta dust GETS EVERYWHERE... You could have a sealed/airtight box inside of a sealed/airtight box in the room while grinding micarta and it would still get in both boxes... lol This is why on the knife I am working with Todd on I just used a file and sandpaper... clean up was sssooo much easier.
Click to expand...

Sweet knife bud!!

And awesome idea, i will look into that bud!! I think i got about 3" or so under the bottom wheel i may be able to fit a small container in. I cant put something below it on the floor area because i like standing up close to it while i work.

I use dish soap in my dip bucket, which is just an old cooler, buts its off to the right side sitting on a chair making it at arms height. Works great but doesnt do squat for limiting the dust.

I plan to eventually get a couple 20" box fans and put/tape those house filters on the back of them to help clean the air a bit and reduce the dust thats in the air. Just as an experiment i put some dryer sheets on the back of a regular round fan while i was working one day, by the time i was done they all turned grey. Definitely dust in the air as well!! Being in my basement with no windows doesnt offer any ventilation so i want to do what i can to at least limit whats airborne.
 
worldwood said:
Awesome idea, i will look into that bud!! I think i got about 3" or so under the bottom wheel i may be able to fit a small container in. I cant put something below it on the floor area because i like standing up close to it while i work.

I use dish soap in my dip bucket, which is just an old cooler, buts its off to the right side sitting on a chair making it at arms height. Works great but doesnt do squat for limiting the dust.

I plan to eventually get a couple 20" box fans and put/tape those house filters on the back of them to help clean the air a bit and reduce the dust thats in the air. Just as an experiment i put some dryer sheets on the back of a regular round fan while i was working one day, by the time i was done they all turned grey. Definitely dust in the air as well!! Being in my basement with no windows doesnt offer any ventilation so i want to do what i can to at least limit whats airborne.
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Yah, being in a garage with two cars my wife's craft stuff, misc house stuff, my tools, and other storage I don't want to cover everything in dust so I completely understand about mitigating dust as much as possible. However, unlike you I can open up a whole wall to get some fresh air lol but even with both doors open among other things when I ground the handles on my green river that micarta still coated everything!!! Crazy stuff, but its too cool to give up. I too need to try the box fan thing, but I also need to get one for the bay doors so I can move more air in and out. The only problem is I am usually in here at night or way early morning so I try to keep it low key as to not frustrate my way friendly old neighbors, sleeping kiddos, or worse my wife!!! :eek:. I still think some sort of dust collection would be optimal but the risk of fire is always an issue with that. Which I why I would probably only use it when necessary and wet just on handle material. Speaking of when you place a basin down under the wheel make sure it has room so no accidental bowl launching/finger removal occurs lol :eek: I know you're smarter than that but stuff happens. Lol
 
LOL, yep! Dont want to lose any fingers :D

Id still do all my dunking in the cooler i have in place now... Id just the bowl under it to catch dust. And id make sure that it fits with some extra room or i wouldnt chance it. It would suck to have that soapy water full of metal dust thrown all over the place LOL
 
I can't post a picture right now, but I made a sheet metal dust collector that attaches to a shop vac....wraps the bottom wheel and is pretty effective.
 
worldwood said:
4.5" Angle grinder... Dewalt or Makita ??

Or it doesnt really matter for just cutting steel to size occasionally go cheap as i can find?
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I can't say for certain, but unfortunately most brand names don't mean a whole lot anymore unless you get into really high-end stuff. There's a good chance those are made in the same (Chinese) factory with the same motor. I'd go with whichever store has the best return policy and price, not necessarily the brand name. I got my angle grinder at HF.

However, I will say this: the name-brand (3M or Norton) cut-off disks are definitely worth the extra money (they last way, way longer than the ones at HF/Lowes/HD etc.). I ordered mine through MSC; check them or Enco... Enco is owned by the same company but often has better sales and free shipping; they're just not as fast.

Tips for your slack bucket: A bucket of filthy water with steel dust floating on top of it (yes, steel floats, and even stainless steel rusts pretty easily before it's HT'ed) will make steel rust by dunking it in there. Plus you end up bringing swarf and grit back out of the water on the blade, and that's not good for belts or clean grinds. Stir in a tablespoon or two of baking soda to lessen the rust problem, and add a couple squirts of plain dish-soap to break the surface tension so most of the dust sinks to the bottom. Cleaner blades, cleaner belts, easier to change the water in the bucket. :thumbup:

Yer probably gonna ruin your wife's vacuum if you keep using it down there. Every shop needs its own wet/dry Shop-Vac.
 
james terrio said:
I can't say for certain, but unfortunately most brand names don't mean a whole lot anymore unless you get into really high-end stuff. There's a good chance those are made in the same (Chinese) factory with the same motor. I'd go with whichever store has the best return policy and price, not necessarily the brand name. I got my angle grinder at HF.

However, I will say this: the name-brand (3M or Norton) cut-off disks are definitely worth the extra money (they last way, way longer than the ones at HF/Lowes/HD etc.). I ordered mine through MSC; check them or Enco... Enco is owned by the same company but often has better sales and free shipping; they're just not as fast.

Tips for your slack bucket: A bucket of filthy water with steel dust floating on top of it (yes, steel floats, and even stainless steel rusts pretty easily before it's HT'ed) will make steel rust by dunking it in there. Plus you end up bringing swarf and grit back out of the water on the blade, and that's not good for belts or clean grinds. Stir in a tablespoon or two of baking soda to lessen the rust problem, and add a couple squirts of plain dish-soap to break the surface tension so most of the dust sinks to the bottom. Cleaner blades, cleaner belts, easier to change the water in the bucket. :thumbup:

Yer probably gonna ruin your wife's vacuum if you keep using it down there. Every shop needs its own wet/dry Shop-Vac.
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Awesome if they are close to same for the cheaper ones anyway i may be able to save a few bucks to spend on the better cutoff wheels!

I use soap, but ill definitely add baking soda now!! Thanks for that tip thats something i had not known!!

And im sure if i keep using the wife's vac it will mess it up... Thats why i said she is going to kill me one of these days, and thats why i sneak it to use when she is gone to work LMAO

I do need a wet/dry shop vac though.... SO many things to buy and so little money. Life!
 
tradewater said:
Believe it or not, Tap Magic isn't nearly as good as it used to be. They changed it about 15 years ago because something in it was giving AIDS to Snail Darters or some shit.
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Is this for real? Im skeptical. LOL

You just mean it was toxic to fish right???
 
worldwood said:
Is this for real? Im skeptical. LOL
You just mean it was toxic to fish right???
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Environmental/safety stuff, I'm not sure of the specifics on Tap Magic. A whole lot of the solvents and other fun chemicals we used to enjoy are banned now for various reasons.

Which is honestly a good thing for the most part... when I was a kid they used to show us movies of bald eagles and tell us "pay attention, you'll probably never see one in real life" and "whatever you do, don't eat the fish out of the river" ... then they made industry stop pouring/spraying so much poison down the drain/on the fields and the eagles came back and you can eat the fish... but I digress.
 
james terrio said:
.

Tips for your slack bucket: A bucket of filthy water with steel dust floating on top of it (yes, steel floats, and even stainless steel rusts pretty easily before it's HT'ed) will make steel rust by dunking it in there. Plus you end up bringing swarf and grit back out of the water on the blade, and that's not good for belts or clean grinds. Stir in a tablespoon or two of baking soda to lessen the rust problem, and add a couple squirts of plain dish-soap to break the surface tension so most of the dust sinks to the bottom. Cleaner blades, cleaner belts, easier to change the water in the bucket. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

I had never heard of adding baking soda before... neato! I just have a separate dish under the grinder for dust, then a big ol plastic pickle jar with the lid for dipping/cooling. I noticed the ability to throw a lid on there helps keep it clean too and keeps evaporation at bay. I put dish soap in there and some jet dry, but I'll have to try the baking soda. Thanks!
 
Just a thought...for those who are doing this in your house/basement...if you are generating a lot of dust you might consider putting a filter of some kind on the cold air return in the room or else a lot of that dust is getting sucked up to the filters on your heating/air conditioning system. I've not done this kind of grinding in the house but I've done other work that generated a lot of dust and this was suggested to me. I just found some thin foam that I could wash out, cut it to size, removed the grate, covered the opening and put the grate back on.
 
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