Building a shop, tool/grinder advice.

C

comet_sharp

Joined
Aug 22, 2016
Messages
256
Hey guys,
I have been making a few knives on a HF 1x30 and after seeing how into this I am and how much extra work it takes me just to make a small blade on the 1x30 (I file all my curves without a proper contact wheel) my wife has let me used a 4,000$ budget to upgrade my shop (garage). I am making kitchen knives. I plan on upgrading to a 2x72 grinder and maybe snag a HT oven.
Things I do have
-Files
-1x30
-Milwaukee portaband with swag offroad table
-Decent WEN drill press
-small 4" vise
-small hand tools like center punch, scribes, 123 blocks, etc.

Most of the advice my I've gotten is to get a KMG grinder, but I have also been looking at the Wilmont little buddy, northridge and esteem. (wilmont TAG looks amazing but is almost my entire budget)
What attachments and other tools would you guys suggest for kitchen knives? I will mainly be doing hidden tang handles as I have access to a lot of wood blocks and like them a lot.
I know I want a small wheel attachment, should I get a grinder package with a 10" contact wheel and flat platen or just the flat platen and grab a radius platen later? Radius platen vs 14" contact wheel? I would like to do Ura grinding eventually but I see a year or 2 or 3 of practice before I venture down that road. I am a sous chef as my main job and almost all the knives I use have convex'd edges like Konosuke Sakai knives and I love the feel of them. On my 1x30 so far I have only done full flat slicers.
I know the grinder will and attachments will use a LOT of my budget, the rest will probably go to belts and materials. Any advice on grinder/attachments/any other nice tools for making these knives would be helpful. A HT oven would be nice if my budget allows but I do not mind to continue sending my knives to Peters until I can afford one as I mainly want to get off the 1x30 :)
Thanks,
-Trey
 
From you budget and with the tools you have on hand, I think I'd get a variable speed grinder (nothing but variable speed), an oven, and a Rockwell Hardness tester. The oven is $1,000, the tester is $854 shipped, leaving $2150 for the grinder.

Oregon Blade Grinder stuff:

chassis: http://www.ebay.com/itm/252059068108? ($550 shipped)
Motor/VFD: http://www.ebay.com/itm/252091453427? ($625 shipped)
Drive Wheel: http://www.ebay.com/itm/261990489515? ($40 shipped)

That's a total of around $1200 to $1300 leaving a bit for belts.

OR - perhaps even better is this Pheer grinder for $1400 which includes flat platen and 8" contact wheel with VFD:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/162156212225? the Pheer is available with 1hp motor for a couple hundred less.

My thinking was when I got an oven to do my own HT, I needed (wanted) a Rc tester to help determine if I was on the right track. Rc number doesn't tell everything about HT, but does provide a good guide.

Ken H>
 
Sounds just about right, but I think a 10" wheel is a better selection at a few more hundred dollars!
Frank
 
Frank, would upgrading from an 8" wheel to a 10" wheel really be a "few more hundred dollars!"?? I've got both an 8" and a 10" contact wheel and don't use either one very much making kitchen knives where I use a full flat grind. There I use the platen MUCH more often.
 
Only time I use my 8" contact wheel is for profiling blades after plasma cutting and shaping handles. I also use a 2" contact wheel for shaping as well. Both the 8" and 2" are on the same grinder head and the 8" long platten between. But with that said I think what my shop is missing most is a small contact wheel set up. I have a hand held grinder that uses 1x21 belts and has a small 1" wheel that I could not live without. But belt selection is crap and I end up buying 3"x21" belts local and splitting them. Most finger grooves and choiles in my shop are 1" but I would also get some that are reall tiny to do the hooks on the end of the handle on my 2nd Amendment knives. But that's just me, you will see once you start making knives where you are lacking so don't spend all the money right away. Get a few things and play and you will quickly see what you need. But you will also quickly relize 4K$ is not nearly enough lol.

But me personally would take a surface grinder in a heart beat over a hardness testor. With the stainless coming with scale now a days I would really like one. I also don't know how well the portaband cuts wood but I just retired my old bandsaw and upgraded to a nice jet 14" ($800 new). I don't need a bandsaw to cut steel because I have a plasma cutter and an abrasive chop saw for large forging stock. But a good wood saw is nice to have, it's really been a joy to have in the shop.
 
Thanks for the replies so far! I think Ura grinding will be the closest I will get to hollow grinding so I wasn't sure if I wanted a wheel other than small wheels for choils/finger.
Can't keep my eyes off the nothridge grinder, it looks amazing.
 
Small wheel attachment is essential for a 2x72 in my opinion. I burned up a lot of spindle sander drums before I got one.
 
I like the looks of the Northridge grinder also - looks good. Just a tad more expensive than the grinders I linked to. Of course, purchase the basic package for $900 (plus shipping), then order a 3600 rpm 2 hp 3ph motor for $126 shipped, then the VFD. As you can see, I wouldn't consider anything other than a VFD grinder. I used a 3 pulley setup and felt that was all that was needed..... until I changed to a VFD setup. No comparison.

Ken H>
 
Yeah Ken the links you sent me are awesome. Especially the vfd and motor link. I made and completed 1 knife with a teacher and he had a Bader and that thing was amazing. Now that I've been at home on a 1x30 that goes at lightspeed I KNOW I want a VFD 2x72 and after using round, half round, and sandpaper for all my choils I def want a small wheel attachment.
He had a rockwell tester I can use but lives about 30 minutes away. I will want one in the near future though. I'm thinking with a flat platen i can do nice flat ground blades and maybe line the platen with leather or something to convex the edges when finishing and snag a radius platen for Ura grinds down the road.
 
get a wilmont lb1000 without motor. shop and find a 1hp or 1 1/2hp 1720 or 800 rpm motor and VFD. doing kitchen knives you need precision not brute force. that puts you at 1200 or less. furnace capable of 1200C another 1200. contractors 10" table saw $150 9" band saw $150 3/8" variable speed drill $100 4 1/2" angle grinder $100 finishing sander $75 Habitat for Humanity thrift store $200 for used kitchen cabinets and countertop or office desks and filing cabinets and comfortable chair. digital voltmeter $50 screw length drill bits $50 240ac to shop $200 $200 for lighting
use remainder for belts and hardware
you are going to need all these little things like saws and sanders that folks never list. In my area you can find used kitchen cabinets, desks and file cabinets for <$20. also decide if you want to work standing, sitting, or be able to do both. my shop is set up so i can use drill press, 2x72, and disc sander standing or sitting. I have layout and assembly area for sitting and one for standing.
scott
 
I've been cutting wood with my portaband no problem but my blocks are never bigger than 2" and the wood I use for sayas is even thinner. I have 3 diff sizes HSS drill bits up to 1/8" and 1 1/2" bit i use to drill holes in the block for a dowel. I do want to pick up a small disc sander and a buffer. Also a bigger vise would be nice.
My grinder is between the Oregon Blade Makers chasis and motor, northridge grinder and wilmont lil buddy. For the money i feel the KMG pulley/motor set up it has going on isn't as nice as the other options.
 
NC Biker said:
Really? That's way way down my list of tools needed to make knives.
Click to expand...

the task is setting up a shop in an empty room that may or may not be wired. a meter comes in quite handy when checking wiring and voltages. how about we reduce it $25? same reason for including a chunk of money for storage and work surfaces. you add drill bits as you find need, 3/16" pins need a 13/64" bit to install. corby bolts need at least two different sizes to install. some items are for setting up the shop and making/modifying the new grinder, not necessarily making knives.
 
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