How To Building a workshop & I need your help!

[AVigil]

Any ideas what the knife blanks market is like?

Saturated,

Do you want to be a knifemaker or a supplier?

 

[Aidenag]

to compete in that marketplace, you would need to be buying in huge bulk amounts to turn profits on it as your competition is no longer custom makers, but manufacturing corporations that churn them out by the thousands if not 10s of thousands. e.g. Chinese corporations with costco sized factories are your competitors. I've never looked into it, others here could chime in with better idea of logistics, but no doubt you would be needing to purchase literal tons of steel at a time for it to be even remotely doable.

 

[mike-E]

If you have steady hands and a good eye for drawing detail, you might want to think about getting into tattooing. I don't know what the customer base is like in Australia, but here in the states it seems as if 3/4's of the population have enough ink on them to fill an encyclopedia. Just a consideration for a decent paying job where most of the work can be done sitting down.

 

[Lieblad]

Im hoping to source my motor and VFD from an old treadmill. Primary reason is because I doubt I have knowledge to wire a VFD myself nor do I have the money to pay an electrician to do it for me that. Is that a good idea and would it be capable of the job (aiming for around 1.5hp)?

That one made for a giggle.
I made alot of stuff with treadmill motors. Being a Millwright/Electrician 36 years, it was still a head scratcher first time to figure out running a variablespeed treadmill motor without its un-needed display, ramp incliner, heart monitor, pedometer, safety functions, etc. etc.
VFDs are dead simple by comparasin.
Btw, many treadmill motors are openframe and permanent magnet field. NOT suited for making grinders of, or anywhere near iron dust for that matter.
Ingesting grinder swarf, will kill those types in short order.

Said that, some treadmills use TENV motors what would fare much better. Regardless, be sure it gets decent air circulation...

 

[Drew Riley]

Question, what about the idea of making knife blanks
I have an entrepreneur friend of mine who has access to super expensive CNC machines whos willing to make blanks for me as long as I supply the material and the CAD to him.
Any ideas what the knife blanks market is like?

That’s yet another middle man to pay, and cnc blanks sell for pennies on the dollar compared to handmade customs or even “mid tech” designs.
Part of midtech success is still in the name of the maker/designer however. We can all get blanks and parts made by CNC (and many of us do), but it’s still a tough way to earn a living, and it certainly won’t come off the cnc ready to sell. Still lots of factors to consider.

 

[a/zzej]

Thanks for all your responses guys, ive read them all

 

[John mc c]

My 2 cents is I would invest all your cash in a grinder
I built that same grinder you are from dcknives and its easy to build and great machine,just spend few mins converting it to metric for yourself
For wheels I made mine from some 2 inch long steel tubing fit snug over some bearings and a spacer
Wooden drive wheel
Dcknives dan, great site BTW,also uses skateboard wheels,lots of them down your way
You could sent your finished blades to be heat treated,Sidney is bound to have good few pro heat treat co.
Saves a lot on expensive equipment