I have a $40 5" from Menards. Its variable speed from 0 - 3200 rpm. It has dust collection for your shop vac and has a very precise workrest and miter. It is absolutely perfect for handle making. Particularly folder handles. I also beveled the disk edge on my mill and use it for dressing up the tang notch in slipjoints. I bought it when I first started doing recovers and have felt no need to upgrade as I've transitioned into my own custom builds.
I was talking with Brad Jansen recently, he runs the same unit and we were wondering if you reversed the wires for the motor if it would run the opposite direction? Next time I get to Menards I'm gonna pick one up and try it. If it goes poof I'm out 40 bucks. If not I have a forward and reverse disk sander that is full variable for $80. They are also pretty small so together they would take up about the same space as a single 9". Then you'll also have more money available for the more important tooling like a 2x72 and a mill. My mill is far superior at making perfectly flat scales from micarta and wood along with being the centerpiece of my slip joint making knife shop.
Another suggestion I would offer now that I have the benefit of hindsight is there isn't much a 2x72 can't do in a shop these days. esp. Now that most have full tilt horizontal. My money would go there first over a high end disk. Then, down the road you can put a disk together for a lot less money than buying the whole package at once. For instance you can source the same motor your 2x72 runs on for a disk build, buy a chassis and work rest for it. Get the disks you want and use the same vfd your grinder is running off of. It'll still be expensive but I've priced it out and it still comes in at about $400 - $500 less than buying it all at once from a retailer.
Bottom line I guess is, at least in my experience a disk is important but it's not that important in the grand scheme. I'd rather put the big bucks somewhere else and spend less on my disk sander but that's just me and my 2 cents.
Wow... If that's what you've been using for your recovers, I have to believe it would likely be good enough for what I want to do for now. If the table is at all level, that's a crazy cheap price for a variable speed motor. That's probably the biggest issue with the cheap harbor freight belt/disc combo I have right now. The table is just terrible.
I guess I should better explain what I am hoping to do in the near future. That might make it easier for people to recommend a path.
I am trying to become proficient in the various aspects of knife making before I attempt making a knife. So far I've worked on sharpening (proficient with an Edge Pro, still working on freehand), refinishing and reshaping blades, acid washing and etching, stonewashing, shaping and refinishing handles, cutting scales, and I've made a few really simple complete handles.
For the foreseeable future, I will be working on cutting blocks from logs, pinning handles, making hidden tang handles, and making more full-tang handles. I might try my hand at recovering a slipjoint or Buck 110 if my skills improve enough. Maybe a little simple leatherwork. It will be at least a year (probably two) before I am ready to start trying my hand at grinding my own blades. For now, I am more than happy to have someone make my blanks, Peter's do the heat treat, and me finishing the handles.
Cutting blocks, scales, and making handles will definitely be the bulk of the work for the next year or two.
While I do eventually want to work up to making my own fixed blades, I have no intention of ever selling any. There is a chance that I may offload some wood blocks or scales in the future if I keep accumulating wood like I have been. I know I don't need the absolute best tools for what I plan on doing, but I would like my skill, rather than the machinery, to be the weakest link in my work... And I would like that to continue to be the case as my skill grows.
The tools I have currently are; a harbor freight drill press, harbor freight belt/disc combo, harbor freight 1x30", a Skil 9" bandsaw, various hand tools, and a ton of 18v Makita tools. Lots of room for improvement on the tool front, lol.
Right now we are in a rental house with a very small shop, so I do most of my work in the yard. It's going to be at least a year until our house is complete so I'm trying to avoid purchasing any really heavy/large machinery for the time being. I basically just want enough to get me by for the next year or so, while still being decent quality. Once we move, I have plans to purchase a larger bandsaw, 2"x72", a larger drill press, and a mini mill (likely in that order).
