Grinder for apartment

W

Wolfie79

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Dec 29, 2020
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Hey, I've just started making my own knifes, but I live in a small apartment, don't have access to a proper tool shed, but I'd like to get myself a grinder to use in my kitchen. However, there are a few things that are important:

* Not too much space (small kitchen), but the dust factor is more important.
* As little dust as possible.
* Price is not an issue (within reasonable limits).

Keep in mind, I just started, so I'm not too savvy yet. Anyone got any ideas on what grinder to get, how to set it up, and if it's just simply possible without destroying my kitchen? :)
 
Wolfie79 said:
* As little dust as possible.
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There isn't a specific grinder that will address this, AFIK. Depending on the space, what you'll need is either a large vacuum system or a way to separate the grinder space from the rest of the apartment. Some folks use plastic sheeting but it will need to seal from floor to ceiling.
Grinder dust will end up everywhere. My current set-up is in a 2-car garage, and the grinder is underneath the open door, facing outside and I still have to clean off the outside of the garage door (the side facing the ceiling when open) every month or so from the dust that works it's way up there.
Wolfie79 said:
possible without destroying my kitchen?
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Probably not possible. Unless you can seal every drawer and cabinet...
I just remembered a funny episode with my dad when I was in high school 35+ years ago. We were removing the tile floors in our kitchen, and rented a jackhammer with a spade bit. Dad wanted to see how well it would work, so we fired it up and it worked so good that we did about 1/2 the floor. At about 4pm, Dad noticed the time and had to go pick up our Mother at work, so we stopped, and opened up one of the cabinets to get a glass of water. Clay tile dust was covering everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. Dad got this scared look on his face (the first time I ever saw this expression), told my brother and me to start cleaning up while he went to get Mother. We didn't eat dinner that night until about 8:30pm, after all the dishes were washed, and cupboards and drawers cleaned out.
Thanks for the memory.
 
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Every grinder is going to make the same dust. The material you grind away becomes dust no way around it so you’ll want very good dust collection if you don’t want to make a mess in your kitchen. Honestly you’d have to build some sort of containment area my grinder bench is always covered in metal dust close to the grinder. Look up spark bong dust collection you’ll want to build something like that and still it’ll make some mess.
 
Hello there, I do not think a grinder in the kitchen is a good idea. As the others have said, the dust will get everywhere, and you will eat and breathe it. Not a good thing.

I completely understand the desire to make something, even when you do not have a your own workshop. But there are other options - you could rent a suitable space, or maybe share a shop with someone else. Before I got my workshop I also considered having a "mobile" workstation, consisting of some sawhorses, a benchtop, and battery operated tools (and hand tools of course). Having this in my car it would be possible to drive to some suitable place where I could set this up, work for a couple of hours and then pack up and return home. Just food for thought.
 
I suppose you could pick up a 1x30 or a 2x48 with a dust port. Run a small shop vac with it to mitigate the dust. Just be mindful when grinding steel. Sparks and dust collection don't always mix well. At the very least, I'd run the vac with some water in the bottom. Add a bit of dish soap so the dust doesn't float as much.

Better yet would be to find a friend or relative with a little bit of shop space and see if you can work something out with them.
 
Thanks mates! Not what I wanted to hear, but loads of great info. Clearly my plans won't work out as intended, so I'll see if I can rent a workshop somewhere. Or, I have my sister I can head home to, and do it outside during summertime. Knock off a few knives during good weather, and then finish them off later on.
 
You better check with your landlord before turning "His! Rental property" into a machine shop.
 
Here's one of my standard replies: If you want to get into forging your own blades, then I'd suggest joining your local blacksmithing organization, and attend some of their events. When I first got into blacksmithing (years before I started making knives) I was able to make friends with a smith 7 miles from me and spent months working in his shop and using his forge and tools before I was able to get my own stuff. All it cost me was some time helping him with his projects and I brought the beer.
 
If you absolutely have no choice but to do it in your kitchen, which I wouldn't because knife making is a messy business. You'd be best served doing it by hand with files and sandpaper. Long and tedious project but it can be done, it's how I did my first one. Cut the blank with a hacksaw and files, sandpaper, and elbow grease did the rest. You'll need a vise of some sort though. But you won't kick dust everywhere and you're not going to have heated sparks to deal with. You can put a garbage can underneath the blank and most everything you do as far as filing and sanding will mostly fall into that without worrying about starting a fire.
 
Grinder in the apartment/house, not a good idea. For all the reasons listed. your better bet would be find a local shop that may be willing to allow you some space/time.
 
Here is what one chap did in the same situation as you.

He got a shop cart that would easily go through the doors and put his small grinder on it. He put his supplies in boxes on the lower shelves. He wound a 50 foot extension cord on the end of the cart. When he wanted to work on knives he rolled it out behind the apartments and worked out by the trash bins. He also had a folding card table and folding chair.
 
That is how I started, too. Rolling woodworking bench from HF with all the stuff mounted on it. Many of my tools still are mounted on rolling carts. I can't imagine why you would want a HT oven sitting on the bench, but a cart makes it simple to place wherever you need it, and out of the way when not being used.
 
I'll just add one note of caution if you do end up rolling some equipment outside. Metal grinding dust rusts, and it can do a number on your neighbors' cars, the concrete, etc... Might want to at least throw a tarp down and make sure there's nothing close by that can't get dusty.
 
Drew Riley said:
I'll just add one note of caution if you do end up rolling some equipment outside. Metal grinding dust rusts, and it can do a number on your neighbors' cars, the concrete, etc... Might want to at least throw a tarp down and make sure there's nothing close by that can't get dusty.
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True that, I’ve got nothing close and almost always a wind blowing so for me it’s not a problem but if you do have others vehicles close by be aware. I do sweep up the drive after as it’ll make rust on the concrete if we have any weather.
 
Fletch Helical said:
If you absolutely have no choice but to do it in your kitchen, which I wouldn't because knife making is a messy business. You'd be best served doing it by hand with files and sandpaper. Long and tedious project but it can be done, it's how I did my first one. Cut the blank with a hacksaw and files, sandpaper, and elbow grease did the rest. You'll need a vise of some sort though. But you won't kick dust everywhere and you're not going to have heated sparks to deal with. You can put a garbage can underneath the blank and most everything you do as far as filing and sanding will mostly fall into that without worrying about starting a fire.
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Honestly, for a smaller knife, say a 4 inch long blade. I don't believe it's much faster on a grinder than with a good file in jig ... The advantage of a grinder / for me / is that I can work with already hardened steel............
 
Natlek said:
Honestly, for a smaller knife, say a 4 inch long blade. I don't believe it's much faster on a grinder than with a good file in jig ... The advantage of a grinder / for me / is that I can work with already hardened steel............
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Oh, I'd say it's faster. I do a lot of hand sanding and filing, and hacksaw instead of bandsaw, but a fresh 36 grit belt can sure take off some material.
 
I’m a beginner and I have a garage but my wife and I park in it and it’s also our gym, so dust management is important. So what I did was get a uline machine table and mount the grinder to it. It has four really solid locking wheels and is itself extremely solid. I wheel it in front of one of the car bay doors and then point our gym fan out the door while I grind. Then I also vacuum and leaf blow it out after each session. I have a couple magnet contraptions for steel dust.

On nice days I wheel the whole thing outside. Not as big a deal with steel, still gets everywhere, but it stays in the same general area maybe due to mass. It mostly gets in the water bucket. But wod or g10 permeates the air and coats everything in ten feet. I only do those outside or if it’s too cold, inside and by hand.

Still wouldn’t even do steel inside and if I had rental property, would rather they didn’t either. Also I highly suggest against it for health reasons. You will hate yourself if you do this.

Storage unit facilities usually have garage space for <$100/mo and you mentioned price isn’t a huge deal. That’s the safest bet in my opinion.
 
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