Has anyone else been in this situation?

S

Sammy Mickel

Joined
May 11, 1999
Messages
61
Hey guys, I've got a little predicament here. I really enjoy "making" knives, I say that with respect to the fact that I haven't made that many, but I reacently changed jobs. It was a great decision but I lost the use of a belt grinder. In the mean time I've built my second fly rod. The guy that I get my supplies from for the rods is an extremely succesful rod maker and owner of Rod Maker magazine,he has also encouraged me to think about going into rod repair.I have been thinking about it because I already have alot of the tools, all I need is to run power out to my building. The big thing is I really like to work on knives to but I don't have the money to invest in a good grinder. I know there is some cheaper alternatives to a top of the line belt grinder, but when I've investigated the price of getting everything I need is still steep. Anyway I was just wandering if any of you guys has had a problem like this?

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Sammy, I suspect we have all had that problem at some point. Most of us have accumulated whatever machines we have over a number of years. Start with a cheap grinder and a drill press, then add and replace as you are able to.

BTW, I used to make fishing rods as well. Very satisfying.

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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
 
My thought is, if it's a hobby you do what you can afford, if it's a way of life, put your wife to work so you can buy the tools you need.
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Remember you can't cut anything with a fishing rod, but you can eat with it.
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Why am I good enough to fix my mistakes, but not good enough to keep from making them in the first place?
 
Yeah I'm in that situation right now. I'm going to school, training horses for a few different people, trying to keep my own horses in shape for horseshows every weekend, hay and straw baling will be here in short order, and I want to make knives. So I don't have much spare time. And since I'm trying to save up for college I don't have much spending cash to cover both tools and materials for the knives. I'm still having fun though. I've been buying about one new power tool a year now for awhile along with whatever small stuff I need as I go. I'm having some trouble, but I'm having fun and learning how to do a lot of stuff with what I have.
Check out delta's bench sized tools. They're all in a decent price range, usually are under $200 and are very good qualtiy for the money. They have an 8" drill press for under $100, that you could probably get by with on most stuff, and a 12" for about $180 that would serve you well too in most cases. Their 4x36 belt sander with 6" disc(under $150) works pretty good for profiling and flat grinding. You can't find good belts in stores, but klingspor sells 4x36 belts that are called planer belts. They're made with zirconia alumina abrasive( does that mean ceramic
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)Their supposed to eat wood like a planer blade, and last for a LONG time, so they would probably be pretty good at hogging off metal. At least better than your run of the mill aluminum oxide belts. I think Sears/Craftsmen sells a 2x72 grinder with a disc now too. If I remember right it was a pretty heavy looking machine with a good sized motor on it. I haven't been to the store in a while to see it though.The only thing by Sears/Craftsmen I would stear clear of is drill presses. They use S$%#% sleeve bearings rather than ball bearings in the spindle ( that means lots of wobble and walking of the bit)the spindles aren't even that tight when their new.

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It'll feel better when it stops hurting.
 
Sammy
I found a web site were it show you how to make a grinder for next to nothing
the man who made the web page mills out
idler wheels and drive for cheap,he is makeing
a drive wheel for me for around 20 dollars
the page is www.geocities.com/beaumontmetal/sander.com
give it a try,neat stuff in there
Nathan
 
Kevin
I order a drive wheel with sealed bearings,I am going to see how it is and then I am going to get him to make me a
3/4 inch wheel for finger groves on a rig
I made,he is going to put a key lock on
my drive for me and tape it for an allen screw.Thanks for correcting my error on
the web address Nathan
 
he mentioned to me something about making wheels with rubber faces, is he making rubber faced wheels yet?
 
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