- Joined
- Jul 11, 2003
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Hail and well-met, my knifemaking kin!
I have been thinking of all the recent posts over the past few months about what is the best machine for this, or the best way to do that. Seems like for beginners to the craft, and even for those who are moving up into folders or new techniques, the decision to buy machinery is usually nerve-wracking (at best) due to the large variety of choices, and with that the possibility of buying junk is always in mind. Choosing the right machine to do the job is half the battle. Getting proper tooling and work-holding accessories is also extremely important, but Ill leave that for another time.
My purpose here today is to clarify, sanctify, demystify, and ELECTRIFY you to what my top picks of machines would be as they would relate to the craft of knifemaking, what they do, why they are important, and most-importantly why I choose them as the best there is. Ill even offer second-place alternatives for those who are $-challenged (dang, I am so PC!). Read on, friends.
1. The Belt Grinder
A huge debate is constantly raging over what is the best belt grinder. Ultimately, we all buy what we can afford, but for this category Ill list what MY favorite is, and why. I like the Bader grinders.
The Bader BIII has a very solid cast iron base. The motor is either a NEMA 56C-face, or 145C depending on horsepower, and is connected directly to the base. The drive wheel is then attached directly to the motor shaft. I find this provides quick speed response and is very smooth. Also fewer moving parts. My ideal grinder would be a Bader BIII Hybrid with KMG attachments, which I find superior. For contact wheels, I would stay with Bader.
As a second choice (or a good second grinder), an older-model Wilton Square-Wheel with a 2hp variable speed motor and fresh bearings would be my pick. For the economical choice, obviously the KMG stands out.
2. The Drill Press
The Clausing bench model drill is my #1 choice in this category. It is clean, smooth and precise. The Clausings are the last bastion of American drills.
Once you use one you will never want to be without it. The hefty price tag of $1800 for one of these drills keeps most people away, but the Clausing is definitely the Cadillac, no the CHECKER CAB of drills. Reliable, dependable, and built to take a beating.
If you cant afford a Clausing, my alternative offering is the aftermarket for used equipment. The Older Deltas, Rockwells, and Atlas drills are out there in quantity, but may need some TLC to return to their former glory. Yes, I know some of you are mincing over the fact that there are other quality alternatives. Drills coming out of Europe are being sold in this country, but their distributors are not aggressive in selling them, nor are many being stocked here in the USA, hence the buying process would entail contacting a distributor, ordering the drill, waiting for it, and probably paying too much for it. This is not to mention that parts and service would be out of the question. In the end, you are probably better off just biting the bullet and getting the Clausing.
Note to Folder-makers: The Burgmaster Model 0-B is the ultimate tool for drilling and tapping in folders.
Rare and expensive, these drills offer a turret head which houses six chucks! I have seen these drills setup with tapping heads, countersinks, drills, and counterbores all set up and ready to take whatever knife-related work you give it. Its like having six bench drills all set up.
3. Surface Grinder
This is easy. Boyar-Shultz or Harig. Factually, over the years they have been made by the same factory. They have a small footprint in your shop and they are adequate for anything you need in knifemaking.
Alternatives: Brown & Sharp made a nice SG for a while. The 6x12 version is desirable if you can find one. Rockwell also made an SG for while, and it was of a different configuration by which the stone and the motor were fixed to an arm off to the side of the work area, not directly overhead as is the case with most SGs. I am very tempted to look for one of these, and convert it to running a 2x72 belt.
NOTE: If you are into folders, and you see a Sanford surface Grinder for sale, get serious about it. Grab your wallet and go check it out. The Sanford is the smallest and cutest little SG I have ever seen. The work dimensions are something like 5x7, and the whole thing can be set on your workbench and wont even take up as much room as the HF mini-mill would.
4. Lathes
Many good choices in this category, but I will have to say that my favorite right now is the Prazi SD400.
I know I have ventured away from American-built machinery, but the Prazis are made in Germany, and are of high-quality. The price also reflects that, but it should not be a consideration when picking a lathe, and Ill tell you why. Lathes more than any other piece of metalworking machinery need solidity and mass. When those are not present, it is reflected in the work. Any small amount of movement in the lathe saddle or cross slide becomes wobble and chatter between the tool and the work you are turning on it. A lathe does not naturally want to cut, and rotational forces do not lend any helping hand in the way a lathe works. Lathes force the tool bit into the rotating work, and the way it does gets the job done, but it is not a natural dynamic such as the way a hammer falls on a piece of hot steel on your anvil.
So I preach rigidity and solidity. Technically, the more mass a machine has, the quieter and smoother it will run because the massive castings will absorb a huge amount of any transmitted harmonics. Incidentally, here is where a lot of experienced machinists will shrug their shoulders and dismiss me as being entirely full of $hit. Oh well, we all have our beliefs and paradigms. Anyway, I just like the Prazi because they are smooth, precise, and they are excellent machines right out of the box.
Second choices, and rare as they are becoming, are good-condition Southbend lathes, and the occasional Hardinge DV-59 that someone had the forethought to buy a tailstock and the optional saddle and traverse package. Once recognized, youll be caught in a bidding war over one of these babies. Lovely, lithe and simply fantastic are the LeBlond lathes in 9 if you can find one.
Oh sure, you can pay about $900 and buy a HF 9x20 lathe, but they are considered to be kit lathes meaning they are a huge steaming pile of crap until you spend many hours making all the tweaks and modifications on them to get them to run like a decent lathe should run. Trust me, I have wasted countless hours tinkering to get mine in a state of serviceability, and it still sucks.
My bottom line with lathes: Buy a decent lathe if you are going to get one. All the fiddling-about with a bad lathe will cause you heartache and sorrow and lost time making knives. I dont know about you, but I dont have time to fuss about with bad equipment rather that I have had my fair share of it and want no more.
5. Vertical Milling Machine
Woof! Big bad subject, but I will tackle it best as I can, and hopefully cast some measure of brevity to a subject that has been beat to death. I say that if you are going to make knife blades on a mill ala Don Robinson style, then bite the bullet and get a Bridgeport with a variable speed J-head. There are other full-sized mills out there, but in the end you get what you paid for. Word.
If all you ever want to do is mill a guard, or cut liner locks, the lowly HF mini-mill is surprisingly affordable and usable. Be sure to get a version with the R-8 spindle, or LittleMachineShop.com sells replacement R-8 spindles at a reasonable cost to convert yours. The reason behind this is that there is more tooling sized for R-8 that any other kind. This makes them cheaper to operate and buy new tooling when the old stuff wears out.
If you want my top pick for a mini-mill, I will have to lean towards Prazi again.
Their mill is about 75% more expensive than a HF mill, but the quality speaks volumes when translated to the confidence you will have. Its like skiing downhill on some fine shape skis verses a couple pine planks.
6. Flexible Shaft Tool
Foredom. There is no substitute. Dont be silly. Indispensable and worthy of respect. A huge timesaver.
7. HT Oven
I have a Paragon, but after becoming familiar with it, I have come to terms with the fact that I liked my old Evenheat also, and never should have sold it. The Paragon is a fine machine no doubt but the Evenheat is also fine for a few hundred less. How much are YOU paying for blade steel these days?
8. Horizontal Metal Saw
Keep your crappy HF bandsaws. Yeah yeah yeah, I know I got a brandy-new one but its the biggest POS in the valley. Get a Wellsaw 613 if you are serious:
9. Vertical Metal Saw
My first pic with knifemaker in mind would be the dual-speed 14 Delta Rockwell saws. I have one that was made in 1947. It has a dual-range gearbox, and will handle a ¾ blade. Believe me, that blade (Lennox) will eat through the nastiest S90V, like butter hard butter straight from the fridge, mind you, but that saw chews through steel extremely well.
I found my saw in a box truck outside of a machinery resellers warehouse. It was a long-forgotten old girl one which they had no desire to pay any immediate attention. I realized her worth, and with some fancy bartering, I drove off with her in the bed of my pickup for $125.
Completely stripped of paint, media-blasted, new bearings, new gearbox seals, new fabricated steel base, new motor, new bandwheel tires, new EVERYTHING, she was ready for service and has been a faithful friend ever since. Would I do it again? NEVER!
A tedious project, and a monumental time-suck. Having the forethought to realize I was an idiot, I would have just broken the piggy bank an bought a new Kalamazoo.
Damn fine saw. Your kids college fund will shrink when you buy one but hey yer a famous knifemaker, right?
Seriously. There are a lot of the old Delta dual-purpose saws out there. They are worth the effort to find and rebuild. This is about the only time I will tell you this, btw.
Why go through all that? Why not just whack away with my HF horizontal saw? Because they are crap. They are slow. They can only take a ½ blade, and the choices are limited. Do you know what it is like to profile a blade to within 1/16th of an inch without drilling a single hole and playing connect the dots? A good saw will totally remove that tedium from your vocabulary.
10. Welder
I orginally could not think of a #10 pick, but after having a good night of sleep, I sprang out of bed with the answer. A decent mig welder. I have a Lincoln 135P+. I can weld 1/4" plate with this welder all day long. It's a decent little welder, and I have no trouble welding onto stub tangs or welding-in threaded rod on the end of my blades for hidden-tang construction. The Miller welders, and ESAB are also equally good. I shy away from the Campbell-Hausfield and all the other warehouse brand welders.
So there you have it. My top picks for worthy knifemaking machinery. Are they the absolute best in each category? I think so. Are there even more choices out there? Hells yes there is, but I said in the beginning that this was MY top 10. There are a lot of other worthy machines out there, and hopefully this little tirad with help you on your path. I hope you enjoyed reading this, and I sincerely hope you all found it interesting or at the very least - amusing. Good night, and God Bless!
I have been thinking of all the recent posts over the past few months about what is the best machine for this, or the best way to do that. Seems like for beginners to the craft, and even for those who are moving up into folders or new techniques, the decision to buy machinery is usually nerve-wracking (at best) due to the large variety of choices, and with that the possibility of buying junk is always in mind. Choosing the right machine to do the job is half the battle. Getting proper tooling and work-holding accessories is also extremely important, but Ill leave that for another time.
My purpose here today is to clarify, sanctify, demystify, and ELECTRIFY you to what my top picks of machines would be as they would relate to the craft of knifemaking, what they do, why they are important, and most-importantly why I choose them as the best there is. Ill even offer second-place alternatives for those who are $-challenged (dang, I am so PC!). Read on, friends.
1. The Belt Grinder
A huge debate is constantly raging over what is the best belt grinder. Ultimately, we all buy what we can afford, but for this category Ill list what MY favorite is, and why. I like the Bader grinders.
The Bader BIII has a very solid cast iron base. The motor is either a NEMA 56C-face, or 145C depending on horsepower, and is connected directly to the base. The drive wheel is then attached directly to the motor shaft. I find this provides quick speed response and is very smooth. Also fewer moving parts. My ideal grinder would be a Bader BIII Hybrid with KMG attachments, which I find superior. For contact wheels, I would stay with Bader.
As a second choice (or a good second grinder), an older-model Wilton Square-Wheel with a 2hp variable speed motor and fresh bearings would be my pick. For the economical choice, obviously the KMG stands out.
2. The Drill Press
The Clausing bench model drill is my #1 choice in this category. It is clean, smooth and precise. The Clausings are the last bastion of American drills.
Once you use one you will never want to be without it. The hefty price tag of $1800 for one of these drills keeps most people away, but the Clausing is definitely the Cadillac, no the CHECKER CAB of drills. Reliable, dependable, and built to take a beating.
If you cant afford a Clausing, my alternative offering is the aftermarket for used equipment. The Older Deltas, Rockwells, and Atlas drills are out there in quantity, but may need some TLC to return to their former glory. Yes, I know some of you are mincing over the fact that there are other quality alternatives. Drills coming out of Europe are being sold in this country, but their distributors are not aggressive in selling them, nor are many being stocked here in the USA, hence the buying process would entail contacting a distributor, ordering the drill, waiting for it, and probably paying too much for it. This is not to mention that parts and service would be out of the question. In the end, you are probably better off just biting the bullet and getting the Clausing.
Note to Folder-makers: The Burgmaster Model 0-B is the ultimate tool for drilling and tapping in folders.
Rare and expensive, these drills offer a turret head which houses six chucks! I have seen these drills setup with tapping heads, countersinks, drills, and counterbores all set up and ready to take whatever knife-related work you give it. Its like having six bench drills all set up.
3. Surface Grinder
This is easy. Boyar-Shultz or Harig. Factually, over the years they have been made by the same factory. They have a small footprint in your shop and they are adequate for anything you need in knifemaking.
Alternatives: Brown & Sharp made a nice SG for a while. The 6x12 version is desirable if you can find one. Rockwell also made an SG for while, and it was of a different configuration by which the stone and the motor were fixed to an arm off to the side of the work area, not directly overhead as is the case with most SGs. I am very tempted to look for one of these, and convert it to running a 2x72 belt.
NOTE: If you are into folders, and you see a Sanford surface Grinder for sale, get serious about it. Grab your wallet and go check it out. The Sanford is the smallest and cutest little SG I have ever seen. The work dimensions are something like 5x7, and the whole thing can be set on your workbench and wont even take up as much room as the HF mini-mill would.
4. Lathes
Many good choices in this category, but I will have to say that my favorite right now is the Prazi SD400.
I know I have ventured away from American-built machinery, but the Prazis are made in Germany, and are of high-quality. The price also reflects that, but it should not be a consideration when picking a lathe, and Ill tell you why. Lathes more than any other piece of metalworking machinery need solidity and mass. When those are not present, it is reflected in the work. Any small amount of movement in the lathe saddle or cross slide becomes wobble and chatter between the tool and the work you are turning on it. A lathe does not naturally want to cut, and rotational forces do not lend any helping hand in the way a lathe works. Lathes force the tool bit into the rotating work, and the way it does gets the job done, but it is not a natural dynamic such as the way a hammer falls on a piece of hot steel on your anvil.
So I preach rigidity and solidity. Technically, the more mass a machine has, the quieter and smoother it will run because the massive castings will absorb a huge amount of any transmitted harmonics. Incidentally, here is where a lot of experienced machinists will shrug their shoulders and dismiss me as being entirely full of $hit. Oh well, we all have our beliefs and paradigms. Anyway, I just like the Prazi because they are smooth, precise, and they are excellent machines right out of the box.
Second choices, and rare as they are becoming, are good-condition Southbend lathes, and the occasional Hardinge DV-59 that someone had the forethought to buy a tailstock and the optional saddle and traverse package. Once recognized, youll be caught in a bidding war over one of these babies. Lovely, lithe and simply fantastic are the LeBlond lathes in 9 if you can find one.
Oh sure, you can pay about $900 and buy a HF 9x20 lathe, but they are considered to be kit lathes meaning they are a huge steaming pile of crap until you spend many hours making all the tweaks and modifications on them to get them to run like a decent lathe should run. Trust me, I have wasted countless hours tinkering to get mine in a state of serviceability, and it still sucks.
My bottom line with lathes: Buy a decent lathe if you are going to get one. All the fiddling-about with a bad lathe will cause you heartache and sorrow and lost time making knives. I dont know about you, but I dont have time to fuss about with bad equipment rather that I have had my fair share of it and want no more.
5. Vertical Milling Machine
Woof! Big bad subject, but I will tackle it best as I can, and hopefully cast some measure of brevity to a subject that has been beat to death. I say that if you are going to make knife blades on a mill ala Don Robinson style, then bite the bullet and get a Bridgeport with a variable speed J-head. There are other full-sized mills out there, but in the end you get what you paid for. Word.
If all you ever want to do is mill a guard, or cut liner locks, the lowly HF mini-mill is surprisingly affordable and usable. Be sure to get a version with the R-8 spindle, or LittleMachineShop.com sells replacement R-8 spindles at a reasonable cost to convert yours. The reason behind this is that there is more tooling sized for R-8 that any other kind. This makes them cheaper to operate and buy new tooling when the old stuff wears out.
If you want my top pick for a mini-mill, I will have to lean towards Prazi again.
Their mill is about 75% more expensive than a HF mill, but the quality speaks volumes when translated to the confidence you will have. Its like skiing downhill on some fine shape skis verses a couple pine planks.
6. Flexible Shaft Tool
Foredom. There is no substitute. Dont be silly. Indispensable and worthy of respect. A huge timesaver.
7. HT Oven
I have a Paragon, but after becoming familiar with it, I have come to terms with the fact that I liked my old Evenheat also, and never should have sold it. The Paragon is a fine machine no doubt but the Evenheat is also fine for a few hundred less. How much are YOU paying for blade steel these days?
8. Horizontal Metal Saw
Keep your crappy HF bandsaws. Yeah yeah yeah, I know I got a brandy-new one but its the biggest POS in the valley. Get a Wellsaw 613 if you are serious:
9. Vertical Metal Saw
My first pic with knifemaker in mind would be the dual-speed 14 Delta Rockwell saws. I have one that was made in 1947. It has a dual-range gearbox, and will handle a ¾ blade. Believe me, that blade (Lennox) will eat through the nastiest S90V, like butter hard butter straight from the fridge, mind you, but that saw chews through steel extremely well.
I found my saw in a box truck outside of a machinery resellers warehouse. It was a long-forgotten old girl one which they had no desire to pay any immediate attention. I realized her worth, and with some fancy bartering, I drove off with her in the bed of my pickup for $125.
Completely stripped of paint, media-blasted, new bearings, new gearbox seals, new fabricated steel base, new motor, new bandwheel tires, new EVERYTHING, she was ready for service and has been a faithful friend ever since. Would I do it again? NEVER!
A tedious project, and a monumental time-suck. Having the forethought to realize I was an idiot, I would have just broken the piggy bank an bought a new Kalamazoo.
Damn fine saw. Your kids college fund will shrink when you buy one but hey yer a famous knifemaker, right?
Seriously. There are a lot of the old Delta dual-purpose saws out there. They are worth the effort to find and rebuild. This is about the only time I will tell you this, btw.
Why go through all that? Why not just whack away with my HF horizontal saw? Because they are crap. They are slow. They can only take a ½ blade, and the choices are limited. Do you know what it is like to profile a blade to within 1/16th of an inch without drilling a single hole and playing connect the dots? A good saw will totally remove that tedium from your vocabulary.
10. Welder
I orginally could not think of a #10 pick, but after having a good night of sleep, I sprang out of bed with the answer. A decent mig welder. I have a Lincoln 135P+. I can weld 1/4" plate with this welder all day long. It's a decent little welder, and I have no trouble welding onto stub tangs or welding-in threaded rod on the end of my blades for hidden-tang construction. The Miller welders, and ESAB are also equally good. I shy away from the Campbell-Hausfield and all the other warehouse brand welders.
So there you have it. My top picks for worthy knifemaking machinery. Are they the absolute best in each category? I think so. Are there even more choices out there? Hells yes there is, but I said in the beginning that this was MY top 10. There are a lot of other worthy machines out there, and hopefully this little tirad with help you on your path. I hope you enjoyed reading this, and I sincerely hope you all found it interesting or at the very least - amusing. Good night, and God Bless!
Famous Grouse? Bourbon? Never heard of it. They must not market it up my way. Oh, and I left out Chevalier, Reid and KO Lee. No idea why. They are great machines, but I like the Boyar-Schultz because they seem to be more common.