Holy Hard Steel Batman!

D

daspope

Joined
Aug 3, 2014
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25
So I have been refining my design more and more for my first knife, and I had some mild steel to practice with. My 14" woodworking band saw with a bosch 3/8" metal blade cut through that 1/8" mild steel with ease. So I decided to go for it and cut my pattern out in the 440C I got from Jantz... my metal blade literally would NOT cut this stuff... It put a very minimal dimple in it and polished it where I was trying to cut. I finally gave up and cut off the section I was after using a hack saw, 2 bent blades later I got my 9" chunk cut off the bar. I then took it over to my 1x30 belt sander and the 120grit I had on there sucked at removing steel and just heated it up a lot. so I took it over to my delta bench grinder and that was even worse with my coarse wheel.

At the time my angle grinder was at a house I am rehabbing on the other side of town, so yesterday I made sure to grab that when I was there, today I will be getting some cutting wheels and using that. I also ordered some 3M 1x30 36Grit cubitron belts because I read good things about them on here.

Anyone know of blades for a 14" woodworking band saw that would work on 440C? or am I doomed to using an angle grinder for all of eternity?

Also I was looking at the belt sander for knife making at grizzly (http://www.grizzly.com/products/Knife-Belt-Sander-Buffer/G1015) and at that price tag I would be better off making my own with the spare 1725RPM electric motor I have sitting around in my shop, so I guess I need to find a good (cheap) supply of rollers then just weld up a frame for it all.

I figure if I make my own belt sander I will use 2 step pulleys so I can easily change the RPM, somehow spring load the roller with the pulley on it so that I can change sanding belts and rpm easily, and measure everything out about 50 times so that I can ensure a 2x72" belt will actually fit lol.

I guess the point of this thread is to say... I had no clue there was such a MASSIVE difference between the cheap steel at lowes, and the cheap steel at Jantz lol. Are angle grinders pretty much the standard for cutting out your rough blade shape?
 
Woodworking bandsaw and steel do not mix in my opinion. Blade sfpm is not even remotely close. High tension hacksaw with a good bimetal blade should make quick ;) work of it. Otherwise a porta band by Milwaukee or dewalt would sort you out for a mere $300. Lenox diemaster m42 blades or the new morse 811? Blade should work well.

Does anyone know the composition of the new morse 811 blade? Thanks
 
440 has a lot of chrome so it work hardens. If your setup is stout enough that you can maintain a clean cut you can cut it like butter. But if you lack the HP or rigidity to maintain a cut and it starts to rub it work hardens and goes down hill from there. Rubbing and abrading through stainless sucks.

Stainless is best attacked with sharp tools and sharp belts and relatively heavy cutting pressure to maintain a cut and avoid rubbing. Carbon steel such as 1084 works a lot better with smaller tools.
 
As has been stated here many times, wood working bandsaws will not work for cutting metal. The Harbor Freight 4" X 6" bandsaw is the standard saw that most use. Portable bandsaws work, too-but are limited in size of cut.
I really doubt you could make a viable belt grinder for less than the cost of the Grizzly.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
As has been stated here many times, wood working bandsaws will not work for cutting metal. The Harbor Freight 4" X 6" bandsaw is the standard saw that most use. Portable bandsaws work, too-but are limited in size of cut.
I really doubt you could make a viable belt grinder for less than the cost of the Grizzly.
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Yeah after looking up lots of info, theres a lot more that goes into one than i anticipated, so im just gonna save my pennies for the grizzly. Maybe when i sell the house im fixing up ill make sure one of thosr grinders finds its way into my order for a new cabinet table saw from them and just wont tell the mrs. ;)

Ill have to check out that hf band saw, the heat of arizona summer, combined with a garage work shop does not go well with hacking my way through a steel bar lol. I was literally soaked head to toe in sweat lol.
 
You can buy a window air conditioner for your garage for $125 new.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
You can buy a window air conditioner for your garage for $125 new.
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no window in the garage, what I have been doing is opening the garage door, and opening the side access door and putting a big shop fan there to keep air moving. The breeze is hot air, but once you start to sweat it feels tolerable. It doesn't keep you from sweating, just makes it a little more bearable lol. I think a better option would be to leave Arizona, been here my whole life, I wouldn't mind spending my summers somewhere more... liveable lol.
 
daspope said:
I think a better option would be to leave Arizona, been here my whole life, I wouldn't mind spending my summers somewhere more... liveable lol.
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Hilarious!!! You could be a reverse snowbird and move to Michigan for the summer, unlike those from Michigan that move to Arizona for the winter.

I just sold mine to a guy, but here's a picture of the best cheap 2x72 that you can make for under $200. I've made a dozen knives with it and would put it against a modified 2x42 anyday.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-grinder-conversion?highlight=2x72+conversion
 
zaph1 said:
Hilarious!!! You could be a reverse snowbird and move to Michigan for the summer, unlike those from Michigan that move to Arizona for the winter.

I just sold mine to a guy, but here's a picture of the best cheap 2x72 that you can make for under $200. I've made a dozen knives with it and would put it against a modified 2x42 anyday.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-grinder-conversion?highlight=2x72+conversion
Click to expand...

Hmmm I have a craftsman 4x36 that the bearing for the top roller is going out on. I was gonna figure out how to change the bearings, but maybe I will do this to it then get a replacement 4x36 for my woodworking shenanigans :)

EDIT: And yes, I would love to be a reverse snow bird. Driving to work in the winter sucks because of all the added traffic from people that migrate here for winter. lol
 
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No one's told him the bad news yet. That 440C he was trying to cut was annealed. Imagine trying the same things with it hardened.
 
me2 said:
No one's told him the bad news yet. That 440C he was trying to cut was annealed. Imagine trying the same things with it hardened.
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Especially compared to the mild steel he was cutting through earlier.

OP, I saw you mentioned the cheap steel at Lowe's vs the cheap steel at Jantz. Most likely the steel you bought at Lowes was a mild steel, that is very soft steel compared to "knife/tool" steel which is high carbon to stainless. It'll be night and day difference between the two steels.
 
Oh, yeah, hand sanding hardened 440c is going to be a shock!

PS, your "metal blade" for your wood bandsaw is now probably pretty dull having tried to cut at that speed.
 
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