I broke my first belt!!! What is next?

Crayola

Crayola

Joined
Sep 23, 1999
Messages
3,831
Hey folks! I call myself a newbie hobby maker as I think I am still a newbie. But, so far I have done the following:

1) made 5 knives
2) sold one knife!
3) helped other newbies set up/modify their gear
4) burned my thumbs/fingers
5) sanded my thumb
6) made 142 mistakes... well, give or take 50 :)
7) corrected old mistakes and learned new ones
8) peined a pin too hard and split the handle material!
9) and now, I broke my first belt!

That belt braking didn't injure me at all, but it sure raised my heart rate! :) So, I think I am getting closer and closer out of the "newbie" category, but I am wondering what is next? What else is gonna happen to me? ;)

P.S., I like profiling 1/16" thick steel more than 1/8" thick steel :) I learned that one today.
 
I've ripped or popped around 4 belts so far. Each time it was pretty scary. The most recent one whipped my hands pretty hard and made a loud popping noise, didn't draw blood but it stings a bit and it scared me pretty good. I think I might have had one whip my faceshield pretty good as well. Another good reason to wear eye protection.
 
Don't really remember if I've popped a belt, yet...it all pales in comparison to the visceral joy of having a blade grabbed by a buffer, snapped in half, and then having three inches of blade whiz past my face so close I could feel the breeze...

Now THERE'S a heart attack for ya!!

I gotta find a safer hobby...like pirahna juggling, or free-fall body-painting...DOH!!!

:D :rolleyes: ;)
 
The scary ones for me are to have the drill bit snag on the blade and make the blade spin around at finger chopping speed. Or to have knives shot at your legs when you lose control while tapering tangs.
 
You will get hurt in ways that you NEVER imagined.....so pay attention. The most dangerous tools are the ones that look the least dangerous....like the DRILL PRESS!!!!!!!! as stated above.
Belts usually break because 1) you have applied to much pressure on the tensioning arm or 2) the belt is old and the joint fails.....they are really meant to be used....over a year old is very old for a belt.
 
Heres a fun one. Happened to Bob Engnath. He had not cleaned his shop in a day or so (he ground ALOT!) and the steel dust started to gather on an electrical outlet. Well after enough collected it shorted the plug and the thing popped like a gun shot and threw the plug across the shop.

Then there is Bill Herndon. He figured out a way to give a home visictimy (sp). The buffer grabbed a knife from his hand it hit the floor and then bounced back up into his testical. He was walking funny for awhile.

And then yesterday I had a blandsaw blade decide that it wanted to walk off the job. Just about gave me a heart attack. They make a pretty good sound when they decide to go.

Jim Hrsoulas got his hand caught between the belt and contact wheel on his grinder. I'll give you a hint, it ain't supposed to bend that way. He also has super glued his entire hand to his work bench. I still get a good chuckle from that one.

Oh, almost forgot, I once got molten silver solder in my eye. Don't ask!

So you still want to make knives:D.
 
I had one of those Bubble belts come undone one me once running FAST... Hit me in the shoulder and shook me up a bit.. Once I threw a used bandsaw blade on the bench it got in between a slightly loose plug and started to melt down(YIKES). I have lost much of the tips of my fingers on numerous occasions... These are all GOOD days in a knife shop!!..HEHEHE... Bad days mean a trip to the hostpital:-) I agree with Tom Mayo, you arent a knife maker till you have made EVERY mistake, and learned not to do it again. Or words to that effect..

Take Care
Trace Rinaldi
www.thrblades.com
 
Well, all I can say is if one of my knives are used in a crime, I'm in trouble because I get a little of my blood on every one. Grinding knives ain't for the faint of heart so be careful!:D
 
Most cuts I get just require a bit of super glue but my latest bad one was in my palm and required a few stitches. It cut my life line in half, hope thats not a bad omen. My worst shop disaster was my first attempt at mokume. I heat soaked the brass and copper mix at to high a temp and turned the brass molten. I pulled it out of the oven and molten brass stated running out of the foil. I only had tennis shoes on luckly it missed my feet. Forgetting to turn the magnet on when your surface grinding can be a real eye opener also.
 
i had a batch of
i had a batch of blades come back from HT/cryo and the holes had shrunk, so while reaming them out on the last one of course not shavings fell on my hand and losened my grid, the blade spun and sliced my lert index finger to the bone for abuot 2". :eek:. now i do all drilling over sized and on profile ground only blades. any thing that has a edge or bevel gets clamped down and my hand outta there!
 
:eek: what are you guys trying to do.. scare me out of wanting to make knives???? "Newbie in the making"
 
Breaking a belt isn't as bad as buying a broken one. I got a package from Mcmaster-Carr today. I had ordered some belts and one is split down the middle! I've e-mailed, I'm sure they'll put it right. Still pisses me off.
 
I always tell folks who want to get into knifemaking that if they can't handle pain they shouldn't do it. They think I'm kidding... :)

The problem is that if you're afraid of it, you just can't feel comfortable with your machinery. The ER here knows me, so my Tetanus shot is always current. If yours isn't, make it so.
 
NO NO NO.....
I never said you have made every mistake and learned not to do it again......
I said youve made every mistake and know how to fix them!!! :p:p:p

Theres a BIG difference.....cause youre still going to do it....


over
and over
and over
and over


and...........well, you get the idea.........right? :p
 
As Norm Abrams says "Lets talk a minute about shop safety"

1. ALWAYS PROTECT YOUR EYES. metal is bad for the eye, so is the rust ring that can develop if you do not get it out fast enough. I am amazed by the number of pictures I see here that show guys pounding, grinding or cutting metal without safety glasses.

2. Power saws can do quite a number on your hand. They are usually not "clean wounds." They can rip a big chunk out which makes it hard for the hand guys to put you right if you decide to remove a part of your body. Don't smoke by the way if you decide to amputate something, the chance for a successful reattachment is less for smokers vs. non smokers....

3. clean out a wound before you "fix it". While I don't really recommend super gluing your own wounds (infection risk primarily) I will admit that I did it myself in bygone times while building models etc... Was doing it 15 yrs before dermabond, why didn't I think of that?

4. Wear a respirator. Most everything you breathe in a shop is bad for you. Your lungs thank you.
 
Tom is right about the Doctors. Notice how he sneaked in that "don't smoke" thing. That's what they teach them in med school. After all, how many years does it take to say "take two asprin and call my service in the morning". No it's the anti-smoking routine that takes years to learn.:D Every time I go to the hospital and I only do it if I'm out cold, it's the same thing, "Mr. Nap, do you smoke?...Why yes Doctor, would you like one? Well no but we may have to cut something off. You see smokers don't heal well and we would rather just cut it off.....Well thank you Doctor, I feel much better now and can you tell me if the gift shop sells Super Glue?":D :D :D
 
Thanks for all the great tips guys!

Tom, I'll keep it in mind that I am to know how to FIX the mistakes, and not count on never making them again! Actually, if it weren't for mistakes, I never would have done any filing on the spines of my knives for added thumb purchase :)

Thanks for the top Doc. I always wear eye protection, and I should be getting a new respirator for my birthday! By the way, is there anything I should know before getting the respirator? Like, what is essential for a respirator? I lost my old one, and I should find out exactly what I should get :) Please don't recommend respirators though. I'll be getting something locally. I just don't want to get the wrong type of respirator.
 
Well, I cut my thumb badly while slicing thru plastic foam.
That taught me "Your hand must NOT be in your tool's path"

Then I cut again when an aluminum plate I was drilling thru got stuck with the drill bit and swung around with all the force a 750 Watt drill can put...
That taught me "Everything you put under a drill MUST be clamped down or put in a vise, NEVER hold something in contact with a power tool with your bare hands"

Then I knifed my left thumb (hey... this left thumb things is beginning to get boring!) while reaming a hole drilled in a heavy wood plank.
That taught me "Use protective gloves, even a small mishap with a sharp blade will cut badly bare skin, while most minor mishaps won't go thru good leather".

Oh, and I burned my right hand this Christmas while picking up the wrong one of two identical baking tins of cannelloni. One had to go in the oven, the other had just get out, at a nice 250 °C...
That taught me the lesson "Ceramic (and steel) at 250 °C is identical to cold ceramic (or steel)" :)

I always wear eye protection and use breathing filters every time I use noxious substances or grind anything.

I'm very cautious around power tools now. Hope I won't have to learn too many lessons the bloody way. I don't like getting cut...
Burns are Ok, as are piercing wounds and abrasions, but cuts... :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top