Issues going up grits on the grinder

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

That is one of Bill Moran's kudu hides. I plan on making a chair cover for the old worn out chair from it.

My Zeiss surgical glasses are individually adjustable for pupil position and diopter. The focal length is 14", IIRC, which seems right for 2.3 power. They cost $850 20 years ago.
Once you get used to them it is like having superman vision. The glass lenses they mount over are also for my prescription. That way your brain learns to see around the retinal center somewhat like a person with macular degeneration does. But, in this case you have a magnified image in the center. I had a pair of Kepler eyewear with the mini-telescopes in the center and didn't care for them. They were OK for close work around 8-10", but that meant you had to hunch over. They were also cheap, around $250-300, IIRC. They are probably still around somewhere. If I see them, I'll send them to you.

Today, they teach the young folks to sit up straight and look forward into the scope. Their brains are used to virtual reality similar things and it seems normal to them. Old folks like us want to look down where the workpiece is. It is really hard to tell my brain that my hands are fine when they are millimeters away from very sharp and/or rotary tools while my eyes are looking in another direction. It takes me a good 30 minutes to get used to engraving or setting stones using the scope. I keep tilting my head down, and then can't see anything in the eyepieces. The newer units just have a video screen to look at, no eyepieces.

Now, the thing I haven't used yet is in a box of surgical electronics I have in storage. I bought all the electronics and headgear from a internist office that closed. There are headpieces with fiber-optic lights and video cameras, as well as ones with drop down scopes. The video processors are old school, but should work. I can probably plug the A/V output into a video hard drive and convert to digital. There was also a box filled with dozens of sealed, new in the bag, fiber optic cables and endoscopic stuff. Also, high power light sources for the fiber optic tubes. I plan on mounting the light pipes so they cast a beam on the grinder platen and places like the drill press and mill.
All-in-all about 300 pounds of gear that I got for $100.

 

[fitzo]

That is one of Bill Moran's kudu hides. I plan on making a chair cover for the old worn out chair from it.

My Zeiss surgical glasses are individually adjustable for pupil position and diopter. The focal length is 14", IIRC, which seems right for 2.3 power. They cost $850 20 years ago.
Once you get used to them it is like having superman vision. The glass lenses they mount over are also for my prescription. That way your brain learns to see around the retinal center somewhat like a person with macular degeneration does. But, in this case you have a magnified image in the center. I had a pair of Kepler eyewear with the mini-telescopes in the center and didn't care for them. They were OK for close work around 8-10", but that meant you had to hunch over. They were also cheap, around $250-300, IIRC. They are probably still around somewhere. If I see them, I'll send them to you.

Today, they teach the young folks to sit up straight and look forward into the scope. Their brains are used to virtual reality similar things and it seems normal to them. Old folks like us want to look down where the workpiece is. It is really hard to tell my brain that my hands are fine when they are millimeters away from very sharp and/or rotary tools while my eyes are looking in another direction. It takes me a good 30 minutes to get used to engraving or setting stones using the scope. I keep tilting my head down, and then can't see anything in the eyepieces. The newer units just have a video screen to look at, no eyepieces.

Now, the thing I haven't used yet is in a box of surgical electronics I have in storage. I bought all the electronics and headgear from a internist office that closed. There are headpieces with fiber-optic lights and video cameras, as well as ones with drop down scopes. The video processors are old school, but should work. I can probably plug the A/V output into a video hard drive and convert to digital. There was also a box filled with dozens of sealed, new in the bag, fiber optic cables and endoscopic stuff. Also, high power light sources for the fiber optic tubes. I plan on mounting the light pipes so they cast a beam on the grinder platen and places like the drill press and mill.
All-in-all about 300 pounds of gear that I got for $100.

Ahh, that's great info and advice in there, Stacy. Thanks so much.

Very cool about the hide. Neat piece of history from Moran. Wish I'd met him more than once.

This whole problem I'm having with my 'scope is due to kyphosis. I am making a new bracket to drop my engraving ball lower so I can lower the 'scope to accommodate todays downward gaze from the curve. If that doesn't work, I'll get some Zeiss. Though, now, I will consider both in my conversation with Zeiss.

Funny you mention sharp gravers and such. My first "new" shop injury when I restarted is burying a freshly sharpened square 116 degree point in the pad of my thumb. That hurt for a few.

All that video stuff sounds cool. You acquire some of the darnedest boxes of stuff, I swear. The light sources sound very neat; a spot right on the cutting point of a mill is really intriguing. I've seen pics of guys who have converted a modern 'scope with a viewscreen for engraving use. That idea sounds worth exploring. heads-up engraving without the sore back and stiff neck. Noice!

Thanks, again, Stacy. Lots of food for thought.

 

[Natlek]

Issue is when I go from 120 grit to 240 grit then to 400, it all looks great until I try and hit it with 240 paper to finish it off. Seems to reveal loads of much deeper scratches I thought id got rid of but obviously haven't.

Only advice I can give to you is this .....Don t use brand new belts/sand paper .First grind some other steel on new belt and then switch to blade you work on .NEW 240 belt can make 80 grit scratch.....same for other grit size .And maybe you can try other brand belts ........
There is almost always some granule on each new belt/sandpaper that is not very firmly attached, if it falls off while you work it will make nasty deep scratch regardless of grit size. Some granule protrude more than the others and because there is more pressure on tip of that grit ......they will cut much deeper then rest ......that mean deep scratch. That s way it is smart first to grind some other piece of steel .............

 

[Signalprick]

Someone recommended getting a good optivisor to me when I was hitting my stride doing recover mods. I don't think I started using one until my 2nd complete knife build 8 months ago. Wish I had listened sooner. I grind with a 2x optic. No Way I could do it without. I also use a brand new 400 grit A/O klingspor on every blade. They are cheap enough that getting it done right the first time everytime and not having to hand sand your balls off makes it well worth it.

 

[Michael Black]

Only advice I can give to you is this .....Don t use brand new belts/sand paper .First grind some other steel on new belt and then switch to blade you work on .NEW 240 belt can make 80 grit scratch.....same for other grit size .And maybe you can try other brand belts ........
There is almost always some granule on each new belt/sandpaper that is not very firmly attached, if it falls off while you work it will make nasty deep scratch regardless of grit size. Some granule protrude more than the others and because there is more pressure on tip of that grit ......they will cut much deeper then rest ......that mean deep scratch. That s way it is smart first to grind some other piece of steel .............

I just use light pressure on the first few passes with a new belt in this scenario.

 

[Justin W]

Still a noob here, fwiw, still doing all plungeless flat-vex blended grinds.

I relied on hand sanding at 120 grit a lot. Since I started changing angles it has gotten better. Start at 90° to the belt, like if using a jig, then do 45°ish tip down (i do that step freehand). The alternating scratches really pop out. I also use sunlight, even on a cloudy day it is enough. Just change your viewing angle and look for the reflections of the opposing grind lines.

The alternating scratches also help to keep your bevels smooth and consistent. Low/high spots jump out and you know when you get it all to match.

I start at 60 grit ceramic to clean my profile and set my 45° centerline marking bevel. Then down to 36 grit ceramic for distal taper with a jig. Then 36 grit on a jig to walk the grind line up to the edge. Then freehand at 45° tip down, depending on how thick it still is, I may stay at 36 or move on to 60. Then its just a progression, 120, 150, 240, maybe 400 until I feel like it is getting too thin. As soon as I hit my comfort limit on thinness, I just jump to hand sanding at 120 grit.

A belt 120 grit seems waaaay more coarse than paper at 120. I'd say 240 to 400 is getting closer to the Rhinowet 120 I use.

 

[Tom Lewis]

You may be doing this the hard way. I get my bevels pretty much how I want them with a 36 Norton ceramic belt. Then use 60,120, 220,400 grit not to shape the blade but just get the previous scratches out. I finish with a 22 Norax belt. The Norax really makes a huge difference. With the Norax I can see any scratches that I missed with previous belts. I then start hand sanding with 400 grit Rhinowet. It takes about a minute on each side of the blade.
Also I think you will be better off if you learn to grind freehand and not use a jig.