mill

i still dont have a drill press (got a mini mill cause it coudl mill lightly or drill had a 4x6 bandsaw and a small grinder) my first big buy was the kiln

my tool buy went like this
4x36 belt grinder (oops shoudl have got differnet grinder)
delta 1x42 (still using dads cheap drill press )
even heat kiln and dewar (glad to have HT the way i want it )
mini mill
that lasted em a good while till i could pay for a KMG grinder
from there it was all down hill as i now have a bigger mill a metal lathe wood also bigger metal saw and a large wood saw anodizer and electro mark etcher....
he who dies with the most tools wins
 
Alot of guys doing metal fab are using the Milwaukee band saw and mounting it on a SWAG table (You can google it- pretty cool look) It comes in WAY below the cost of JET, is portable (think bench-router table for a porta band) and as long as you are profiling knives under 18-20 inches there is really no reason to spend the massive cash on the Jet. If you look other guys mods up- some have mounted the HF to support jigs and clamped them to their bench.

I understand your position- I am limited by budget, time and wife- so multi purpose with less and then when you can step up- it will be like a shop-evolution badge of honor. (something to work towards!)

The linked forum above is as well what I was going for-
 
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Thanks! I was actually given a Milwaukee and bought a Swag Off Road for it. I saw no need to keep two portable band saws and since I would feel too guilty about selling a gift I sold my mounted HF for $100. While I really like the Milwaukee I do miss the HF. I feel my stand is sturdier and harder to push around. The HF is louder but also doesn't require a clamp to keep the trigger depressed. The biggest advantage the HF has (aside from the price) is that the blade is offset from the housing while the Milwaukee blade is directly inline. While not a big factor in many situations, the offset essentially allows an infinite length of steel to be cut lengthwise. I would have to measure the width of steel the Milwaukee would accommodate to do the same thing but I know a two inch wide piece can't be split down the middle (inch and a half, maybe). This only became an issue when I profiled some two inch wide kitchen knives. At the time I still had both saws in my possession and had to resort to the HF to gt the job done.
 
silverforgestudio said:
I understand your position- I am limited by budget, time and wife- so multi purpose with less and then when you can step up- it will be like a shop-evolution badge of honor. (something to work towards!)
Click to expand...

You guys are the best !!! That was the easiest sell to my wife. After showing her the link of the Port-a-band and its construction/cost, plus, all the positive comments
from professional knifemakers about it, she went for it !!! So in 2 weeks, I get a new toy and another addition to the "newby" shop :D
Hopefully in a year, and many hundred practice knives, I will be able to wear that "Orange" badge and get a "Big-Boy" shop!!
 
I've got a tormach 770 cnc mill. It's 1HP and it does the job but a drill press and bandsaw definitely come first. You'd need the bandsaw to cut the basic shape of the blade anyway.

The only reason I've got it is because I make folders
 
hmm I would have thought a good cnc machine could cut basic blade shape faster than a bandsaw.
 
crank78 said:
hmm I would have thought a good cnc machine could cut basic blade shape faster than a bandsaw.
Click to expand...

CNC (Computer Numeric Controlled) defines how a machine is controlled, not what a machine is. If it is a plasma/laser/waterjet then yes it is probably faster for the actual cutting. Or, if it is a large powerful mill that can take big cuts with each rotation then probably also. At any rate, with a manual mill it would take me longer to set it up than it would to trace and cut a blank on a bandsaw.

Good blades are the key with a bandsaw like bits are for a drill. A decent bandsaw with properly toothed Lenox blades can go through 1/4" stock like butter...

For me, with limited CAD/CAM experience, just drawing the design to match what I have on paper with the computer would even take longer than cutting it out on a bandsaw.

What a 3-axis/5-axis/plasma/laser/waterjet with computer control gives you is precision and repeatability. If you are going to do folders it helps a lot. Hidden tangs its nice to cut slots in guards with. Making an intricate part or one-off fasteners and the like its really nice to have. I use mine very little for knives, but quite a bit for guns. Fitting a 1911 slide, dovetails for sights, picatinny rails, etc necessitate a mill. Mine is no big Bridgeport or anything so it is really slow, but does enough for me. If my Grandfather-in-law ever kicks I get his anvil, power hammer, press and gunsmithing machine! Not that I want him to kick or anything... ;)

Hope that was clear and accurate.
Cheers!

-Eric
 
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