When I started building slipjoints a couple yrs ago I ground a nick with a dremel and neatly done looks fair. Then I bought a dovetail cutter and they looked a little better. But I really wanted a true arc or segment of a circle so I bought a fly cutter and some 3/8" tool steel. I ground a cutter giving it just enough clearance on the grind so it did not heel out. I am grinding annealed D2(drills easily)...but when I try to cut the nick about 1/16" deep, it starts out fine and then the point breaks and fouls up the blade. Quite frustrating. Any help here is greatly appreciated.
-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is available! Price is $250 ea (shipped within CONUS).
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/
Nail nick and fly cutter problems
- Thread starter John L
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2007
- Messages
- 1,171
I dont use a fly cutter, I use a grinding wheel from a surface gringer that has been shaped a bit ( use a piece of carbide to shape it) and chuck it in your mill or drill press.
Even better Look at Craigb's tutorial and I believe he does the same thing I do or at least similar.
Even better Look at Craigb's tutorial and I believe he does the same thing I do or at least similar.
- Joined
- Dec 2, 1999
- Messages
- 9,910
I assume you have a milling machine? If so be sure the vice and blade are clamped rigid. It sounds like you have too much unsupported tip on your cutter. You need some material behind the tool tip to take the abuse. Go slow and practise on junk steel until you get the tool grind right. HSS tool stock works best.
Maybe something like this? It is a 3" diameter, 45deg cut. It needs an arbor, and they also have right hand cut depending how you rig it up.
http://www.wttool.com/product-exec/product_id/29267/nm/Left_Hand_Milling_Cutter
http://www.wttool.com/product-exec/product_id/29267/nm/Left_Hand_Milling_Cutter
Try a tool post grinding wheel and dress the angle you want. The closer you get to 90 degrees the thicker the nick. I use a single point diamond dresser but might try the carbide also.
MSC has the stones, largest is 4 inches I think. Make the arbor from a bolt that fits the hole in the stone. Cut the head off and use washers and lock nuts on each side of the stone.
Cut the nick, back the cutter out and redress the stone without moving anything and just touch the nick to give a clean nick. Thinner blades take a larger diameter stone if you want a long nick and not cut through the other side of the blade. Dont ask me how I know. LOL
This way you can cut the nick after the blade is hardened and ground. If you want the surface grinding wheel just remember it has a 1 ¼ diameter hole and an arbor will need to be made to fit it.
MSC has the stones, largest is 4 inches I think. Make the arbor from a bolt that fits the hole in the stone. Cut the head off and use washers and lock nuts on each side of the stone.
Cut the nick, back the cutter out and redress the stone without moving anything and just touch the nick to give a clean nick. Thinner blades take a larger diameter stone if you want a long nick and not cut through the other side of the blade. Dont ask me how I know. LOL
This way you can cut the nick after the blade is hardened and ground. If you want the surface grinding wheel just remember it has a 1 ¼ diameter hole and an arbor will need to be made to fit it.