Nathan the Machinist Grinding gadgetry

I was too antsy to try out the platen and chiller to leave them alone.

I knew that braided lines would be much better for the water in/out, but I was trying to support my small town Mom&Pop hardware store and they only had this vinyl stuff. I don't recommend it... it wants to crimp/pinch closed

I stopped by HF and picked up the little pond pump that Shawn Hatcher used with his (thanks Shawn). I didn't even bother getting a bucket and lid just yet, cuz I wanted to try it out! (and yes, I do know that crappy little pump will croak in a hurry if i were to leave it in that open bucket ;)).



The platen and chiller are one of those tools that I didn't realize how bad I needed until I had it. :thumbup: The belts run so much smoother and cooler over Nathan's platen+chiller... it's crazy.

I'll be grinding a boat-load if BIG 52100 bowies in the next couple months, and I am very excited to have this addition to the shop! :cool: :thumbup:

nathan C3.jpg nathan C4.jpg



And the discs... what can I say??? They freak'n ROCK!!! The one on the left has already seen a couple dozen blades. The tapered one on the right has just barely been broke-in a bit. :) :cool:

nathan C5.jpg nathan C6.jpg
 
NickWheeler said:
I knew that braided lines would be much better for the water in/out, but I was trying to support my small town Mom&Pop hardware store and they only had this vinyl stuff. I don't recommend it... it wants to crimp/pinch closed

I stopped by HF and picked up the little pond pump that Shawn Hatcher used with his (thanks Shawn).
Click to expand...

I'm using braided vinyl tubing from Home Depot. It doesn't pinch and has held up very well.

That little HF pump is still going strong for me. I think I paid around $6 for it and have used it nearly everyday for the last 1.5 years or so.

Have you checked out Nathan's radius platens? I have one of his 36" platens and have grown very fond of it. The shallow hollow grind makes for very aggressive cutters:

[video=youtube;UT2YTnqey8s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT2YTnqey8s&list=UUCkSFg9RCV21Bae7aiJGxIQ[/video]
 
Nick, you got a pic of your rest setup for disk grinders. I just relocated mine to try and make it more user friendly (was too close to the bench and to the KMG) and I realize that I need a a better built rest.
Thanks.
 
sdemars said:
Does Nathan have a website listing what he has available?

Steve in Louisiana
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Not that I know of. He puts his stuff up here in the Knifemaking Tools and Supplies area in the Exchange from time to time. Nathan makes his living as a machinist, and I think his offerings to us knife hackers are much more of a courtesy than a money maker for him. Now with that said, you'd never think that looking at/using his stuff... it looks like it was built as if his life depended on it!!! :)


Shawn- you paid $12 my friend! I looked at your thread a couple times before I headed to the store! ;) :D I was a bit surprised to see the price had soared to $17...;) But I had a 25% off coupon, so mine was $12.75! :D You still win buddy! LMAO :) BTW- You have always been so friendly and cordial with me... then I saw this scary beast of a man in your video^^^ I'll member not to piss you off my friend! :eek:


Pat- I can try to get a better look at it for you, but I think you'll be a bit disappointed as it's nothing to write home about. I had an adjustable table from an old Craftsman belt sander/disc combo that I used. It's dirt simple... but it's really fast/easy to change out. Since I use the disc on damn near every knife, but use it with the table/work rest in place very little, that was really important for me.

If I was being really serious about one, I'd buy the one Rob Frink at Beaumont is making... or make one like RW Wilson has made in the past (Brian Ayres posted some pics of one a couple years back).




Thanks guys. :)
 
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Ok thanks Nick no need for a pic. I'll figure something out. Like you I want something easily out of the way but my old one was too easy aka falling down. ;)

I'd love to buy one from Rob but I need/want so many things from him that I am scared to even go to the website. :(;)
 
Well... nothing is impossible... ;) But the short answer is no.

They were made to fit a KMG (so they should also bolt right onto a Wilmont grinder) and I THINK Nathan might have made some to fit a Bader and a TW-90.

I could be totally wrong on that. I know for sure they'll bolt onto a KMG in two minutes (and one minute of that is cleaning the crap off the stock platen/bolts to remove it ;) ).
 
Thanks Nick. I've been looking at 2x72's lately just so I have an Idea of what I want when I upgrade. Being a computer nerd and loving water cooling, then seeing this, I knew I would love one of the platen chillers. Good thing I've been debating between a kmg and a tw-90.
 
Andy- If after getting a few knives under your belt, you decide to really step up to a professional quality grinder- IMHO, you cannot go wrong with a KMG, TW-90, Wilmont, or Bader III.

A fairly new guy in the grinder market (but long time knife guy) that is definitely worth you checking out, is Brett Matthews. He is building a grinder he calls The Esteem grinder, and it is very well made. :thumbup:

Step into the Way-Back machine (destination 18 years ago) and I wasn't too far off from where you are now. I had been fiddling with knives (hacksaw, files, etc.) since age 12, and decided to go ballz out and bought a variable speed Burr King... the week I graduated from high school! My Dad raised me with the, "save up and buy the right tool the first time" mindset. For a barely 18 year old kid to buy a $1500 grinder in 1996... that's basically the same as a college aged guy getting a TW-90 today. ;) :)

I still use the Burr King too... EVERY DAY!!! :D


Pat--- Oh, you're getting a gosh damn picture!!! :mad:

:p ;) I was thinking about it over my cup-O coffee... and maybe my work rest/table is worth writing home about, :p because it works and it was stupid simple to make work. ;) LMFAO! As you well know, I'm very good at over-thinking things... I didn't do that with the disc table. It shows :foot: But the function is there.
 
bladsmth said:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Polar-care-cube-/121293488138?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c3da7c00a

This is all you need to run the chiller platen for hours.


I am amazed at the degree of high quality in the stuff Nathan makes.
Click to expand...

What a sweet combo that would make. Before you posted that link I thought about how much the set up reminded me of a cpu chiller.

Add me to the list of shock(ed) & awe(struck). I'm just going by pics, of course, but I think it's safe to assume that his work is quality stuff.
 
Not to hijack your thread Nick but I just wanted to show what you “forced” me to do once again. :mad: ;)

After hearing you talk about the disk grinder in such a good way I finally decided I needed to try and use mine more. For that I needed to relocate it as I said before, and rebuild the rest. Here's how it is sitting now.



Time to make a flat ground knife to see how it works. :thumbup:
 
Nick, a little caveat on the chiller. I know that you probably have the dust removal system from hell, but just in case, the lines and the chiller can get clogged up with gum form the bucket if yu are using one. I was the guy who talked Nathan into building the thing, so I have had one longer than about anyone other than him and this issue popped up little while back. Should probably get a new more powerful pump and run longer hoses or perhaps put a lid on the Homer bucket I am using.
 
So as long as you dont start at your ricasso and you move the blade up and down at the plunge it wont cut a curve into your bevel?
 
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