Need some advice on what to get next

JSCutlery92

JSCutlery92

Joined
Feb 13, 2019
Messages
9
Hi all, with all of the knowledgeable and helpful people here, I thought that this would be the best place to ask for a bit of advice! So, I have the chance to grab a new tool for my setup, and I need some help on picking what to get. Firstly, my setup: I have a 4x36 harbor freight belt sander, as well as a 1x30 harbor freight sander for shaping and grinding. I use an angle grinder for cutting my material, and a corded drill for doing my pin holes and such. All of my sanding/buffing is done by hand after I do as much as possible on my sanders.

My next big purchase can either be a better belt sander, a drill press, a band saw, or a bench grinder and some buffing wheels. I'm stuck on what would be most beneficial to get because there are a few benefits to each one. The band saw would help me get cleaner lines for my shapes, which would then require less grinding on my belt sanders, and help extend the life of my belts. The drill press would help me make straight holes for my pins and other things, apparently I have a habit of drilling my holes at a slight angle without realizing it so often things don't quite line up like they should.

A bench grinder would help cut down on my hand sanding and reach a higher polished finish, which would be nice, but maybe not as beneficial as some of the other things? So any advice on what I should get next, would be a definite help!
 
Tough call. I’d either go with the drill press or grinder. Both of those things made a huge difference for me. I’d probably do the drill press next, as you have ways to work around having a better grinder; hand work.

I was in a similar boat years ago, a 1x42 belt sander and a hand drill. It was very frustrating and hard to fix crooked holes. A drill press was really nice. A KMG was also a game changer though.

I look forward to hearing other people’s advice.
 
If you mean a 2 × 72 belt sander then definitely that
After the basic hand tools like you have that should be top of the next list of proper tools imo
Better again build one and you could still afford the next thing on list like drill press
 
2x72 . A 10" wheel combined with 36 grit ceramic belt would replace what the bandsaw would do for faster profiling of blades. That is not to say a band saw isn't awesome though.

cheap benchtop drill press can be found on craigslist or harbor freight. I believe one is very valuable and a basic one combined with good bits and taking the time to adjust it properly can get you very far.
 
The day I can afford a KMG from making money with knife making, I will consider myself a successful knifemaker! Those things are beautiful, but very expensive. So, so far the drill press seems to be taking the lead in what to get next. However, I would really love to get my hands on a 2x72 grinder, but that's not quite in my budget at the moment. I'm working with about a $200 budget, which is enough to grab a drill press/band saw/bench grinder, or upgrade to a better 4x36 sander than my crappy harbor freight one.

I wouldn't mind attempting to build a 2x72, but every video I have seen of building your own, requires welding, and I don't have a welder at my disposal. If anyone has some advice or video's on building one without welding, for an affordable price, I would love to see them!
 
Every serious craftsman needs a drill press.

You can buy sanding drums and buffing wheels to use on it until you can afford to upgrade.

You can go to Polarbear forge and look at the grinder in a box. Lots of us still use it after many years of hard use.
 
A drill press is much, much cheaper than a better belt sander. I don't think comparing them is part of the same decision.
 
Larrin said:
A drill press is much, much cheaper than a better belt sander. I don't think comparing them is part of the same decision.
Click to expand...
If we're talking about something like a 2x72 compared to a drill press, than absolutely! But for this choice I was thinking more along the lines of just a better 4x36 than what I have. From what I've seen, a drill press for my needs, and a better belt sander than my harbor freight one, are about the same price. Even something like a Ryobi sander would be better, and that runs around $150 I think? I already had to replace my harbor freight sander due to the work rest holder cracking in half when I went to tighten it. Not to mention that half of the bits and bobs on it are crooked and kind of crappy. Thankfully I've been able to make adjustments for myself to correct things, but its still not fun!

So I was a bit up on the air when I made this thread about just buying a better sander in general, maybe not a $500 better sander, but something better than what I have. However right now, I think the drill press may be winning out!
 
Hopefully you've already made up your mind on a drill press, but if not, I'd recommend a drill press for all the above reasons.

After this, another tool that doesn't often get mentioned is a disc grinder with a reversible motor. A MS friend of mine would say that this would be next, even before getting a 2x72.
 
When you evaluate your work, say 6 knives on a table, what jumps out as needing to be improved the most.

Handle pins drilled more accurately?
Less time spent finishing?
Less money spent on abrasives?
Being more efficient at cutting blanks?
Something else ?
 
3fifty7 said:
When you evaluate your work, say 6 knives on a table, what jumps out as needing to be improved the most.

Handle pins drilled more accurately?
Less time spent finishing?
Less money spent on abrasives?
Being more efficient at cutting blanks?
Something else ?
Click to expand...
I like that.
 
JSCutlery92 said:
I wouldn't mind attempting to build a 2x72, but every video I have seen of building your own, requires welding, and I don't have a welder at my disposal. If anyone has some advice or video's on building one without welding, for an affordable price, I would love to see them!
Click to expand...
Look up "no weld grinder"
 
i would also suggest the drill press next. as your knives fit and finish improves, you do not want to see wider rings of epoxy around your pins from being drilled hand-held, and improve the chances of misalignment between your scales and tang. after you get your drill press, let your desires tell you what to buy after that. if your desire is to have really tight guard slots on fixed blade knives, a mini mill might be next, for example.
 
And get good quality drillbits (cobalt)
They do the cutting, the drill only drives them
 
I can't remember when I broke down and got the 2x72 grinder, but man what a difference it makes. I live on that thing and it's useful for all sorts of stuff around the house.

But I started with
  • a big bench vice
  • a good quality hacksaw (hold your blank properly in a vice and it's amazingly fast)
  • A hand-held belt sander clamped to a table (noisy as hell and doesn't work)
  • Files
  • Sand paper over glass, glued to a 1" wide board (very quiet and works really well)
  • and (.... wait for it ...) a drill press.
BTW 4" wide sanders don't too well when trying to sand steel. 4 inches of contact area is very slow. Personally, I'd rather use the 1" wide paper over glass and push.
 
I'll throw another vote in there for the drill press... Hard to beat the usefulness of a drill press for knifemaking. Cheap too. Much of the other tasks (bevels, handle shaping, etc) can be done with time and hand tools (files, rasps, sand paper).

Other game changers would include a belt sander and maybe a bandsaw (although the bandsaw can be subverted with other options). My 2x72 has changed my game...
 
JSCutlery92 said:
...

I wouldn't mind attempting to build a 2x72, but every video I have seen of building your own, requires welding, and I don't have a welder at my disposal. If anyone has some advice or video's on building one without welding, for an affordable price, I would love to see them!
Click to expand...

Get the drill press next.

However, I have a no weld grinder. You can get plans from https://usaknifemaker.com.
The PDF version is only twenty dollars. When I built mine, seven years ago, my cost was somewhere around $400.00. I think now you could probably do the whole thing for about $6 to 7 hundred. Though that's going to vary quite a bit depending on whether you get a used motor or buy a new one.

The beauty of building your own grinder is you can spread the cost over as long a period as needed by buying just a few parts at a time. That's what I did. It took me over a year to finish mine. I'd just buy parts when I had extra money.

In the mean time I used my 4 x 36.

All in all I've been satisfied with it though it's definitely no KMG or Beaumont.

Even so, I'd still go with the drill press next.
 
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