OK, it's not enough to sharpen anymore

[jonnymac44]

Well, I've gotten to a point where it's not enough for me to sell knives and do sharpening and repair work for my customers. I want to do more, and today I added this new toy to my little shop. It's no KMG but the Grizzly gets good marks for bang to buck ratio and it should serve me well to start. I also finally got around to getting this old Atlas drill press that I acquired a while back up and running. I've got some ATS-34 bar stock and a handful of my own designs that I've been toying with for a while.

So.......any recommendations from the old hands? Anything that I can't live without for the shop that you don't see here? Any tips before I start making sparks fly??

Thanks for any input fellas:thumbdn:

 

[james terrio]

Not a bad set of tools to start with, for certain. You can indeed make blades with that set-up.

You need:

Safety glasses or face-shield, a good particulate respirator, and the patience to use the search function. In that order.

Willingness to take your time and to sacrifice at least a couple feet of steel, depending on how picky you are.

Everything else, you'll figure out as you go along/read/learn etc. Have fun!

 

[J. Hoover]

You might want to go to local hardware store and pick upi some cheap steel to practice on. It won't make a good knife but it's a whole lot easier on the wallet. Then just start profiling and grinding, the rest will come if your patient. I would also recommend a good dust collector as grinding will turn everything sooty black in no time without one, and I mean everything!!

 

[Fletch Helical]

Not sure what the platen on the Grizzly is like but you might want to consider modifying that a bit. The ceramic glass platen that midwest knife makers sells is a handy little thing to have.

 

[jonnymac44]

Thanks guys,
Already have glasses and respirator, as I've worked with grinders before, and yeah Fletch I looked into a ceramic platen already! The grizzly comes with some kind of graphite material bonded to the platen and it doesn't seem to be too bad, but I've heard of the ceramic ones performing quite a bit better. Already have a buddy from a machine shop picking me up some cheap steel to practice with. I plan on adding a one or two inch sanding drum to the other side of the arbor on the Grizzly to help shape curvier handle designs and what not. I guess eventually I could add a cheap six or four inch horizontal belt sander for doing flats, but that can always be done by hand as well so it's not of utmost importance right now.

I'll be back with pics as I progress:thumbup:

 

[Fross]

You are gonna want to get a lot more of those bright orange belts , other than that... get at it!

 

[Bill DeShivs]

The drum sanders use bands that are way too coarse. The finest you'll probably find is 120 grit. The mandrel on the Grizzly is best used with an 8" spiral sewn cotton buff and green compound.

 

[gixxer]

So whatcha want for the poster of Eddie??? You know that Bruce Dickinson is an airline pilot now? No BS!!! look it up!

Oh yea get more of those orange belts, they are rock solid!

 

[Fletch Helical]

So whatcha want for the poster of Eddie??? You know that Bruce Dickinson is an airline pilot now? No BS!!! look it up!

Seriously!? If I ever was a passenger on a flight of his I'd want him to break out the chorus of aces high once we're in the air

 

[jonnymac44]

So whatcha want for the poster of Eddie??? You know that Bruce Dickinson is an airline pilot now? No BS!!! look it up!

Oh yea get more of those orange belts, they are rock solid!

How about these that I drew myself, close to twenty years ago????

I didn't draw these shoes, but I did wear them to the Maiden show on father's day last month!!:thumbup:

 

[jonnymac44]

The drum sanders use bands that are way too coarse. The finest you'll probably find is 120 grit. The mandrel on the Grizzly is best used with an 8" spiral sewn cotton buff and green compound.

I realize that, but to add a 2x72 vertical setup is way too expensive right now. How do I get one or two inch rounded sanding setup to do curves without spending a ton of cash??

 

[richard j]

i have plans for a horizontal 2 x 72 that your buddy can make for you real easy. i'll send pictures with dimensions that you can show him. a disc sander would be a nice thing to add.

 

[J. Hoover]

I heard of guys using the small mini belt hand grinders for doing radius work, or you could purchase a small wheel from sunray and figure out how to modify the grizzley for it to work.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

You can't easily modify the Grizzly for small wheels, and they don't make drums smaller than 4" for it.
Use small drum sanders in your drill press (they are still too coarse.) Use the Grizzly extension as a buffer-it will be the best buffer you ever have.

 

[jonnymac44]

You can't easily modify the Grizzly for small wheels, and they don't make drums smaller than 4" for it.
Use small drum sanders in your drill press (they are still too coarse.) Use the Grizzly extension as a buffer-it will be the best buffer you ever have.

Alright, that sounds pretty good. I have some sisal buffing wheels that I want to try out on it, and yeah, rather than buy a vertical drum sander I think I might try the drill press with the drums in it, good idea:thumbup:

 

[jonnymac44]

i have plans for a horizontal 2 x 72 that your buddy can make for you real easy. i'll send pictures with dimensions that you can show him. a disc sander would be a nice thing to add.

Which buddy?.......and what's he gonna charge me?

 

[Rick Marchand]

My only suggestions would be to add a spark catcher to the grizzly and move it closer to the edge of the table. I modified mine so it hangs off the edge. Just trim an inch or so of the tooling arm base. It is much more versitile this way. That's a Scotchbrite wheel on the mandrel, BTW.

 

[Mr. Bad Example]

I'm no expert, bit a Dremel type tool seems to work OK for grinding curved areas. Also, a band saw for cutting out the blades would be a good addition to your shop.

 

[Tinbasher]

I realise that, but to add a 2x72 vertical set up is way too expensive right now. How do I get one or two inch rounded sanding set up to do curves without spending a ton of cash??

Make a few of these to replace the flat platen, you could even use wheels of different diameters, this one simulates a 14" wheel.
Richard

 

[Phillip Dobson]

The drum sanders use bands that are way too coarse. The finest you'll probably find is 120 grit. The mandrel on the Grizzly is best used with an 8" spiral sewn cotton buff and green compound.

I do a lot of my handle shaping on 50x spindles. They work quickly and accurately. After the 150x spindle, I go straight to hand sanding. It doesn't take very long and there's nothing wrong with a hand-sanded and buffed finish.