Rough Shaping the Blade?

Milt

Milt

Joined
Nov 16, 2008
Messages
260
I am wondering what methods are preferred for cutting out the blade from flat bar- band saw, cutting torch, belt sander, or?

I tried using the band saw, but that proved very slow and difficult. So, I went to the Coote's grinder with a 40 grit belt. That went OK, but it took a long time. Also, it was hard to see the scribe line.


Milt
 
I did my first knife with a hacksaw, I don't have the endurance to do the whole thing as fast as I can but when you do it seems to go as fast as a bandsaw. I did my second on a bandsaw and that went quick in my opinion.
 
If you don't have a bandsaw or torch you can use a skill saw with a metal cutting blade in it. It actually goes pretty fast. You just have to cut everything straight, but with a little ingenuity you can get most of it cut out. After that, if you have any large parts left to profile out you can rough grind it on a bench grinder.
Later,
Iz
p.s. wear face mask of course and gloves. Oh yeah and ear plugs...it's loud.
 
Angle grinder :thumbup: It's real fast, has a lot of accessories, you can cut, profile, with disk sander attachment you can rough sand before sander real quick. It takes 10 - 15 mins to profile a 10" blade regardless of shape.
 
Might try a good blade in your bandsaw, It takes me about 5 minutes to cut the profile on a drop point hunter. Its a pretty simple outline but a metal cutting bandsaw should go pretty quickly with a good blade.
 
I bought a new blade (18 tpi) metal cutting blade for my Band Saw. Is there a better choice or certain type/brand that works best for blade steel. I do have a cut off blade for my table saw. What is an angle saw?

Milt

I googled Angle Saw. I call those side grinders. I have one of those also.
 
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Lennox diemaster works well in a metal cutting bandsaw. That is what I have in mine , works like a charm , before that I used a chopsaw to cut away most of the bulk and just profiled the rest away using a 60 grit belt on the Bader.
 
If you have one, a plasma torch is as quick as drawing the shape. An acetylene torch is almost as quick, but not as accurate so make sure you leave a good amount for error.

A band saw is pretty quick. But like it was mentioned earlier, you need patience for any method.
 
I have a plasma cutter, O/A torch and a band saw. The band saw is the better option IMHO.
 
is your bandsaw a metal cutting saw? A wood saw is too fast and may burn up you blade. Seems with the 18 tpi you should be cutting well unless the steel is hard,

Anyone know of a source of bandsaw blades less than 1/2" width, I would like to get 3/8 or 1/4 to have a smaller cut radius.
 
galadduin said:
Angle grinder :thumbup: It's real fast, has a lot of accessories, you can cut, profile, with disk sander attachment you can rough sand before sander real quick. It takes 10 - 15 mins to profile a 10" blade regardless of shape.
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+1 on the angle grinder. I don't even have a bench grinder and I have crafted a handfull of knives so far. I use 1mm thick stainles steel cutting discs as they create a lot less friction than the thicker ones and they cut way faster. I also use grinding discs for shaping afterwards and even to speed up when cutting the bevels of my blades with my file jig. I bet a bandsaw is way cleaner but I don't have one.

Mikel
 
Hello Milt. Another option that you can use is to drill a series of holes along the outside of your scribe line and then play connect the dots with your bandsaw. It will save a little time. I use to do this many moons ago, but now for cutting out parts and the rare occasional blade, I just use the bandsaw with a starrett bi metal blade at 18 TPI.
 
I use 36 grit Zircona belts that are too dull for other work. I haven't timed myself but I can grind out the shape of a blade very quickly. It doesn't cost anything because otherwise I would throw the belts out. I have two metal bandsaws but can grind the blade shape much faster than if I use the bandsaw. This saves the bandsaw blade for better things.
I have a 1 1/2 hp motor on the grinder I use.
 
Patrickknives said:
is your bandsaw a metal cutting saw? A wood saw is too fast and may burn up you blade. Seems with the 18 tpi you should be cutting well unless the steel is hard,

Anyone know of a source of bandsaw blades less than 1/2" width, I would like to get 3/8 or 1/4 to have a smaller cut radius.
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Go to http://www.toolcenter.com/BI-METAL_DIEMASTER.html they have them in 1/4" and 3/8" widths for contour cutting or check your local saw supply house.
 
Maybe a dumb question I don't know...:o

A cutting torch being that is gets so hot that it melts the metal to cut it, will this cause the metal to decarburize at all right at the proximity of the edge where the blank is cut? If so, would this potentially affect the hardening of the blade afterward?
 
R.C.Reichert said:
Maybe a dumb question I don't know...:o

A cutting torch being that is gets so hot that it melts the metal to cut it, will this cause the metal to decarburize at all right at the proximity of the edge where the blank is cut? If so, would this potentially affect the hardening of the blade afterward?
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Yes. You would have to grind away the heat affected zone, so leave a little fat on the blade to account for it. Plasma cutters are better than OA torches in this regard.
 
It's pretty easy and fast to do with a bandsaw. Even with cheap blades it's easy and fast, they just don't last very long. Maybe your blade is dull. Try using a bi-metal blade.
 
Tom Lewis said:
I use 36 grit Zircona belts that are too dull for other work. I haven't timed myself but I can grind out the shape of a blade very quickly. It doesn't cost anything because otherwise I would throw the belts out. I have two metal bandsaws but can grind the blade shape much faster than if I use the bandsaw. This saves the bandsaw blade for better things.
I have a 1 1/2 hp motor on the grinder I use.
Click to expand...

I have a good metal bandsaw but never use it for profiling anymore. What Tom said is the best way, in my opinion, to profile a blade out of bar stock. A good belt grinder coupled with the coarsest belt you can get your hands on makes short work of profiling blade blanks. Use dykem and a scribe to layout your lines. Slowing the belt down a bit and dunking the blade to keep it cool when you get close to the scribe marks will keep your lines so that you can see them.

Brad
www.AndersonKnives.ca
 
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