Setting up a large part of my 2 car garage for a blade shop. $3000 or in budget

D

Degwerks

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Apr 29, 2016
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So my kids have been asking to do this for a long time and as part of a Birthday & Graduation present to the 2 of them, I'm going to do it. Also my father and I have been wanting this for even longer.

So what I got is a homemade dual burner forge, lots of hand drills, files, wood hand saws, jig saw, Saws All?, couple angle grinders, circular saw, hacksaws, couple bench vises and small section of railroad rail. Possibly a gas powered welder, it's been in storage for years though..., The garage is only wired for 110 though.

What I'm wanting to splurge on is an Anvil and a 2x72 belt grinder. I can't find any Anvils in my area that aren't in decent shape. I really don't want to try and build my own grinder but want the security of falling back on help from a manufacturer if something goes wrong with it.

What I'm looking at in an Anvil is this one so far, http://www.amazon.com/Ridgid-69632-...ie=UTF8&qid=1461726884&sr=8-19&keywords=anvil
not necessarily buying it at Amazon but the link is for reference, along with this link: https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/forged-anvils

So far with the belt grinders I'm looking at 2, a AMK-77 and LB-1000 Grinder from Wilmont.
http://amktactical.com/epages/3c926...26a50-9aba-43a5-9571-098ee03f1288/Products/18
http://www.wilmontgrinders.com/Pages/LBGrinder.aspx

So I guess I've got another $500 to spend, and if I allow my kids and father to chip in, we'll have a bit more as well.

A metal cutting bandsaw and drill press would be great though. However I've got a few friends that I can harass to let me come over and cut/drill some stuff if need be, that'll probably get old soon though.
Any other items that you can think of to finish this out?
 
I can't help too much with the other stuff, but I would personally save up a little until you can get a variable speed grinder. It is so much nicer to be able to slow the belt down.
 
Between the two grinders, personally I would probably choose the wilmont but agree variable speed would be an excellent upgrade. As far as anvils go, for less money you could buy a 120lb Nimba Titan. Contrary to what many say, I personally feel that for bladesmithing, anvil size isn't hugely critical. I have anvils from 72-396lbs and my daily user is 140. Nimba makes an excellent anvil from everything I have heard. I believe the best use of the $500 extra you mentioned would be a variable speed setup for the grinder. You will probably also want to add a half decent drill press, because it's near impossible to drill perfectly true holes with a hand held. Adittionally I would add a band saw, it doesn't have to be expensive, but will save a lot of time and cost in belts in the long run. A harbour freight portaband can be had very cheap, and will do the majority of metal cutting tasks.
 
Degwerks said:
So my kids have been asking to do this for a long time and as part of a Birthday & Graduation present to the 2 of them, I'm going to do it. Also my father and I have been wanting this for even longer.

So what I got is a homemade dual burner forge, lots of hand drills, files, wood hand saws, jig saw, Saws All?, couple angle grinders, circular saw, hacksaws, couple bench vises and small section of railroad rail. Possibly a gas powered welder, it's been in storage for years though..., The garage is only wired for 110 though.

What I'm wanting to splurge on is an Anvil and a 2x72 belt grinder. I can't find any Anvils in my area that aren't in decent shape. I really don't want to try and build my own grinder but want the security of falling back on help from a manufacturer if something goes wrong with it.

What I'm looking at in an Anvil is this one so far, http://www.amazon.com/Ridgid-69632-...ie=UTF8&qid=1461726884&sr=8-19&keywords=anvil
not necessarily buying it at Amazon but the link is for reference, along with this link: https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/forged-anvils

So far with the belt grinders I'm looking at 2, a AMK-77 and LB-1000 Grinder from Wilmont.
http://amktactical.com/epages/3c926...26a50-9aba-43a5-9571-098ee03f1288/Products/18
http://www.wilmontgrinders.com/Pages/LBGrinder.aspx

So I guess I've got another $500 to spend, and if I allow my kids and father to chip in, we'll have a bit more as well.

A metal cutting bandsaw and drill press would be great though. However I've got a few friends that I can harass to let me come over and cut/drill some stuff if need be, that'll probably get old soon though.
Any other items that you can think of to finish this out?
Click to expand...

Go through this,

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...You-Want-In-One-Place?p=12016587#post12016587

That will keep you busy

My perspective on your plan

Nice budget
Don't blow your wad on an anvil

Try stock removal first, forging is not necessary and complicates things by a factor of 10x
It's a whole new set of skills and a whole nother thing to spend $ on.
It's fun, but you can start forging on the cheap with a 2 brick forge and a diy vernturi burner makeing S hooks and such.
Do that while you find an anvil on craigslist, or farm auction, or some fool's garder decoration, or
Search Sea Robin Post Anvil


Instead of that $1.2K anvil

I wouldn't do without a drill press and a portable bandsaw and I'd buy a better grinder.

Buy a good big drill press used.

Buy a portable bandsaw - https://www.milwaukeetool.ca/power-tools/corded/6225
and a SWAG tools table - or make your own


Those two grinders are the cheapest possible grinder you can get.

The anvil is just a hunk of steel you hit with a hammer, why would you spend more on it than on the grinder ?

I wouldn't get either of those grinders
The red wheel on the amk is a castor wheel.
It's not balanced and not made to go more than 20 rpm.
He spent more on the flag in the background than the spent on the contact wheel.

I don't care for the LB either


I'd get
http://www.wilmontgrinders.com/Pages/EERFGrinder.aspx
or
http://www.esteemgrinders.com/

or go to the originals with a B3
http://www.stephenbader.com/

Get a VFD for variable speed
KBAC 27D and 1.5 HP will work on 110v

Don't forget to leave $ for belts, It's easy to spend $500 on some belts.
 
My order of importance in spending for the knife shop:

Non-power tools - Files, sandpaper, clamps, a granite surface plate, sharpening stones or diamond plates, etc. This is the first purchase a new maker should make. You will buy this stuff the rest of your hobby career, too. A sturdy workbench with a good vise is also part of the starter package. Good lighting is also very important.

Power in the shop - Have two circuits of 220 VAC at 20 amps each pulled into the shop. You will also need 110VAC at 20 amps. If there isn't enough power, all the equipment in the world is useless. If there is no power available at all, have a 60 amp sub-feed pulled in and wire the shop for 220 and 110.

A good shop vac - everything you do in making knives makes dust ... clean it up. A good size shop vac and a spark trap can work for dust collection at the grinder.

Grinder - spend your first big money here ... because it will do most of your work. 1.5 HP, VS, 220 VAC Get quality and durability. KMG, Bader, TW-90, and several other major brands are the most popular for good reason - they work hard and last a long time. There are some OK entry level grinders below these, but it is really a situation of "pay once - cry once".

Belts for the grinder - Belts are consumables. You can consume a lot in some cases. Buy them by the dozen, and use them like they were free. When they stop cutting well, switch to a new belt. The old one may be OK for some other task, but chuck worn belts in the trash.

Drill press - mulit-speed, 3/4HP or larger, good table with a vise, adjustable drilling height. A floor model is far better than a bench model. Good drill bits and a Drill Doctor sharpener are money well spent.

Metal cutting band saw - you have to cut stel up to make knives. A hacksaw will work in the beginning, but eventually you will want a power saw. Most folks use either a port-a-band saw or a HF type 4X7 band saw. The blade is very important. A Lenox, or other good grade, Bi-metal blade is a must.

Wire welder - a fair to good quality wire welder will allow you to make equipment, as well as do things like make repairs and weld tangs on and such. No good shop should be without one. MIG is fine in most cases, but TIG is very nice. Nothing wrong with the old stick welders, either.

Small forge or a HT oven - eventually, you will want to do your own HT. In the beginning, that isn't such a good idea, but as your skills grow, it becomes part of the progress. Get/build a simple forge or even better ... get a HT oven. Proper HT is important. Forging isn't necessary to make good knives, so unless you are dead set on forging, a simple forge is all you need.

Anvil - get a steel anvil, or don't get one at all. A steel anvil isn't necessarily expensive. High quality anvils can run a lot, but an affordable 70# steel anvil will work for most tasks.

There are many other things, but the above will get you going.
 
Thanks Count!

I've been looking at the Esteem Belt Grinder you linked and I think I'll go with that one. He's got several attachments for it and I'll have to contact him and ask what the Knife Grinding Fixture is, for $350 I'm wondering what the heck it is.
I'm also sold on that bandsaw & swag table for it, pretty damn handy. I'll most likely go with a Stump style anvil and save some money for now OR locate a larger piece of Railroad Rail, mines smaller than a dollar bill.

I found a post about someone building their shop up, and it's pretty much the same power tools you linked to me.
http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...ing-my-old-dirty-garage-into-a-workshop/page3

I found a local guy on Facebook, on a garage sale style page, that has a Craftsman drill press. I'm going to go check it out. Lowes has a Porter Cable one for $300, if that used one isn't worth it.
 
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