Shop Machine Roll Call

I live in an apartment, so my shop is a bedroom with a patio, all my stuff, (including my bench) is on casters or mounted to a cart. I roll stuff outside to do any work.

KMG, 1.5 hp, pulley set up
Dewalt portaband w/ a swag stand
LMS mini mill
HF arbor press
couple of Wilton vises
Kalamazoo 1x42 (my starter grinder)
files and sandpaper, tooling, etc.

would love a kiln, but theres no way I can pull that off in an apartment
 
JC, I know! I'm planning on repainting it when I have a chance, I mean, who paints a Lincoln green?!?! Oh well, I got it cheap and it works great. :D
 
NWG 1.5 HP 220V(welded) 4 step pulleys with about 6 attachments and 9V footswitch
Combo 9" disc, 6X48 belt sander/grinder, 2HP, 220V made by retired Aerospace engineer and master welder. Reversible drum switch. Circa 1950
Old Craftsman 15-16" floor standing drill press
12 ton hydraulic stamp press
Over-engineered Kydex press
Porta-band saw (thanks Ryan W)
Garanite slab
Eyelet rivet press
2 bench grinders, 1 buffing, 1 wire and stone
Rod Guided sharpener
Assorted hand tools.

Want list:
Another grinder (variable)
A horizontal grinder
Another drill press
Lathe
More wheels
A water jet (yeah, right)
a mill
flaring dies
Blasting box
Huge compressor
Evenheat oven
5 designs worth repeating.
more skill, more time, more money.
 
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KMG
Bridgeport round ram
Delta/ milwakee surface grinder
Craftsmen 6X48 w/ 9" disc
Above run off 0ne VFD

Need:

small wheel att., more wheels
Horizontzl 2x72

Lots of small tools, electrical contracting tools, wood,auto,etc.
 
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I have a 40x70 pole barn. Not near all of it is my shop though. My shop area is about 40x26ish. That includes all my automotive tools and wood tools too.

I like knife making, but also want to focus on general metal work.

I have:
Lincoln 225/125 AC/DC welder
Weld-tec TiG attachment for scratch start TIG
32x64 welding table
Harbor freight portaband with good Milwaukee blades
Small drill press (need to upgrade asap)
Craftsman 2x42 grinder
9" Craftsman bandsaw for wood and nonferrous metals
One 5" vise, two 4", one 3"
Buncha files
Electrolysis rust removal tank
All the steel for a GIB. Just need the wheels and a motor/vfd setup.
Angle grinders, various other hand metal tools

I'm currently working on negotiating for a Kalamazoo 610D horizontal bandsaw and an oxy/acet setup. I also will have the opportunity to buy a Hobart Handler 125EZ MIG for about $70 from the pawn shop I work at part time.

I am restoring this, which is why I have the electrolysis tank:
IMAGE_1000001553.JPG



Wants:
Atlas 109 or similar lathe
Midsized mill
Surface grinder
Sheet metal brake
Beader
More concrete for my shop
To build a heavier duty steel rack
Forge
Nice anvil
 
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I only have three machines:
Grizzly 2x72
HF benchtop drill press (on the floor)
Dremel

- Chris
 
In my shop:

Home made 2x72 grinder, 1 hp motor
2x42 Craftsman grinder
Ryobi bench top bandsaw
Table top drill press
Floor model drill press
Small wheel grinder with 6" buffing wheels
bench vise
4.5" and 5" angle grinders used for profiling
$99 Princess Auto wire feed welder, used to build forges

2x72grinder005.jpg


In the smithy:

24"x16" heat treating forge
smaller 20lb propane tank body forge for general forging & welding
85lb anvil
hammers
 
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I've got a simple shop, too. Wants vs. Needs. I want more equipment, but I need to eat!

9" 5sp non reversible disc grinder
Benchtop drill press
HF 1x30
6" bench grinder
4" bench vise
High tension hacksaw
4" angle grinder
Dremel
Two brick forge
Files and sandpaper


-Xander
 
Wow some of these list make me feel like a real rookie. Currently i have:

-Mastercraft 1x30
-Craftsman 4x36 with 6 inch disk
-Mastercraft bench top drill press
-old bench grinder running buffing wheels, no idea on brand as it was painted before i got it
-2 vises, one 4 inch and one 6 inch
-More files than i can count, since i hit up yard sales lots, scored a 15 good nicholsons for 2 bucks a couple weeks ago.
-2x72 no weld grinder alsmost finished, just waiting on the drive shaft. running step pulleys and a 1hp 1750rpm motor. scored the motor and a table saw for 20 bucks at the same yardsale as the files above.
 
I have a
2x72 belt grinder built by Dan graves.
Rckford Mill
1x30 sander
Old Craftsman Lathe
Old floor drill press
Table top drill press
Railroad track anvil
TIG and MIG welder
Lots of files
6x36 belt sander
Shop Fox dust collector
Rotozip
Dremel

All this and my knives still don't ;look as good Andy Lewis's
 
I wish Tai Goo were still here. He is a cool guy that rubs some people the wrong way. He builds the most amazing masterpieces using the simplest of tools. If you look at his body of work and his tool list you'd see that you really don't need much.
 
I have a ton of crap, but the cool toys are still in storage... considering I've paid the mortgage by making knives for the last year and a half, the cool toys obviously aren't required.

I just finished a knife that was sort of therapeutic for me, because I used very minimal tools on it-

Forge
Hand hammers and anvil
Salt pot for heat treat
KMG and 9" disc sander
Drill press

Nothing else with a power cord.... aka- just hand work. Yea yea, the hammers and anvil don't have cords either, but they were key factors in the shaping of the blade! ;)

It's nice to have the stereo going without it competing with other noisy things. Sometimes less is more. I think Confucius said that. No sorry, he said, "He who laughs last, must not get the joke." :p :D
 
I just started out almost a year ago. I have sourced almost everything for making knives from watching craiglist and mentioning tools I need from friends,

Coote Grinder loaded with 10 inch contact wheel and the small wheel attchment and a 9 inch disc mounted on the side of contact wheel and variable speed (purchased from Norm)
Wilton Square Wheel (craigslist)
Fisher/Norris Anvil (craigskist)
Atlas Forge (shooter)
9x12 Box Kiln infinite (yard sale)
Baldor Buffer (neighbor)
Floor Drill Press (neighbor)
Band Saw Wood (craiglist)
Wilton Vise (yard sale)
Toaster Oven (wife)
Misc, Clamps,Files

I will say I have been banging on the anvil lately and I think I will be keeping my eye out for more of that sort of stuff.
 
I have more tools than I need, but not as many as I want.
GIB 2"x72" with an 8" wheel, flat platen, 48" platen and a small wheel attachment. 1.5hp w/KBAC-27D VFD
2- 9" disc
2- Drill presses
Old school belt driven bench grinder
2 HF 1/2hp buffers. One with paper wheels
1 minimill
Toaster oven
Portaband on SWAG stand
4"x6" Montgomery Wards horizontal bandsaw
Brown&Sharp surface grinder
2- New Hermes GM pantographs

8"x20" blown forge that I built w/ thermocouple
300# Fisher anvil
150# Fisher anvil
55# anvil mfg est 1820-1860
1- 6" leg vise
1- 5-3/4" leg vise
Swage block

Knowing what I know now after becoming addicted to making knives exactly 2 years ago I'd likely be happy with a drill press, a 2"x72" grinder, a 9" disc and my forging equipment.

I've I've spent time at 4 other knifemaker's shops and I got the "I wants" before I got the "skills".

I have all this in a 20'x22' garage that's ONLY for knives.

I'll have to second the Tai Goo's shop being pretty basic. I loved the WIP where he was showing how to drill a handle pin through stag or elk horn. It looked like a c-clamp on a bench and a 3/8" 110v hand drill.
 
I've made a lot of stuff with only primitive/minimalist tools over the years.

That's cool and all, but in the end I had to ask myself what was most important.

For me, it was focusing on making tools to be used (rather than sitting in a safe, which is where most of the stuff I was making was ending up).

What's important when making tools to actually be used is delivering maximum value and designing within the limitations of modern manufacturing techniques.
I had to swallow some pride in order to decide that those results were more important than romance of the process
... but I discovered that it's really a continuation of the same journey. There are no shortcuts. Controlling a computer and machine is in many, many ways more challenging than controlling a hammer and file.

I enjoy it all.
 
On the "cold side of the shop.
KMG with 1.5 hp variable speed setup and various and sundry aftermarket parts from Nathan.
Jancey Radiusmaster grinder (hates it. Waste of a fair chunk of money when I could have bought a Burr King at the same place)
3/4 hp 1800RPM Baldor buffer. had if for 5 years, still scared of it, so it have never been set up.:D
17 inch Steel City Tools drill press
Chinese mill/drill
Chinese lathe
Cheapo 12 inch disc grinder that never gets used.
Small wood lathe. (Shop Fox, IIRC) Also never gets used.
HArbor Freight vertical/horizontal bandsaw
Hardness testing machine.
Hitachi abrasive cutoff saw
Dewalt portable table saw.
Delta mitre saw.

And on the hot side.
Chile Forge Habanero
NC Forge knifemaker model
Imagination Xpress hydraulic press
25 pound Murray Little Giant clone.
110 pound anvil
post vice not installed
a pile of Pedinghaus hammers and Tom tongs.
A few hardy tools that rarely get used.
24 inch 220v/20a Paragon furnace.
Home Depot Bayou Classic turkey fryer pot as a quench tank. ( I use Parks 50 which rarely if ever needs heating down here.)
Lincoln 110v wire welder that I can no longer pretend works.
 
Nice thread Rick!....but we still love you anyway :)

I am usually working on building my shop as much as I'm building knives!

There are some amazing lists here that include some very nice machinery. Gets me all giddy!:D

Currently here is the machinery I have in the shop that gets USED..

KMG, step pulleys.....getting converted to VFD soon.
Fellhoelter horizontal 2 x 72, 2 hp VFD controlled
9 inch disc grinder, 1hp VFD controlled
Grizzly spindle sander that sees lots of use for handle shaping
Delta 1 x 42 grinder
Delta 10 inch benchtop drill press
Central Machinery 10 inch benchtop drill press
WWII era Atlas floor model drill press
Older Dayton metal cutting band saw
Shop fox M1001 knee mill
Large vibratory tumbler from HF
30 gallon air compressor and Barrel Blaster blast cabinet...very happy with it!

....and I just acquired an older Harig Super 612 surface grinder with a nice Kanetsu magnetic chuck. Can't wait to put it into service!
 
William Schrade said:
Hey Rick,

I hope this makes you feel better. My work area measures 5'x16'. My 1 car garage, or should I say dungeon, is stuffed with a wood shop on one side and my knife shop on the other. If I want to use the wood shop I have to move my 2 Vintage BMW motorcycles that are crammed in there too.

My machinery list includes:
Band Saw
Floor standing drill press
TW 90 Belt Grinder (My big splurge)
2 Buffers made from electric motors from my fathers knife shop

I'm contemplating selling the Beemers for some additional equipment.

A shop with a window would be nice too.

View attachment 315701View attachment 315702View attachment 315703
Click to expand...

William......you may be cramped into a one car garage......but you have a TW-90! I do not feel sorry for you :D
 
Cool stuff guys!

Under two years as a maker and about 300 knives here, I started on my porch then moved up to a tent. ...Later a carport and now my shop which is still officially still being finished.


KMG Grinder
2 drill presses - one big one for metal and a small one for kydex
tile saw for g10/micarta
carpenters saw with chop saw blade for cutting metal
buffer - cheap and rarely used
arbor press

2 Kilns - both electronically controlled
roasters to heat quenchant - plates as well

Etcher
Carbidizer
Anodizing Setup
tumbler

I probably forgot some stuff...

I also have some hand tools and lots of other random stuff but other wise my shop is very minimalist. I try to keep it tight tool wise, for example - every time I think I need a metal cutting bandsaw I think up new ways to get around it...

my cheapie ryobi bandsaw just died - I used it for kydex only and replaced it with a pair of tin snips!

If I did not make a living as a knifemaker I would have a vise, files, drill press and a kiln as that is all I really need to make a knife.
 
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