Things I Used To Believe (before I learned better)

As a noob in training, or a NIT, I have learned that using a proper quenchant for the steel I am working with is better than saving a few bucks of some goop, That I don't need to triple quench using a heat treat oven that can accurately soak the desired steel.
 
That could have gone so wrong for her, Ed.... I'm glad she only had a bit of hair torn out. Don't ever google "lathe accident".:eek:

I grind with articulated mechanic's gloves on. Many industrial settings do the same under acceptable conditions. I would not do so with a pinch point like a tool rest gap but the pinch point between the belt and wheel is negligible enough that machine shops don't list it as a common hazard.

Back to the OP....

I always thought that heat treat played a part in how much force it took to flex an object. Not so... Modulus of Elasticity is slowly teaching me to view flex, strength, toughness and ductility in a new light.
 
tryppyr said:
It's a personal choice. When I work on items that can't be clamped down (handle blocks, guards, etc), I prefer having something between me and the workpiece. I find I hold the piece more securely when I have the right gloves on. With the gloves on the work piece NEVER spins out of control. The drill bit will stop instead. Bear in mind I have a small/weak drill press, not one of the freeestanding behemoths you guys probably use.

Blades always get clamped down, so it's much less of an issue on those.
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Wrong answer

all items can be clamped down, just takes a little extra time. i have an XY vise on my drill press that makes it easy http://www.grizzly.com/products/Cross-Sliding-Vise/G1064 i had a friend who had the same delusion with a 99 dollar benchtop drillpress then a freak confluence of quarter inch bit and pinky finger of glove wrapped his finger around the bit. I wear gloves when grinding without a work rest, when forging, and when welding, that is it

-page
 
That vise works fine on a behemoth drill press... not so much on a small table model like mine.

Also, ever tried putting a bison horn in a vise? Good luck.
 
I somewhat agree with you Greg. You gain a bit of allowance when the machine you use is weaker than you are. BUT I'm also well aware that depending on how that machine grabs you, it doesn't take much force to retire you from working with your hands.
 
There was once a perfect storm of a wreck when a glove saved my life when bailing hay, but the event was the result of many errors on my part. I had bought the baler after the former owner had been killed using it. Got it cheap and ran it for years, but it needed a lot of work.

Never let a little single safety precaution or repair go unattended, fix it immediately!

A bolt too long in place of a flush fitting pin, a safety shield that is a pain to work around, - fix it while it is running - and I might add just one more beer. These simple precautions have cost me three friends.

If you feel kind of rotten and don't know why = quit shut the operation down - get out of the situation and try to figure it out. Don't be bashful about asking the opinion of others.

A simple carbon monoxide detector in your shop will help you learn to adjust your gas = air mixture for efficiency and while irritating when it goes off and you are intent on your work can really make a difference.

A chest pain or unexplained fatigue -- think about it.

Rick I could respond about modulus of elasticity - just to keep on the subject.
 
Ed Fowler said:
Rick I could respond about modulus of elasticity - just to keep on the subject.
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I don't want to sway the topic of the thread but the Modulus of Elasticity fit perfectly with what my own experiments were telling me. I just had a hard time explaining why until I delved into it. Feel free to PM or email me if you feel there is something I should know. We could probably start a thread... but it has been discussed many times before.
 
Mr. Fowler raises several important points,,, not the least of which is: HALT

Stop working when Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired. Surely that goes double for chest pains or wooziness. :eek:

Most of us work alone, and most of us are ol-fashioned tough guys. That's cool, but it's not gonna make our wife or kids feel better if we get hurt badly due to stubborness.
 
I have hand held a lot of things while drilling them over the years, because I was in a hurry or the item was weirdly shaped and not easy to clamp. Sometimes it went well, and sometimes it "ended badly"...so now I have much more respect for the humble drill, I expect things to catch every time and try to plan for it.

I do have to admit clamping a buffalo horn would be a challenge, but I would probably start with a V-block of some sort, or prismatic jaws for the vise, or a block of scrap wood quickly cut to sort-of-the-right-shape on the bandsaw...depending on the angle I was trying to drill at. If I spent a lot of money on the horn I might even cast up a jig to hold it at just the right angle from plaster or bondo. But I'd rather spend some time figuring out how to jig the work-piece to do the job well and safely, than potentially ruin the work or spend hours waiting to get sewn up at the ER for the sake of a little time saved

Back to the original topic..."all welds are strong"..."all tape measures/rules will give the same result if you measure something"... "the import locking clamps are just as good as the Vise-Grip ones"..."440C is obsolete"..."a cheap tool that you'll use everyday with a lifetime warranty will be just fine instead of the overly expensive tool with the lifetime warranty"..."it's just sawdust, it won't hurt me"..."all the hazards are covered in the MSDS"
 
Lets just say I've been enlightened by reading through this thread.. Lots of good advice, and opinions given here..As Rick mentioned there are certain gloves allowed within the parameters of their intended use, however learning from experience I will NEVER wear gloves while my hands are directly on the rotating machine...

I was snaking a sewer line and being so I didn't want my hands on that nasty old snake, so I had the bright idea of using gloves..... worked great for a long time but I kept forcing the snake and pulled my mind away from the task for just a second and the electric snake grabbed my glove and didn't even come close to stopping... because I was bent down and had my knee on the power button it took a second to compose as the machine made a pretzel out of me to keep from it snapping my finger off...

of course I didn't go to the doctor as it wasn't visually broke, it took about 6 months for me to gain pain-free mobility of the finger...

accidents are a blink of an eye....

ETA: btw, I failed to mention my bright idea of gloves just so happened to be the wrong kind of gloves for this job, I used rubber backed gloves....:eek: stupid is as stupid does....
 
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When I was a child, my dad would never allow me to use a power tool until I could do
the same operation by hand. Sawing, drilling, etc., would take a while by hand, but
with a power tool it takes seconds. He'd tell me to consider how a cut from a hand saw
was bandaid territory, but the table saw takes no prisoners. It made me think twice
before doing a power operation. It still does.

When the little voice in your head says "don't do that", PAY ATTENTION!!!

Bill
 
NEVER EVER leave a blade in a vice unless your working on it. If I walk away even for a minute, I take it out and lay it on the bench. I learned this the hard way, I'm sure others here have also.
 
I think we are drifting away from the OP topic.

Things I Used To Believe (before I learned better)
 
AVigil said:
"1084 is a beginners steel"

I wish I did not read that over and over again because it is such nonsense and makers really need to stop spreading that sentiment.
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are you saying 1084 is not good for beginniers or that it is good for beginners and experts alike?
 
Vulcanite said:
are you saying 1084 is not good for beginniers or that it is good for beginners and experts alike?
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1084 is a great steel for blades.... period.

Some have given it the reputation of being a "Beginners Steel" when in fact that is a misnomer. All steel used for knives can be used by a beginner but it is the heat treating they can not do at themselves. A beginner can use S35VN or 1084....one he can heat treat himself the other he must send out to have done. Just because the novice can successfully heat treat the steel does not make it a "Beginners Steel".
 
More things I used to believe:

* It's hard to fit a guard to a hidden tang blade. I've found it's only hard if you are impatient.

* Working faster improves productivity. Working faster produces more errors that need to be corrected or designed around.

* Claiming to be a knifemaker would be an insult to those that do it for a living. In fact, I find that the pros welcome the newbies to their ranks.

* Making "normal" knives would be boring for me. Okay, I admit... they are challenging and fun... I just don't like being "normal".
 
Vulcanite said:
please elucidate
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Leaving a blade in a vise, clamped to a table or held down in anyway with the edge or tip exposed is an excellent opportunity to walk into, fall into, turn into or in some manner find yourself impaled. Best practice is don't leave one in such a position.
 
I don't need to provide sheaths, people will get their own. With the exception of high-end art knives, kitchen cutlery, and folders, it's nearly impossible to sell a fixed blade without a sheath. Which brings me to...

Making good sheaths is a pain in the neck. No, wait... that one's still true. :D
 
Myth: Wait untill you have expensive equipment to start doing it.
Truth: equipment helps, and allows for more productivity, but the willingness to just go and do it matters more.
 
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