Virtual BBQ WIP West Coast Hunter

[jonnymac44]

Jonnymac44
Model 10 West Coast Hunter WIP, stock removal:

After reading Stacy's thread about having a virtual BBQ and hammer in, I thought it was good timing for me to do a WIP thread of my process of making a knife from start to finish. I am working on a lot of stuff right now, so this may be a slowly evolving project but I might as well get started. Like Stacy suggested , this WIP is not about the right or wrong way to do things......it's just the way that I do things. Much of what I learned I got from these forums. Other things I learned myself through trial and error, and some things just came naturally on their own. Hope you guys enjoy it.

It just so happens that I had just drawn up a new design two days before Stacy's thread. It's not the most complex or original design but I haven't done anything quite like it so I thought I'd make a small batch of these. This is my new Model 10 West Coast Hunter coming in at 8.0" overall in length. This batch will be done up in .176" thick D2 tool steel stock.

I start out with the original drawing in pencil. Then I trace it with a fine point sharpie on another sheet of paper, cut out the design and glue it onto some thin cardboard, like from a twelve pack of soda or beer with rubber cement. After it dries I cut out the template and trace it onto some pre cut bars of the steel I'm using. If the design turns out to be one that I want to keep and make more of I will make a more permanent blade template from 1/8" thick clear acrylic from Tap Plastics like the ones pictured.

Next the bars get taken to the band saw to get some excess steel cut off before profiling on the grinder

I'll be back with more as this new model progresses........

 

[fast14riot]

Dude I need to get out to your side of town one of these days! I like that new design, waiting patiently for more pics...


-Xander

 

[Kentucky]

I like those permanent templates..Cool

 

[jonnymac44]

Thanks Xander! My shop is open to you anytime.......except when I'm at my "real" job! Mondays and Fridays are almost always shop days.

Kentucky,
Thanks, I found 1/8" thick 12" x 12" sheets of acrylic at my local Tap Plastics store for $1.00 each in the scrap bin. Works for me!

 

[Salem Straub]

Cool, Jon. I'll stay tuned.

Acrylic sheet can also be found for free as scrap often from sign making shops. I got a good supply from some nice folks at a shop where I asked. It's white acrylic, also works well for folder patterns as it can be drilled for temporary pivot, stop pin location.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Johnny,
Can you post an introductory paragraph describing the WIP. I will move it to the BBQ sticky.

It should be in this format:

Your forum name
The WIP name and type
Brief description of project



Example:
Knifemaker1234
Recurve Hunter - Weekend Project
This is a build WIP on making a recurve hunter in L-6 and fitting a stag crown handle. It will cover the HT I use for L-6 as well as how I carve the Stag Crown.

 

[mgysgthath]

How thick do you use for your acrylic patterns? I like the prices (except UPS shipping) at the link you gave, just not sure how thick to get -- was thinking 1/8". Looking forward to seeing this project progress!

 

[jonnymac44]

Sorry Stacy, didn't realize you'd made a sticky! Guess I thought it was going to be a free for all

I'll edit the post.

Johnny,
Can you post an introductory paragraph describing the WIP. I will move it to the BBQ sticky.

It should be in this format:

Your forum name
The WIP name and type
Brief description of project



Example:
Knifemaker1234
Recurve Hunter - Weekend Project
This is a build WIP on making a recurve hunter in L-6 and fitting a stag crown handle. It will cover the HT I use for L-6 as well as how I carve the Stag Crown.

 

[jonnymac44]

Ok, made some more progress today.......

After I get the basic outline cut out on the bandsaw, it's time to put a 60 grit 3M cubitron belt on the KMG and do the finer profiling work. I use a somewhat worn belt for this, saving brand new ones for beveling.

I decided at this time to go ahead and profile out an acrylic stencil for this model while I was at it. Gotta be very careful grinding the acrylic. It goes really quick and if you not careful you can be needing to start over really fast. As the acrylic grinds away it melts somewhat. If I don't pull away from the grinder every few seconds to separate the melted blob from the workpiece it can catch on the work rest causing mistakes in your grind.

Here is my basic setup for finishing up the contoured portion of the profile, such as choils, finger grooves, etc. I use my MAP arm on the KMG with the small wheel attachment and I essentially have a horizontal grinder turned up on it's end. It's not as comfortable to use as a horizontal but it gets the job done. Using this setup I grind the contoured section to it's final grind line and then take the whole profile of the knife to 220 grit.

Most of the operations you are seeing here are done with two hands for accuracy and safety. These shots were taken as I was doing the work, grabbing the camera and shooting. My professional photog was out sick today so I had to improvise!!

Here is a shot of all three versions I end up with when I finish to this point, the cardboard stencil, the acrylic stencil, and a profiled blade blank. I often get questions about the extra meat on the tip of the blade. I learned when I first started out from someone here on this forum that our natural tendency is pull the blade away from the grinder at the end of a pass. This results in the edge getting thinned out too much at the tip in relation to the rest of the edge. Leaving this extra steel on the end allows for a bit of thinning at the tip, then when the bevels are done you just grind it off and you've got a tip fully intact for hardening.

More to come next post......

 

[jonnymac44]

I should note, that at some point you should check to see how flat you blade is. I don't always do it at the same time, and I'm not sure if there is a best time to do it, but I always do at some point. I lay the profiled blank down on my granite surface plate and look and feel for any bowed sections. I determine what part of the blade needs to go in what direction and decide where I think the bend needs to happen. Then I clamp up the blade in a vise and using a wood block for leverage I apply firm but gentle pressure in the necessary direction. I may not even feel anything, but after a bit of pressure I pull the blade out and test it on the granite again. I do this back and forth for a while until I get it as flat as possible. This makes flattening the blade on my flat platen and the granite surface plate go a whole lot quicker since I use less belts and paper this way. Although I don't have one yet, I have my eyes open for a surface grinder at some point to make this part of the process a bit easier!

Next, it's time to put some holes where they need to be. I use my old heavy duty Atlas press to drill the pin and lanyard tube holes in the tang. I learned long ago not to try to muscle a big bit through steel to save time. I start with a 3/16" bit, then move to a 1/4", then 5/16", and then 3/8" as necessary to get the hole to the size I need. It takes a little extra time changing out bits four times for one hole, but it's worth it and works best if you don't unclamp the blade from the press table until the hole is as big as you need it. In other words, I don't drill all of my 3/16" holes then all of my 1/4" holes, etc. etc. Once a blade is clamped up on the table I go through all the bit steps until it's done, keeping things nice and rigid. For this part of the process I've learned that cobalt bits and quality cutting fluid can take you far.

After drilling the pin/tube holes it's time for a little countersinking.

Now I've switched to my smaller drill press, a Delta DP300 which is much smoother and quieter. It's time to drill some small 5/32" holes for a little weight reduction and I won't need the power of the big press. I usually drill a few holes and then go do something else for a few minutes to let the bit cool down some. It keeps the bit from dulling too fast and adds life. This cobalt bit has got well over a thousand holes done and is still cranking out the curly cues.

Here is my profiled blade, ready for bevel grinding. For some reason I took this pic before I finished drilling and countersinking the weight reduction holes. That will be done before any bevel grinding happens.

Finally, here is a picture of my shop Jay. She and here mate have been with us for years, eating nuts we put out and whatnot. She's eaten out of my kids' hands on numerous occasions and always comes to the sliding glass door to let us know she's hungry. She's never come into my shop until the last few days. Today she actually landed on my drill press table right next to where I was grinding to say hello and demand peanuts!! It's kind of cool having her hang out. She always brings her babies around before they leave the nest for good as well. The girls named here Bluey several years ago.

 

[wolffbite]

Nice stuff jonny! I was curious how you profiled your heavily contoured handles. Guess I got my answer

Looking forward to seeing it progress! :thumbup:

 

[jonnymac44]

Thanks Wolffie! Guess that mystery is solved!

More on the way soon.

 

[Wloch248]

Thanks for the tip about the extra meat on the tip. Going to have to try that one out!

 

[cbr900son]

Where did you get this arm?!? That setup would help me so much!

 

[jonnymac44]

Where did you get this arm?!? That setup would help me so much!

Check out this thread right here, William....

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...s-your-dream-KMG-attachment?highlight=MAP+Arm

 

[jonnymac44]

Got the rest of this small batch profiled out today. Bevel grinding on the first one should start tomorrow if I get time between finishing up some orders.

 

[jonnymac44]

Had to work on other things today, but I did get the bevels rough ground today.

After I made my first few knives, I picked up Fred Rowe's Bubble Jig. It really has helped me learn how to freehand grind a whole lot better. It's an excellent tool to teach muscle memory in my opinion. I don't use it all the time anymore, but I wanted to use it for this WIP because it's a big part of how I taught myself to grind and was a part of my usual process for a long time. For this WIP I am just going to use it to set the bevel at 10 degrees per side to give myself a flat surface to work with for the rest of the grind.

Here is the blade clamped up in the file guide with the jig next to it set at 10 degrees.

Here is the blade after grinding the beginnings of the bevels. I do my rough bevel grinding with a 3M Cubitron Gold 60 grit belt. At this point I will discontinue use of the Bubble Jig but I'll leave the file guide on for a bit longer to make sure that the shoulders are nice and crisp. I usually do my rough grinding at five passes per side, going back and forth and making sure to keep track of how many passes each side has had. When the grind gets to about the point seen in the pics below, I'll remove the file guide and go freehand the rest of the way. The shoulders are very pronounced at this point and it's easy to lay the blade onto the platen.

Next after removing the jig now that I have a good flat bevel to lay on the platen, I slowly walk the grind up towards the spine, being very careful to try and keep my pressure even throughout my passes and the same for both sides of the blade.

Throughout the grind, I will measure my grind lines just to make sure they are progressing evenly, and apply more or less pressure where needed. Sometimes I check with calipers and others I put a fingertip on each side of the blade where the grind ends and see if both fingers are in the same spot, kinda like checking your sideburns to see if you trimmed them evenly

 

[jonnymac44]

Now, with the file guide off, I continue to work the grind up toward the spine until it's where I want it to be and the edge is at about .020" thick.

Here is the blade rough ground at 60 grit. I've decided to do a rough, bead blasted mill scale finish on the flats for this knife, so next step will be to do a pre hardening bead blasting and then finish the bevels to 400 grit to get the knife ready for heat treat. I won't be grinding the swedge in yet. I've recently begun to do all of my swedges post heat treat because I think they come out a bit cleaner that way.

Of course, Bluey was back in the shop perched on my drill press while I was grinding again today. She only loves me for my peanuts though

More to come soon........

Thanks for looking!

 

[ERIK KNIVES]

Sweet, Jon!

You have some really great advice here. It's cool that you are paying-it-forward. Knives are looking great.

EA

 

[wolffbite]

Very cool jonny! What speed do you tend to grind your bevels at?