What's going on in your shop? Show us whats going on, and talk a bit about your work!

say what?! That's awesome!!!
 
Nick, Erik, G. Shahan... incredible work! :cool:


This week I'm all over the place with random projects, folders and shop improvements. As usual my evenings are spent doing design and research.

I'm streamlining my setup for folder making... re-arranging and improving!

My goals are to :

Improve Dust Collection and Ventilation - I was recirculating my air with a 3 micron dust collector which worked OK but not well enough for the amount of grinding I do. I'm moving to venting out into a collector and having airflow in for positive ventilation.

Drill Presses - I just chopped my 2 old presses down and ditched the movable tables for more accuracy while drilling. Instead of tables I use precision ground 1-2-3 blocks to support my work. I also got a new press and a tapmatic which are going to be used for a dedicated tapping setup.

Improve Grinders/Sahara Desert Situation - my grinders and big press are always covered in sand from the blast cab! Some sand stays in the blast cab but not much! :D Everything has been moved away from the blaster and I'm adding a partition to keep the sand off of everything. My horizontal and standard KMG are also right next to each other which has already helped a ton!


The dust collector still needs to be set up direct and is behind the grinders. There is soap in that dust bucket but it really needs to be changed! It is my sink after all. :D









Low Rider converted press on left, standard one (same size originally) on right. The new Grizzly is getting a tapping head permanently installed as soon as I get this stuck Tapmatic arbor removed...





Low Rider big Grizzly Press! Newly chopped and table removed... I still need to check it with a dial indicator. The shop is a big mess!





I just finished up my third Framelock in CPM-D2 steel with Ti Frames.





I also finished up some Carbide Edge Friction Folders. I have been busy...

 
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Nick,

Looking pretty darn scary. Nice engineering on the tang shape.

Everyone else, inspiring work as usual.

My second valentine yesterday was my cork belt. I just LOVE these things. It is really nice to get the finish I'm looking for without struggling.

nvAOM6x.jpg
 
HallHandmade said:
Nick,

Looking pretty darn scary. Nice engineering on the tang shape.

Everyone else, inspiring work as usual.

My second valentine yesterday was my cork belt. I just LOVE these things. It is really nice to get the finish I'm looking for without struggling.

nvAOM6x.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice work. I think cork belts and scotchbrite belts are some of the most useful tools out there in getting a nice even satin finish, especially on high wear steels.

And don't even get me started on Trizac belts. Everyone needs to try them. The evenness in finish they leave is just unreal. Far superior to standard AO belts and ceramics at the same grit.
 
KalEl said:
Nice work. I think cork belts and scotchbrite belts are some of the most useful tools out there in getting a nice even satin finish, especially on high wear steels.

And don't even get me started on Trizac belts. Everyone needs to try them. The evenness in finish they leave is just unreal. Far superior to standard AO belts and ceramics at the same grit.
Click to expand...

I've also tried the structured belts, they are pretty wild. I keep a couple on hand, i especially like them because they dont have as much give and can be used for "tells" when hollow grinding, similar to going to a disc real quick when flat grinding.

My main gripe with cork is that you get some "fuzz slap" at the top of the grind, and the flats need to be touched up afterward. The structured belts dont have this problem really, but they can be a bit more unforgiving in the plunge.
 
Ian,

I am glad Scot at TruGrit suggested the cork belts and after watching Steve Johnson use them I am a convert.
 
KalEl said:
Nice work. I think cork belts and scotchbrite belts are some of the most useful tools out there in getting a nice even satin finish, especially on high wear steels.

And don't even get me started on Trizac belts. Everyone needs to try them. The evenness in finish they leave is just unreal. Far superior to standard AO belts and ceramics at the same grit.
Click to expand...

Im a huge fan of the 1k grit cork belt with green compound. Have you ever tried zirc belts? I think they really shine for the middle grits like 120 & 220.

DF, those friction folders are sick! I can't wait to see more framelocks from your shop.
 
Nick, thanks for sharing you process! Looking good! I learn a little from every pic...

Chavez556, thanks! Folders are my plan for the year.

Erik, the integral is taking shape nicely! :cool:
 
HallHandmade said:
Nick,

Looking pretty darn scary. Nice engineering on the tang shape.

Everyone else, inspiring work as usual.

My second valentine yesterday was my cork belt. I just LOVE these things. It is really nice to get the finish I'm looking for without struggling.

nvAOM6x.jpg
Click to expand...

Damn Ian... Your grinds really give me something to aspire to. I love the fact that they come off the grinder 100% ready to rock!

I got all my stuff moved into my new workshop at the start of last week and I've been trying to get everything sorted out since then. Lots of odds and ends getting bought that I didn't have (simple stuff, garbage bins, vacuum filters, etc...). I also wanted to put a partition up in the unit to separate a large 'clean' area off from a smaller 'dirty' area. I was contemplating drywall and such, building a proper wall, but it seemed like overkill to do what I wanted which was just to keep dust out. So I decided to knock up a transparent partition using thick vapor barrier pastic sheet. I'm happy with the result so far!

VDSVk9g.jpg


The plastic sheeting still lets the light pass through which is nice as it keeps the space feeling large. The plan is to do without a door, and instead a large air scrubber will suck dirty air in on the dirty side, and blow out filtered air on the clean side. Hopefully the pressure differential created by this should be enough to keep all the airborne grit and such on the dirty side where it belongs.

I'm also working on putting together a proper dust collection system for the grinder as that's definitely the largest culprit in terms of airborne junk...

I also have a large pile of lumber that you can see on the left there, that's going to get turned into 6 new benches before the end of the week. With those things out of the way I should be good to get going again... I'm looking forward to turning out my first knives from my new shop!
 
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