What's in your shop?

H

halfflash

Joined
Aug 29, 2009
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I'm starting to look around for equipment, and I think I'm seeing a lot of repetitious things. I have some books on the way that I'm going to read before I purchase anything, but I'm curious as to what are the bare essential tools for making a shop? I don't have a lot of experience with power tools, so belt grinders and jigsaws might serve the same purpose for all I know.

My question is what machines do you use for every knife, every time?

Thanks guys, this forum is really helpful.
 
Drill press (mini-mill), Grizzly grinder, vise...I also have a mini-lathe but don't use it that much.
 
i use a belt sander, disc sander and a high speed buffer. i have access to a lathe, mill, surface grinder, drill press and a buddy has a plasma torch that comes in real handy.
 
plasma cutter would be awsome! i dont have one but a bead blast cabinate for finishing would be nice too!

jake
 
My shop is geared more toward cutlery restoration, but I have 2- 2x72 belt grinders, a mill, a mini mill, a drill press, a couple of 1x30 belt grinders, 4 buffers, air/acetylene torch, a rolling mill, a small lathe, and my bench tools.
 
You can go to my website. I have a shop tour that shows most of my primary equipment. Even with picures showing just the primary tools, you can see alot of my other tools in the background as well.

As for what you really NEED....drill press, files, sandpaper, misc. hand tools, vise. As for what makes things really nice....belt grinder, bandsaw, heat treat oven.

--nathan
 
KMG grinder, Radius Master grinder, hydraulic press, Baldor buffer, 17 inch drill press, small Ryobi drill press, Harbor Freight metal cutting bandsaw, Mill-drill machine, metal lathe, abrasive chop saw, DeWalt jobsight table saw, Paragon HT oven, Chili Forge Habanero, NC Knifemaker forge, anvil
 
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I have minimal tools for a stock removal guy: 2X72 homemade belt grinder, portaband, HT kiln, drill press, dremel with router setup, a palm sander with corian platen, lots of files and lots of sandpaper and to play with forging propane forge, 2 anvils, lots of hammers. But in years you'll collect thousands of things, you'll forget what was the purpose of that piece and it will stay there until you find it useful for something else...

To start with depending on your budget and the path you'll take I'd go for a decent grinder for stock removal or a good anvil and tongs for bladesmithing first.....
 
halfflash said:
I'm starting to look around for equipment, and I think I'm seeing a lot of repetitious things. I have some books on the way that I'm going to read before I purchase anything, but I'm curious as to what are the bare essential tools for making a shop? I don't have a lot of experience with power tools, so belt grinders and jigsaws might serve the same purpose for all I know.

My question is what machines do you use for every knife, every time?

Thanks guys, this forum is really helpful.
Click to expand...

I would be going to night school or find a friendly knife maker in your area before you start buying power tools that you are not familiar with.
Richard
 
A 2x42 Craftsman belt sander, a small drill press, vice, bandsaw, Dremel, Craftsman 6'' buffer, lots of files, stacks of sand paper, and a home made HT kiln. These are the bare essentials, and the band saw is a luxury, really. All you really need to make a knife is a vice, some files, a hack saw, hand drill, and lots of sand paper. You can always get someone here on BF to do the HT for free, or next to nothing.
 
I will try not to be too lengthy ;) but this is a topic that is dear to every maker's heart regardless what he makes. :D

In my shop, for regular knife work, I use in order of their first use, though almost all of them cycle back during any project...

Light!!! Lots of light, both general and work station specific
Harbor Freight metal cutting bandsaw
Bader BIII grinder (any will do, 1.5 hp minimum and variable speed are the critical items; 2+ hp is preferable in my mind)
Ceramic and structured abrasive belts
Drill press
Disc sander
Vise(s)
Palm sander with a Micarta platen; good sandpaper in grits from 220-2000
Collection of various-shaped sanding blocks
Shoulder filing guide
Selection of needle files, various cuts and shapes, some diamond
HT oven and quench tank(s) or plates
Buffer
A couple of flex shaft machines
[Basic leather working tools, a separate list]
Renaissance wax

What's the absolute minimum? The best you can afford of the three:

Drill press
Belt grinder
Files

You do not need the "best" of anything to start. As it grows, your work will fund ever more and better tools. It's a truism. :D

I definitely second Richard's suggestion to find a local maker to hang out with for a while. But be sensitive that any time you're working in his shop, he probably is not being productive. Few makers would turn down a sincere request for helping a new maker get started, but it honestly is costly for that maker. I don't know where you live but if you're within a few hours of Des Moines you are welcome to join me any time. I'm not much, but I mostly try hard. :)

Also as Nathan mentioned, many knife makers have a 'shop tour' on their websites. You can learn a lot from looking in the background of those photos. Right on Nathan!

Finally, read through all the stickies up top. There's so much valuable info there you'll probably go cross-eyed the first few days you spend reading. But soon everything will begin to come together in your mind and you'll have a complete mental image of both your desired shop and first dozen projects. :D

Go for it, and good luck!
 
halfflash said:
My question is what machines do you use for every knife, every time?

Thanks guys, this forum is really helpful.
Click to expand...

Aside from the forge and hammers (not required if you are removing stock), on every knife, I use my homemade grinder, a hand drill, cobalt drill bits, C-clamps for glueing handles, Vise, peening hammer for pins, rasp for shaping handle, sand paper for shaping handle and finishing blade, bandsaw to cut wood into scales (not required if you buy scales).
 
You don't need that much for just starting out. The only power tools I use is a bench grinder, angle grinder (mainly for heavy sanding and cutting), hand drill and a dremel, but you would need other items as well. (Vise, clamps, etc.)

I use the angle grinder to cut out the stock to the size I want, then use the bench grinder to profile it. The dremel is primarily used for handle and fitting work with sanding disk and sanding wheel attachments. The hand drill is just for the pin/thong/expoxy holes.
 
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