Which shop does precision surface grinding?

Noctis3880

Noctis3880

Joined
Jul 22, 2009
Messages
11,409
Hi all,

I need to have a bar of M390 with dimensions 0.174" thick, 11.8" long, and 2" wide ground down to precisely 0.125" thickness as part of a project(I'm not the one making the knife). I've tried contacting a few shops but with no response thus far. I'm guessing either they only deal with large orders or they don't want to grind a wear resistant steel. Any thoughts on who I should shoot a call to for this?
 
My Guess would be it is to small a order.
I would recommend that you have it milled before you surface grind it to save time.
Also if it took up to 2 hrs to do the job and shop time was $50 a hr could you buy the right thickness stock for under $100?
Just a thought.
Good Luck!!!
 
I was looking to buy the piece from Alpha Knife Supply, though Chuck tells me he doesn't have a grinder. I'm not sure of any other supplier who sells the steel, and I assume Bohler only sells the bars bulk(not too crazy about the overseas shipping rates either).

Also, I want to point out that I'm merely a customer looking to have the appropriate piece for a custom maker, so I'm not sure what you mean by having it milled.
 
it is a lot easier to mill a piece of steel down close to size than it is to grind it from the start so you mill it down and leave a little to do the finish grinding.
 
Hey, if you are getting the steel from Chuck (AKS) have him give it to David Lisch (also in Seattle.) Dave should be able to do it for ya. Suppose we should ask him first.
-M
 
Try checking the phone book for machine shops. Start calling and asking about Blanchard grinding services. You'll either find a shop that can do it or a pointer to one pretty quickly I'd bet. Blanchard grinding is preferred for taking a lot of steel off (it's much faster, cheaper, and has less of a tendency to overheat stuff since it's generally flood cooled), but will leave a somewhat rougher finish than surface grinding. If you're planning to polish your surfaces anyway, tell them to leave .001-.002 over your target thickness and clean it up from there. Otherwise and shop with a Blanchard will almost certainly have a surface grinder as well and they could finish it out for you after they rough grind on the Blanchard.

I usually pay ~$20/bar for my Blanchard grinding, but that's because I put a lot of steel in for work at once. You're paying an hourly fee usually so there is an economy of scale.

-d
 
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