Improv?

I

IanBryant

Well-Known Member
Maybe it's because I'm new to knifemaking but I find myself needing stuff I don't have quite a lot. I am also not a rich man by any stretch of the imagination so I generally improvise or modify what I have. Does anyone else do this? Is there anything you improvised years ago that you still use?

For example, I only have a 1x42 belt grinder and I can't really access the drive wheel and the idler pulley is somewhere in the 3.5 inch diameter neighborhood so if I want to grind a radius smaller than that (and boy do I) I have to do it on my drill press with a drum in the chuck or a "flap mandrel" I made that I wrap sandpaper around. It takes longer but it works.
 
Absolutely, nothing wrong with that. The people here just try to teach the best methods to get the best results, but that's not to say that there isn't 6 different ways to get the same job done. Nothing wrong with improvising, we all do it all of the time. It probably opens up your mind to logical ideas that may lead to a revelation of some sorts, lol!

Wayne
 
From my viewpoint, knifemaking is all about constantly solving problems.... in general there are tools we need that are not commercially made, so you either improvise something you have, or build your own. There are not many things in my shop that haven't been modified to some degree. Sometimes its simply to suit my tastes, and sometimes it necessary to make them function in the manner I need.

A few of the major modifications....
-Redesigned/built the tooling arms for my grinders
- Designed/built grinder platens
-Modified my surface grinder to use 2 x72" belts
-Turned a drill press into a tapping machine
-Built my own kydex press
-Made my own handle broaches (for hidden tangs)
-Just changed my KMG grinder from belt drive to direct drive

And on and on. :) I have to believe that's why knifemaking has stayed so "fresh" for me, for so long....everyday that I walk into the shop, I learn something new, and its usually because there is a challenge to overcome, or a problem to be solved.
 
Poor men have poor ways is what I always say. But, that doesn't mean that someone without a lot of money and high-end tools can't produce high-quality knives. I started making knives on a 4x36 bench sander that I purchased from the local hardware store for woodworking. It got the job done, but I needed something else for hollow grinding. I cut out some 6" disks from 3/4" thick MDF and chucked them up in my small wood lathe and glued strips of sandpaper around the edges. This turned into my hollow grinder for a year or so. In the mean time, I saved up to purchase materials and built my own 2x72 belt grinder. I built a small horizontal disk grinder from parts salvaged from a thrift store foot massager. Just this last weekend I made my own surface grinder attachment for my 2x72 that shows some promise. I have photos of most of my equipment on my blog if you want to take a look. Address is below in my signature.

If I had the money and the space, I would buy top quality tools without hesitation. But, since I don't, and since knife making is just a hobby for me, I usually end up building what I need. Yes, it may take more work to produce a quality knife with shop-built tools, but with care and attention do detail, it can be done. Some would advise that you buy high-quality tools in the beginning, but if I had heeded that, I would still be saving up for my first 2x72 grinder and would not have made a single knife. If you can afford good tools in the beginning, get them. If you can't, make them. That's just my two cents worth.
 
IanBryant said:
Maybe it's because I'm new to knifemaking but I find myself needing stuff I don't have quite a lot. I am also not a rich man by any stretch of the imagination so I generally improvise or modify what I have. Does anyone else do this? Is there anything you improvised years ago that you still use?

For example, I only have a 1x42 belt grinder and I can't really access the drive wheel and the idler pulley is somewhere in the 3.5 inch diameter neighborhood so if I want to grind a radius smaller than that (and boy do I) I have to do it on my drill press with a drum in the chuck or a "flap mandrel" I made that I wrap sandpaper around. It takes longer but it works.
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I think 21 years in Navy and 20 years in industrial maintenance made me realize the old slogan is true "We have done so much with so little that we can make almost anything from nothing" a couple other handy cheap tools to improv with: Black & Decker Dragster 3x21 belt sander has a 1" idler in the front, works great especially with zirc belts. a dremel or equivalent with carbide burrs, sanding drums, and polishing pads does a lot of things. find a local machine shop and ask if you can browse there scrap. my "browsing" yielded 20 pounds of 1/4" stainless rod, lengths of angle iron and square tube, and numerous pieces of steel and aluminum that are now grinder or tool bench parts. i think some new knife makers feel you have to have a factory built 2x72 grinder and a Paraheat knife maker's furnace before you can even start.
 
My previously mentioned belt grinder didn't allow me to get anything resembling decent plunge lines because once the bevel was deeper than the thickness of the belt, the knife would bottom out on the plate behind the belt (platen? Still learning nomenclature) so I got a .125 thick x 1.125 wide piece of o1, drilled and countersunk for flat heads, heat treated it and put it behind the belt...it requires a little tracking because I got a little crooked but it works much better now...I also made a work plate to accommodate my grinding jig (that I don't have to use all the time now...proud of that...)

I currently work in a shop that supplies almost anything you need but I apprenticed in a shop that was cheap chap cheap so along with learning the finer points of my trade I also learned to improvise and make "specialty tooling" it has carried over into knife making especially since I'm footing the bill for equipment so I can kind of relate to what you're saying Scott. Suchh improvisation has made my drill press my most used piece of machinery, I don't think it could get along without it.
 
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