New to the game, tips welcome!

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Absinthe

Well-Known Member
I have been doing wood working for quite some time. So I have all the necessary shop tools for that. However, metal work is mostly new beyond hand work (files, hacksaws, drills, and powered sanders and grind wheels).

I tried my hand at taking apart some old knives and playing with how they work. I also bought some pre-made parts from a factory gone out of business. Moving forward, I am trying to get to the point where I can make the whole knife from the ground up. I am not, however, interested in forging. I am quite satisfied with stock removal, or even buying blades, although it seems like even when I can get blades, springs will be problematic. Lots of places sell pre-made blades, very few have springs.

I am mostly interested in slip joints and similar ilk.

I do not have a 2x72, and don't see one in the near future. I have 2 different 1x30's, and I have been able to put a nice bevel pair on a marking knife that I attempted. I also have a 4x36, that I just realized I can change the configuration on. But I have been using the one drive wheel side of that like one would the larger wheel on one of the normal grinders. Sorry, I am not sure if the proper terms yet. I also have an OSS, but I am not sure I want to use that on metal.

I have an angle grinder, and I am not afraid to use it. I have an 8" bench grinder, but since I put CBN wheels on it, I am going to simply pretend it doesn't exist, unless working on HSS. I still have a 6" bench grinder, but it is running a wire wheel, and soon to be a buffer for some finish work. I am not afraid to use a file :)

I also built what I guess would have been the single blade Oar Carver, (based on the parts I used). I will be redoing it since I didn't grind down the liner pins sufficiently.

I also don't have a metal cutting band saw. In theory, there is a way to slow down my 14" wood band saw, and outfit it with a bimetal blade, but I am not sure if that is in my best interest. I do own a few hack saws. I have a jig saw and scroll saw if putting metal cutting blades on them might make sense.

I have been keeping my eyes open for deals on FBM and CL but I am not sure what to look for. I have seen the band saws with the big hinge. But I am not sure how to use one of them. They look like you set them up and walk away and gravity cuts a straight line in metal. But I am not sure of that. I have also seen the ones you hold with two hands (porta-band) something of that ilk.

I do want to do whatever I can with what I already have, but if there are some easy/cheap ways to solve some of the common problems I am willing to give them a try too.
 

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Welcome!

Where there's a will, there's a way. But I'm not going to sugarcoat it- slipjoints are a whole 'nother level of difficulty to make from scratch.

To answer your questions:

Band saw- a metal cutting bandsaw can be had pretty inexpensively. Don't even consider modifying a wood saw. While it sounds like a good idea, that way lies madness. Get a metal cutting bandsaw. The ones with the hinge can be used in the upright position by affixing a table to them. In fact most of them come with a table for doing just that. I've been using one from Harbor Freight for almost ten years. I love that thing, but it does take up room. A fantastic solution is a Porta-Band bandsaw with a SWAG Offroad table. (SWAG Offroad has a great website with several options.) You can find a used Porta-Band or you can get a new Harbor Freight one for about the same price. band saw you get, add a foot operated switch for $15 so that you can use both hands for control of the work piece.

For a belt grinder, you can get by with what you have for right now, you just have to be creative. Slipjoints don't require a massive amount of grinding or a massive amount of power. I haven't seen him post in a while, but I want to say that Calvin Robinson makes his slipjoints exclusively on a disc grinder. (Not an angle grinder, mind you. I'm referring to a bench mounted grinder with a 9" disc that you use sandpaper on.)

There is nothing wrong with starting out using kits. It's a great way to learn. Just don't try to pass them off as customs if you sell them.
 
John Wilson said:
Welcome!

Where there's a will, there's a way. But I'm not going to sugarcoat it- slipjoints are a whole 'nother level of difficulty to make from scratch.

To answer your questions:

Band saw- a metal cutting bandsaw can be had pretty inexpensively. Don't even consider modifying a wood saw. While it sounds like a good idea, that way lies madness. Get a metal cutting bandsaw. The ones with the hinge can be used in the upright position by affixing a table to them. In fact most of them come with a table for doing just that. I've been using one from Harbor Freight for almost ten years. I love that thing, but it does take up room. A fantastic solution is a Porta-Band bandsaw with a SWAG Offroad table. (SWAG Offroad has a great website with several options.) You can find a used Porta-Band or you can get a new Harbor Freight one for about the same price. band saw you get, add a foot operated switch for $15 so that you can use both hands for control of the work piece.

For a belt grinder, you can get by with what you have for right now, you just have to be creative. Slipjoints don't require a massive amount of grinding or a massive amount of power. I haven't seen him post in a while, but I want to say that Calvin Robinson makes his slipjoints exclusively on a disc grinder. (Not an angle grinder, mind you. I'm referring to a bench mounted grinder with a 9" disc that you use sandpaper on.)

There is nothing wrong with starting out using kits. It's a great way to learn. Just don't try to pass them off as customs if you sell them.
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Thanks... Kits? Kits would have been nice, and much less expensive. I am buying overpriced remnants from the closed Queen/Schatt Morgan factory. Seems a few people have bought up most of their leftovers at auction. I am thrilled to have access to $5 chip-carving blades made from D2 and such things. But I am ready to get to more control, not having to guess sizes that someone else chose arbitrarily and so on. I recognize the additional complexity or something with moving parts, but it's just a little more math and physics. I am more concerned with properly hardening and tempering metal sans forge. I have access to O/A and a really interesting Oxy-Propane rig ... just don't have an O2 tank for it. I am assuming I can reach 1500°F without O2, or worst case scenario, build up a 1-brick or 2-brick forge just for HT and such. I am not totally opposed to sending stuff out, but I might be able to do it myself. As long as I enjoy it, I will do it. When it becomes a burden, I will do something else. Perhaps some day, a proper heat treat oven/kiln or whatever.

For now, I just want to be able to fix some existing knives, and re-build a few, and perhaps some day custom well enough that someone will say "You can't leave here with that, please take my money..." But that is the stretch goal. For now it is time to learn.
 
check out knifekits.com

There are also lots of patterns available on the interwebs. If you want to come up with your own designs, just remember that the pivot hole in the tang of the blade is your 0,0 point. That is the point from which everything is related.
 
Welcome to KD. My tip for slipjoints is find a tutor in the business. Lots of makers belong to groups of specialized slipjoint makers. One of my favorites on Facebook is "Making slipjoints and lockbacks". Great bunch of know-it-alls...
 
Absinthe said:
I also don't have a metal cutting band saw. In theory, there is a way to slow down my 14" wood band saw, and outfit it with a bimetal blade, but I am not sure if that is in my best interest. I do own a few hack saws. I have a jig saw and scroll saw if putting metal cutting blades on them might make sense.
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Not to stir up controversy, but I'll say that you can use a wood cutting bandsaw to cut metal. It's just a matter of blade speed. This is a Delta / Milwaukee bandsaw that is frequently used in wood shops - but it has cut a LOT of metal. But the ONLY reason it works is that the blade speed is reduced to a level suitable for metal. The saw has to run very slow. Note in the photo the reduction pulleys and variable speed unit. On this saw there are two pulleys - when cutting metal they are setup as shown in the photo. If I want to cut wood, I just move to the inner pulley and up the speed.
The variable speed unit is about 70 years old. If/when it fails I'd likely install a KBAC VFD setup like I have used on other shop equipment.
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MTBob said:
Not to stir up controversy, but I'll say that you can use a wood cutting bandsaw to cut metal. It's just a matter of blade speed. This is a Delta / Milwaukee bandsaw that is frequently used in wood shops - but it has cut a LOT of metal. But the ONLY reason it works is that the blade speed is reduced to a level suitable for metal. The saw has to run very slow. Note in the photo the reduction pulleys and variable speed unit. On this saw there are two pulleys - when cutting metal they are setup as shown in the photo. If I want to cut wood, I just move to the inner pulley and up the speed.
The variable speed unit is about 70 years old. If/when it fails I'd likely install a KBAC VFD setup like I have used on other shop equipment.
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well that is some serious kit! I have a Craftsman 14" bandsaw. There is a way to switch belts from 1620 to 3340 but I am not convinced whether that would be slow enough or not. As it is, I hate changing blades on that thing just to go from re-sawing to curvy stuff. And, it is integrated into the dust collection, which I am not sure I want a metal cutting saw to do.

I am looking at a second hand Milwaukee portable right now, I should tomorrow or so if I am getting it. That will make it easier than using a hack saw. :) Though I am not sure how much of a curve I can do if any with a 1/2" blade all the time.
 
Dennis Morland said:
Welcome to KD. My tip for slipjoints is find a tutor in the business. Lots of makers belong to groups of specialized slipjoint makers. One of my favorites on Facebook is "Making slipjoints and lockbacks". Great bunch of know-it-alls...
Click to expand...
going to join there right now!!
 
John Wilson said:
check out knifekits.com

There are also lots of patterns available on the interwebs. If you want to come up with your own designs, just remember that the pivot hole in the tang of the blade is your 0,0 point. That is the point from which everything is related.
Click to expand...
Thanks, seems like great advice.
 
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