Shops, tools, materials and tips

muskrat man · Post by **muskrat man** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 8:52 pm

It has been suggested that we start a thread for shop pictures and related items. I'll lead off with pics of my newly re-arranged shop.
Feel free to add whatever you may have.

My new Desk, where I do most of my hand work:

Desk drawer full of handle material and knives that need some attention:

Center drawer is limited to scrap pins, rulers, pencils, pens, and other small goodies:

Off to the right is organized pin stock and parts bins:

another shot of the desk:

The workbench that holds, my larger vice, sander, buffer and drill press, my 4x32" sander sits on top of a rolling tool box so I can wheel it wheever I need it to go, and I can move all the way around it without interence from other tools:

It's kind of cramped but does the trick:

orvet · Post by **orvet** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:46 pm

Thanks Kaleb,
Not being a moderator I can't start the sticky. Thanks.

I see you store your pin stock similar to the way I do. I made mine from PVC pipe with the cap screwed to a 2X4. I have mine held to the bench with a screw so it doesn't fall off. If I need to move it, I just unscrew the 2X4.

Great minds work alike.

Dale

muskrat man · Post by **muskrat man** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:07 pm

yep, tubes are the only way to store pinstock my friend.

agteacher2 · Post by **agteacher2** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 1:14 am

Here are some of my favorite and most used tools.

First is my adjustable angle mini machinists vice. Leather lined jaws. I removed the angle guage in order to have better access to the vice for filework. I use this guy for everything you can imagine, clamping handle material, compressing springs and filework...

Next are two of my most used tools. The first is the leather covered wooden block. I absolutely love this thing and use it all the time. The leather is glued on with spray adhesive and tacked down on the corners. This makes it easy to replace when worn out or cut up. Next is my cutlers hammer. I looked and looked for this little guy for year. I finally found this one on Ebay. Needs a new handle but still works great. It is about 4 ounces.

This is my home made cuttlers steady or anvil. It is about 6 inches long with a 2 in. blade tapered to fit between the liners of folding knives to allow you to brad the handle pins.

The next couple are my calipers and a bunch of files that are necessary. Notice on the bottom file the piece of leather slipped over the file. This will save you many blisters and callouses. The wooden handled tool is my blade spacer. It is used between the liner and blade when the piviot pins ane bradded.

Last but not least in my work is the Turbo Carver. This little jewel turns 400,000 RPMS and with the correct bits will carve into almost anything you can come up with. I love it!!

orvet · Post by **orvet** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 3:53 pm

I thought I would add a couple pics this morning.

I got tired of digging through a plastic bin for my most used Dremel attachments, so I made a holder that doesn't take up a lot of space & I can move it to where ever I am working to have them handy.

The other two pics are different jaw covers for my vises.
The yellow on the left is made by Wilton and is soft plastic. It doesn't hold things too steady, but does come in handy at times. It has magnets to hold it to the steel jaws.

The middle one on the left is made by Shop Fox. Also magnetic on the back and has a harder (buy still grippy) textured rubber face.

The top left is a spongy rubber (brand unknown) that is good for irregular shapes. Also with a magnetic strip on the back of each one.

The three on the left are ones I made from brass sheeting. One is just brass. Another has leather glued to the brass to grip a blade without scratching it. The other has canvas Micarta glued to the brass. It attaches to my vise with a strip of industrial Velcro. I probably use this one the most.

Dale

Hukk · Post by **Hukk** » Fri May 04, 2007 3:17 pm

I have this large 10 inch buffer. The advantage to a 10 inch buffer is that it can take 4, 6, 8, or 10 inch wheels. So each wheel on a 1725 RPM buffer will turn at a different speed (expressed as feet of wheel surface passing over the work surface per minute). It can take sanding drums of many different diameters. This is a Jet Buffer and it runs smooth as silk. When I started looking at it the price was $250.00 for an industrial 1 HP motor. I bought it on sale for $170.00 after taxes. I hit the sale on accident

Here are the wheel speeds for a 1725 RPM buffer:

Wheel Size..................Speed (Feet of wheel surface passing over work per minute) Not RPM

4......................................1800
6......................................2750
8......................................3650
10....................................5475 Careful at this speed!

Should you want an exciting life with flying blades and parts here are the speeds for a 3450 Rpm buffer. I sold my 3600 Rpm buffer. The numbers in red indicate an area where you are definitely in a danger area when buffing knife blades. I do not go above an 8 inch wheel on a wheel for blades, my safety preference.

Wheel Size..................Speed (Feet of wheel surface passing over work per minute) Not RPM

4......................................3610
6......................................5100 Careful at this speed!
8......................................7200
10...................................11250

Also you can use sanding drums of many different diameters on this buffer that makes it pretty versitile!
I bring this up because a Baldor buffer with a similar set up will run you $600.00 and up. This $170.00 and you will need a lot of buffing wheels, one for every buffing compound or rouge you have.

I just found Amazon has these for about $180.00 but then you have to pay shipping. This is 100 LBS, a Baldor of the same HP is 60 LBS, so this guy is plenty beefy. It out weighs the same HP rated Baldor by 40 LBS and is $340.00 cheaper. Jet does have a good reputation even though I think it is made in China.

http://www.amazon.com/577110-JSB-10L-10 ... B00062NEXW

Hukk · Post by **Hukk** » Sun May 06, 2007 2:43 am

One I forgot is how I use those beat up Protecto Boards that are used for leather work or under a ganite slab for noise reduction. The first piture shows a black protecto board on my work table with some 416 stainless, 360 brass and copper bolsters. There is a modified knife that has a bright red rubber paint (why it's red in a moment). At the back (center) of the picture is pieces of Protecto Board I cut up and use for sanding blocks. The second picture shows the black Protecto Board pieces cut up so I can wrap sandpaper around them. No matter how many power tools you have, you are going to need to hand sand metal and wood parts. The pieces of Protecto Board make great backing for sandpaper, especially on roundish surfaces or even on metal blades.

That red knife was dipped in a red rubberized paint I got from Home Depot. Tools I use a lot have red paint, some yellow paint and others have black. I have a lot of tools and the color coding helps me find tools I use a lot much faster.

orvet · Post by **orvet** » Sun May 06, 2007 4:34 am

Hukk,
You are right about hand sanding. There is no way around it, if you want to make a quality product, IMO.

I use some different shaped rubber sanding blocks & cut them to the shape & size I need. They are called Dura Block. I have round, rectangle, & a couple other shapes. They come in about 12" lengths and I cut them to the size I need.

I also have an old planer blade from a saw mill that I use to cut my sandpaper. I just lay the sandpaper face down & put the planer blade where I want to cut the paper. Then I just tear the paper along the sharp edge. It works great!

Maybe I can get a pic later.

Dale

Hukk · Post by **Hukk** » Sun May 06, 2007 10:16 pm

I should mention I use Protecto Boards a lot for leather work. I cut up good pieces that are left before I throw the rest out. When I'm done, there are all kinds of slices and holes from making sheaths, Rather than throw it out, I just keep some pieces that are not falling apart, yet. So, I'm using something that is taken from a piece that I'm tossing out. Makes me feel like I get it for nothing since it outlived it's purchased purpose.

muskrat man · Post by **muskrat man** » Tue May 08, 2007 2:40 am

good tips and great pics guys. Here are a few pics I snapped real quick tonight, I'll get more tommorow. I recieved some nice tools in the mail from a fellow forum member (thanks again!). A set of his grandfathers dikes, made by H. Boker, great and still have alot of life left in them, a very old handmade cutlers hammer with some history that is a pleasure to use, Made with purpose in mind! a small anvil that is handier than I can put into words, a couple metal rules and and hefty angle vice that I need to mount (this will be excellent for filework!. I may mount it on a heavy platform, so I can move it around and shift it as I see fit. Maybe a big block of steel or something, still working on that.

and it looks like the project drawer is getting lower,

jonet143 · Post by **jonet143** » Tue May 08, 2007 3:20 am

ya gonna rehandle those vise grips?

CCBill · Post by **CCBill** » Tue May 08, 2007 4:29 am

I think stag would look good on those Vise-Grips, don't you, Jonet???(LOL)

DocRon · Post by **DocRon** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 7:05 pm

For a newbie, whose knife projects are still dreams these photos have been very helpful. Thank you.

AgTeacher,
It looked like your mini vise was portable. How do you clamp it down when using it?

Also, to all of you, are Dremel tools useful for file work or are they too hard to control?

orvet · Post by **orvet** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 8:21 am

Hukk,
I went to a Jet dealer yesterday & he couldn't find a buffer like yours. Where did you get yours?

I did buy a cutler's steady on ebay today.
I can't wait for it to get here!

Dale

muskrat man · Post by **muskrat man** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 12:58 pm

dremels aren't too useful for filework IMO.

Dale, fess up how much did ya have to give for the steady? I have been watching but haven't seen any on there.

Hukk · Post by **Hukk** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 5:58 pm

orvet wrote:Hukk,
I went to a Jet dealer yesterday & he couldn't find a buffer like yours. Where did you get yours?

I did buy a cutler's steady on ebay today.
I can't wait for it to get here!

Dale

I went to a local store. Santa Rosa Tool and Supply. They had a few when I went. Here is a website:

http://cbtoolgroup.com/santa_rosa.html Well I see the links to jet are incorrect.

I did a quick search and amazon.com has them, here is the same machine.

http://www.amazon.com/577110-JSB-10L-10 ... uctDetails

Item model number: 577110 and it does run quite smooth and it's about the same price I paid.

Diligence · Post by **Diligence** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 12:27 am

Thought I'd post a few photos of my shop layout and my recent project, a repair of an old 108OT (man, that thing is tiny to try and work on). I've had to make a new spring for the sheepsfoot and spey blades.

I made myself a steady out of a small anvil and realized that if I mounted a center punch in the steady's hole, then stick the point into the spring and liners, it's a dandy holder for tweaking the springs, etc.

I found that plugging everything into a power bar, with an internal fuse, is a great way to avoid having to go down into the basement to flip the switch if I happen to blow a circuit. The local reset on the power bar works very well.

Occassionally, I'll trip the single circuit because I run a heater and air filter (hanging from the ceiling, not in photo) - and if the garage door motor kicks in, it can trip the breaker.

I'm fortunate to have two drill presses and an antique band saw. The sanders are just a 4x36 and a 1x24.

I really like the peg board for hanging things and the magnetic tool rack works really well too.

Just some random thoughts.
Jaye

orvet · Post by **orvet** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 3:08 am

Nice Jaye.

I like peg board too.

How do you temper your springs?

Dale

Diligence · Post by **Diligence** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 7:49 pm

Dale - this particular spring was made out of 440C, not the best to use, but it was the right thickness.

I used a propane torch and eyeballed the heated color to just more than cherry red (probably too hot), let it air harden, then hit it again with the torch to draw it a bit - totally a gut feel operation.

This particular result is a bit soft, but it's suitable for this little project. It's going to go into a lady's purse and probably never get opened....

O1 would be my preference for steel as if the hardening/tempering process doesn't work the first time, it can be redone as needed to get it right.

I have an old toaster oven that can be used to draw out a knife temper, say if you want to soak something at 350F for 30 min or so.

I have all the old "Blades'n Stuff" knife making website information in hard-copy and it talks about what temperatures should be used for what steels and how to draw them out afterwards. Maybe I should scan that into PDF and I could distribute it?

I am a total beginner when it comes to heating/hardening, but I'm keen to make myself a small forge. Maybe a coffee tin style, but using 6" pipe instead.

Jaye

orvet · Post by **orvet** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 8:17 pm

Awesome Jaye!

You are way ahead of me in that arena.
I think I need to get my Oxy-Acetylene outfit set up. I know there are several things you can do, sort of seat-of-the-pants, especially with carbon steel (my favorite). After all, the old blacksmiths used similar methods and made some awesome knives!

This sounds like fun stuff to play with.

Dale

Diligence · Post by **Diligence** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 8:29 pm

Dale - do a web search for "coffee can forge" and you can see some really simple set-ups that just use a regular propane torch.

This link will take you to an excellent resource - I did not know it was still on the web until just now.

http://www.engnath.com/public/manframe.htm

J

CCBill · Post by **CCBill** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 2:05 am

Here's a pic of my old bench. Most of what I do at it now, is drink coffe, smoke and watch satellite tv. Got waaay too many clunker knives on the magnetic bar. Oh, well. I like to clean them up and sharpen them. I gave a lot of my tools away. Can't get my feeble brain and my tired eyes to work together anymore.
I think everybody would like to see some work benches. Post a picture or two of yours, if you would, please.
...CCBill...

MLB · Post by **MLB** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 4:14 am

This topic was a great idea. I have picked up on some good stuff by just reviewing your pictures.

Here's a few picks that might be helpful and give someone some need ideas.

gringo · Post by **gringo** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 4:19 am

that workbench your lady is using is a great idea...keep the little parts within discovery distance...

muskrat man · Post by **muskrat man** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 10:30 pm

Figured I had better post some pics of my new shop since the move, bandsaw and 4x36" sander not shown.

where most of my hand work is done

some of the power tools

a small cast anvil I reground into a steady today

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