All About Pocket Knives

I got a new tool in my shop this weekend.
Actually it arrived Friday, but I didn't get it setup and put to use until Saturday.
The tool is a Foredom drill press. A #40 hand piece clamps into the holder and that is what does the cutting.
I have used it so far once to inlet a shield into a micarta handle.
The last one I did without the drill press took me about 3 hours to get right. I did the last one with the Foredom held by hand. Doing it that way you have to be very careful; one little slip and you are replacing the handle.
The Foredom drill press made the job much easier and faster; about 30 minutes and that was the first time I had used the drill press, I was learning how to use it as well as inletting the shield.

IMO, it was well worth the money for the Foredom drill press.

Scissors...LOL!


Nice drill press!

Nice tool, Dale. That looks like a very clean work space ??????????????

FRJ wrote:Nice tool, Dale. That looks like a very clean work space ??????????????

That is because I had just cleaned if off as I could not find something I needed.
When I have 2 or 3 projects going at one time and tools scattered all over the bench, sometimes I have to stop and clean if off so I can find the tool or part I am looking for.

So it's not just me.
I just cleaned my bench to make it presentable because a local knife enthusiast is comeing over at some time for show and tell.

Very cool Dale! They're quite handy. I picked up one of these from Huck back when he was selling a bunch of his stuff. I used it to relieve the the liners around the pivot on my first two folders using a 1/8" mill end. Slow and steady...............

Thanks Gary.
I use it in inlaying shields into handles, it works great to get good crisp edges.

I found another tool I think will be quite useful with a metal cutting disc on it; a Rotozip I picked up at an estate sale for $25.
The Rotozip has more torque and RPMs than a Dremel or a Foredom. As a cutting tool it should cut pins, bar stock, tubing and even steel for blades much faster than a bandsaw, and without metal shavings in my bandsaw.

I have a similar tool I used with special bits to cut out pegboard that was laid overtop of convenience outlet boxes. I bought it nine years ago and don't remember using it since. Never considered using it with a cutoff disk since I have a Dremal I use for that. I guess I'm being Mr. Linear Thinker.

Stock picture. Give me a break. I'm not going out to the garage to take a picture at 0330.

Very cool Dale! I'm the least handy person in the world. But I still like having all the tools I can get my hands on just so I ca on make a good mess when the need arises! Gotta keep,the experts in business ya know.

Those are great additions to your arsenal, Dale!! Congrats!!
I have an old Thor Brand drill press stand (the kind you mount a hand drill into) that I've always wanted to convert to some sort of tool. I'd thought possibly of trying to mount a rotary tool into it, but hadn't gotten around to it yet. I'm feeling a bit more inspired right now. (and a bit envious )

WB

Good idea Rob!
Maybe I can make a drill press for the Rotozip, though I cannot imagine needing a drill press with such high RPMs.
I used the Rotozip with a brass wire brush used with the Dremel tool; the Rotozip turned so fast it through all the bristles out of the brush in about 10 seconds!

Yikes, duck and cover!!

Yes sir, variable speed is always a plus.

WB

Thanks Dale, I'll be sure to try it out on shields when I get back to making folders. I need to take a lesson or two.......it'll sure shorten the learning curve.

I have an old Dremel 210 drill press that I'm thinking about using for inlay inletting for some knives. I haven't used it in a few years, lastly being employed to make doll house furniture for my daughters when they were younger. Seeing the Foredom made me think of it. The 210 raises the piece into the tool, instead of lowering the tool into the piece to be gut or drilled. With a few alterations, I think I may be able to make it work.

BTW...sorry about digging up an old thread.

Stringplucker wrote: BTW...sorry about digging up an old thread.

No problem about the old thread resurrection!
If we can learn something so much the better, and I just learned about the Dremel 210.

I like the idea of raising the work into the tool.
I would like to see how that works... I might be able to adapt the concept and use it with my Foredom.
Can you post a pictrue of the 210?

Thanks!

"A good tool enlarges your heart, extends your will." From the Gerber catalog.

Garry, do you know which Gerber catalog that was?
I have been assembling a bunch of Gerber catalogs, but haven't seen that quote.

It is from the online catalog at their web site on the introductory page. Don't know if you can get a printed version; possibly down load, but you probably want whatever printed catalog they issue.

orvet wrote:

Stringplucker wrote: BTW...sorry about digging up an old thread.

No problem about the old thread resurrection!
If we can learn something so much the better, and I just learned about the Dremel 210.

I like the idea of raising the work into the tool.
I would like to see how that works... I might be able to adapt the concept and use it with my Foredom.
Can you post a pictrue of the 210?

Thanks!

Dale, the 210 is obsolete, replaced by the 220 which does not have the table raising feature. The 220 works like a conventional drill press. (I looked for a 210 video on YouTube without success) However, that said, the 210 appears to be available on eBay like everything else in this world. I found this instruction sheet which shows how the 210 functions. I remember these from several (a lot of) years back and they actually worked pretty well. Nothing fancy but functional.

Thanks Jerry!
I think I could adapt one of those to use with a Foredom hand piece. The rising table feature might be quite helpful in certain applications. With shipping there running around $35 on eBay right now and there were several there. I will be watching...

Semper Fi!

I can get additional photos of mine tomorrow morning. I'll also take a few measurements, too...such as table size, upright dimensions, and the like. I picked mine up at a garage sale, with single speed Dremel and a box loaded with pieces and wheels, for $10 sometime in the past 7 years. I like how the table comes up into the wheel, and locks at any height you want within it's limits. It's fairly versatile for what it is. With a few custom additions, repeatability on cut depths should be no problem.

If you get it from Ebay, make sure all the parts come with it. Mine requires the squared nose piece, like that which came with the much older Dremels, before they started flaring them out. You can unscrew the new style off and screw on the newer style. Not all Dremels fit it, though. The newer Dremel with blue switch doesn't fit, but the older with orange switch will. Luckily, I've got 6 Dremels, with two of them being older single speeds that fit it perfectly.

Jerry posted the right photo of what I have. I'll post more tomorrow morning when I make it down to the basement shop.

Years ago, I designed and built 10 vertical tool stands with precision elevated tables with X and Y axis travel for a customer. Each was built to mount a Dynabrade turbine pencil grinder (50,000 RPM) and had high precision X and Y axis tables. The customer used them for finework polishing and minute cutting of small parts they produced. They were basically bench top sized, high precision/high speed versions of a Bridgeport mill...just not as durable as a regular mill...cutting depth was in the 0.003 or lower range. At the time, I didn't think of making an additional one for my personal use...I was running a business, not filling my personal hobby shop. Now, I wish I had one of those, as the X-Y axis movement would come in real handy for small wire inlay or shield work. Replace the grinder for a heavier duty/lower RPM version grinder, and it would handle a slightly stouter cut and be perfect for custom handle work.

Quick Steel wrote:"A good tool enlarges your heart, extends your will." From the Gerber catalog.

Only so long as you're able to use them...otherwise, your wife considers you a tool hoarder. LOL

I'm lucky to have a wife that understands the value of a good tool, and the tools I own. She's living under the roof those tools provided, and has moved across country twice because of those tools and what I was able to do with them. It's a rare woman today that understands that, and appreciates their value. I wish the youth of today was interested in learning their use and value, instead of video games and social media...

Dale, as promised, here are the photos. overall height without grinder is roughly 12". Base dims are 5 X 7", the shaft the grinder mounts to is 7/8". The table is 4X4" with four 3/16 X 3/4" slots to mount things to, like fixtures or a fixture plate. The table has 7/8" or so travel with the knob operated cam, a little more if you lift it by hand. The cam is operated by a knob on the right, and locked in place with one on the left...under the work table. Construction is plastic, cast metal, and welded tube. It's not the sturdiest thing out there, but it's good for what I've used it for. I know I over-engineer things to be uber sturdy and last, unlike this stand...but it's not too bad.

I think if I were to use this for inletting, I'd mount it to a larger aluminum tooling plate with 4 stops for table height travel, ensuring the table is flat when it comes up. I'd also change the upright from tube to solid steel, and beef up the grinder clamps a bit. Set the depth of finish cut with the stops, turn on the grinder and raise up the work to the cutter and slip cut the pocket in two passes.

I think I'll do just that and see how it turns out. It will be after the surgery, so don't look for an update on the modifications for at least 4 months...

BTW, only one grinder clamp is being used because sombody lost the finger nut for the top clamp.

Sorry the photos are sideways...they aren't like that in my files. If you click on the photos, they're upright and larger