Thread: under construction... open to suggestions

Originally Posted by paco664

i have to calculate a diameter of wheel I will need for a slight hollow... Due to the humongous natureof this blade...

No you don't.
Atm I stil use the 1.5 inch wheel of my belt sander for grinding hollows.
You just need to 'roll' the blade from spine to edge back and forth in order to take metal out of the middle.

Using 1 wheel is easier, but so far I have beendoing this with just the little wheel.

Originally Posted by Bruno

No you don't.
Atm I stil use the 1.5 inch wheel of my belt sander for grinding hollows.
You just need to 'roll' the blade from spine to edge back and forth in order to take metal out of the middle.

Using 1 wheel is easier, but so far I have beendoing this with just the little wheel.

i have a 6'' grinding wheel *(high speed) and a 8" water wheel *(for after heat treat... it is slower than christmas but you will not burn anything)... and i have a belt grinder with 6" flat attachment.....

i was thinking of making a plastic *(or lexan or plexi) jig to be placed under the belt and secured with counter sunk screws to the bed of the belt sander *(it is a ~14" long bed with a 4" wide belt)....

i may give your method a shot first to see if i can do it..... luckily it is a thick blade so i have just a touch of screwup room....

For those thinking "jig" do not ignore the ability to drill
mounting 'bolt' holes in the blank and then
cut them away when they are no longer needed.

A well made jig would permit making a seven day set
plus one or two and be a lot safer. Build it with
safety in mind.

A jig underneath the belt could work. Interesting.
Otoh, if you freehand, just don't use too much pressure, use a sharp belt and let the belt do the work.
As long as you don't linger in one spot, you won't make divots in the steel and you'll get a smooth hollow.

i shall gather my sharpies *(to monitor metal removal) and start working on it this afternoon.....

photos and bandaids will follow....

Originally Posted by paco664

photos and bandaids will follow....

looking forward to it.......the photos not the bandaids

A curved platen is a good idea and recommended in the $50 Knife Shop (Wayne Goddard). Just secure it in an appropriate manner. clamped or bolted should work.

What material are you using? The idea for lengthening the handle is good. You could also have a small extension TIG welded on to lengthen it and ant have little or no effect on Final HT. Also silver solder may work, but I have no idea how that would be done and still get the correct HT. Maybe silver solder, full anneal then heat treat?? I dunno how that works out but a few knife makers do it.

Try to make it freehand if you have the courage to. I tried to do it with a jig, and it isn't that much easier as one would think.

This is why I love this place. It's amazing how many really good ideas are so obvious they practically slap you in the face once someone puts it in print. Thanks!!!

Originally Posted by TURNMASTER

A curved platen is a good idea and recommended in the $50 Knife Shop (Wayne Goddard). Just secure it in an appropriate manner. clamped or bolted should work.

What material are you using? The idea for lengthening the handle is good. You could also have a small extension TIG welded on to lengthen it and ant have little or no effect on Final HT. Also silver solder may work, but I have no idea how that would be done and still get the correct HT. Maybe silver solder, full anneal then heat treat?? I dunno how that works out but a few knife makers do it.

o1 tool steel...... i am slowly but surely getting more done on it....... but we are in the process of purchasing a house so my spare time is few and far between.....