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Great idea Scott. Funny, I've used that trick for restoring rusted blades, but never thought about it this context.

Thanks for straightening me out (again) Randy! I obviously misunderstood. Much...

Hi Scott! I've been staring at your pics for many moons :)

I just spoke with Randydance (who is a true gentleman and scholar) and realized that I have not been keeping my spine straight when...

D'oh! yes that is what I'm referring to. Sry got my terms mixed up.

Thanks guys.
Str8Raz0r I really appreciate you taking the time to post the photos as well. I could make a guide like that I think, but (I feel like dolt), but I'm not sure how you use that guide.
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I'm totally stumped. Taken as a given that I'm not a math guy, have no previous experience and having a 4x36 belt sander and files, how do get an even grind and get my shoulders equal?

As I've...

Thanks Randy, I really appreciate the input and concrete steps to take. I'll go get another belt and keep going!

Tim

I've been following Randy's advice and continuing with the attempt at hollow grinding.

Here's my setup:
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I'm giving that 40 grit belt a run for its money! It's tough to figure out if...

I did some work using the belt sander. I flattened out the spine and thinned out the metal a bit more. I can't help but think I'm getting to the point where I @#@#$ up the steel. Well...the turkey IS...

I got a 40 grit belt for my sander. Also I'm thinking about making an "angle jig" to use for grinding. Have you seen this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBjAe4OYQco

More grinding (actually its a 6" 60 grit wheel).

I have a 4x36 horizontal belt sander. I'm thinking about moving over to that pretty soon. So how does one maintain a 16 degree angle? SHould I cut...

Started working on filing/grinding the blade. Man, I feel like I'm shooting in the dark here. Do I just grind away until I have a blade shape? I wish I had a jig or a template or something to guide...

I ordered 5/16 stock so I took a 5/16 drill bit and scribed a line on the blank (after I coated the edges with a black sharpie). I flipped it over and repeated the scribe and it looks like the center...

Thanks Charlie!
I'm having trouble visualizing what you are saying. How thick a piece of metal? Does it matter?

I had about an hour and a half to spare this afternoon and I made some good progress on the steel.

I traced a red line around the outside of my blade template to give a visual of where i wanted to...

I'm not sure if its annealed or not. It's "Oil Hard Flat Ground Stock" from Enco. That's as far as my metallurgical understanding goes at this point.

However I'm guessing its annealed. I went to...

I went to the other end of the bar and made this "backup" version. I think I can make 3 blades from this 18" bar (or 3 attempts :)

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I went straight out to the workshop and started...

I meant for the blade and spine to be in line. My drawing skills are woefully lacking :(
I kept coming back to "battle axe" shapes for some reason.

I might have some plywood around Brian....

Does this seem workable?
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I found someone who made a belt grinder for his shopsmith. I think I'll spend my time making a blade for now, but this looks like a worthwhile project!
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D'oh..It's a wood cutting one. However I have a variable speed motor (the bandsaw is an attachment to the Shopsmith setup I have). Is it just speed that makes it into a "metal" cutting bandsaw?
...

Well my steel arrived today! Ordered from Enco on Sunday and it arrived on Wed!

5/16 x 1 1/4 x 18 0-1

There's a Harbor Freight nearby so I grabbed some chisels from there just to get started...