Hunting knives and related projects

[montana]

Those came out beautifully. Your designs look very practicle and I especially like the Red G handle with the brass pins. Larger blades are much harder to make than smaller ones but you did an excellent job on the slicing knife. Your handle work is as good as I have seen. Well done!
I have to confess the first time I saw the picture of the saw horse in your house I cringed thinking what my wife would have done to me if I had done that. My wife would do a bonkers if she new what I have done with our oven and a few other things in the past. Some things are best kept a secret LOL

[Von Gruff]

A new knife grinder

About 40 years ago I bought a little dyco saw bench that I gave to my father when I moved up to a better model and when he died I got it back and having no use for a small saw bench I converted it to a sander.
The large drive pulley was replaced with a small one and with the two bench top bearings in place, I got a length of shaft and a larger pulley to slow the output down. It worked very well but it no longer gets much use so decided to use it for the base of the new grrinder.


With the drum off and the top cleared it looks to be a good place to start

[Von Gruff]

I have found a great pic to use as a build guide

[Von Gruff]

In a dedicated effort to save money I decided to make the drive wheel from hardwood as I had some Jarah in the rack.

A 11/16 slice



Through the thicknesser to bring it back to 3/8 and sawn to 4 1/4 in wide then cut into 4 1/4 in lengths



With the pieces laid with the long grain alternating, they were glued up cramped



The thick (and hard) block needed carefull cutting to get a good 4 in circle which will become the drive wheel

[Von Gruff]

After a good look in my shed I found some 2x2 box steel that would work for the main stands and with trip to the garrage for some welding was able to do a mock-up . The cord is tied off at 72 in to show me the dimension of the belts.

[Von Gruff]

I have a small gas strut to keep the belt tensioned. I got some more steel today with the two tool arms (I will need more for some other set-ups later) and the adjuster arm then a foot of 4x1/4 plate to hold the angle iron platen and the idler wheels and a length of 4x3/8 for the tool rest





I need a few bolts but the tracking adjuster is done



Then I changed the use of an old target stand I made some years back (it is no longer used) and with a little cutting off of various bits and adding some box section short pieces it will make an ideal tool head stand

[Von Gruff]

Been a busy day and have it all to a stage now that it just needs the drive wheel turned and the wheels to arrive from the US so in a couple of weeks I should be able to get it tunred on. The tool rest will not get welded on till the wheels arrive so I can center the rest against the belt

This is how it sits for now though.



I will drill out the holes for the idler wheels when they arrive



The handle of an old gate valve made for a good tracking adjuster wheel and a length of pipe flatened and welded to the bolt head will allow for tightening up on the two sliding tool heads.
Here I am holding the tensioner down against the gas ram stroke



With it released it shows I have a goodly amount of travel

[Von Gruff]

Then there is the tracking aduster screwed all the way out to track one way



And all the way in to track the other

[Von Gruff]

While the grinder was coming together I made a little clamp for handle work

A length of 2x2 box, a couple of short lengths of 1 1/2x1/4, a hinge, 2 pins, 2 nuts and bolts and a bit of shoe leather were all that was needed.


The leather clad gripping arms on top of the box to show how they work


Great for either end of the knife whether vertical



or horozontal

[Von Gruff]

Most of the wheels and a few of the belts I had been waiting for arrived so there was a little more progress on the grinder today.
It did take a little while to set up to make sure all the wheels were in the same plane from the edge of the base and thata required a spacing with washers to get it all right but eventually I ran the belt and it tracked true so I was a bit pleased.



Having it running true I crowned the drive wheel the simplets way by glueing a 1/4 in strip light leather round the center point of where the belt ran then covering it with another strip of 7/8 in to effect a rudimentary crown that does work well.


Getting the platen plate wheels sorted was next but that now tracks to the same position on the tracking wheel as the big wheel so it all seems to be working as intended.


There is a replacable platen plate that is bolted to the angle iron backer so that it can be changed out as and when it inevitably developes wear patterns.



There is only the first few belts that have arrrived at the finer end of the spectrum from 120grit to 600 but there is a number of 40 and 60 grit on the way along with another set of idler wheels, one of which will be for the lower part of the small 1 inch wheel for doing the front curve on the knife handles.

[Von Gruff]

Another little part of the project came together today with the plunge line jig done although it still needs hardened yet.

The end of a file I had made a knife from with some die and a couple of scribe lines marked in



A bit of cutting and I have the required parts.



A while later with a bit of shortening and a pair of holes so I could grind it all paralell and it bolts onto the knife to define the plunge line. It will ensure that both sides are exactly the same.

[Von Gruff]

The second part of the grinding jig was completed today. A foot length of 3x3x1/4 in alluminium and a piece of flat 3x1/4 in along with a length of piano hinge and a couple of bolts. I used aluminium for its lightness and that it will act as a heat sink but can all be dunked in the water bath to keep things cool without the worry of rust.



With the flat piece hinged to the angle I cut three areas to take the jig. For short knives I can work out from the end cutout


You can see from this shot that the bolts screw the angle up from the base at the rear to give the required angle for the bevel grind. The bolts make a handle to hold and guid the jig with.


This is an already ground blank in the jig with the square showing where the belt would run

[Von Gruff]

Knives with mid length blades can be done from the center position




And long blades can be done from each end but facing inward rather than outward for the short blades

[montana]

These are the kind of projects I love to see and you have out done your self. Making your drive wheel from cut pieces of laminated hard wood exceeds my wood working skills. How you cut it perfect to center is impressive. If I would have made it the sander would have vibrated out of your shop. Using a gas strut for the belt tension was another great idea. I love fabricating and I am impressed by this project. You had the foresight to build in replaceable plates that will eventually wear. Using leather for your drive wheel crown was another great idea I would not have thought of. With all the knife jigs and tools you will have a fully equipped knife manufacturing shop. If I was your neighbor I know I would be hanging out at your place until I got run off LOL. Great job, I cant wait for more up dates on how your belt sander is working with all of your jigs. Once again great job!

[Von Gruff]

This is a short vid of one of the first knives made on it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEFKEu8wr-I&feature=youtu.be