My first piece of knife making equipment

[talmagemark]

As an early birthday (9/10) gift to myself I went down to my local Harbor Freight and purchased a drill press. It's my very first piece of knife making equipment. I figure I can start buying the small ticket items first while I save up for a Bader BIII or a KMG. I'm excited. Now I need to find something to drill a few holes into.

BTW - It was the keyless chuck model and it is on sale for $69.99.

[Shankmaker]

Congrats on your new press.
It was also one of the first tools I bought. It is a must have tool for me.

Do you know the speeds?You will want the slowest speeds for metal or you will burn your bits up. Dont even bother with Harbor freights bits for drilling metal. They snap like toothpicks.

[talmagemark]

Thanks for the tip on the drill bits. That will save me some headache and $'s.

BTW - I like the scripture. My men's class at church has used that one in the past as a theme.

[AcridSaint]

For what it's worth, I use virtually nothing but HF bits on my knives. Buy the double ended 1/8" bits when they go on sale for a dollar or two and buy the mixed bag bits. Throw them away when they stop cutting.

I've bought expensive cobalt bits, every name brand HSS bit out there etc. They all dull and or snap with use. If you have specific sizes that you're looking for in bulk, you can look at MSC as well.

[talmagemark]

Cap - That's a good point (no pun intended) too. You can probably buy gobs of HF bits for the price of a high $ bit.

Got any thoughts on band saws?

[AcridSaint]

Mark - the most popular is the HF horizontal/vertical. They go on sale for around $150, sometimes less. Another popular option is the portable bandsaws, most recommend getting a Dewalt or Milwaukee, but you'll pay more for one of those than the HF saw. The portable from HF will work too, it can be had for around $70, but it's awfully loud. Having used both, I would go with the H/V saw if you can afford the price and space.

[trav]

Mark, by the time we get through with you in october, you will not know which way to go. Seriously, I cant wait for you to meet the guys .They wil all be just as helpful as Arthur, Tim , Phillip and Barry were. Trav

[Ken Hurst]

Mark, ol Travis is right (even for an ol possum) --- you'll meet some mighty fine men that are really talented. See you in oct. ............

[talmagemark]

I thank all of you for the encouragement and I'm really looking forward to the October meeting.

[ranger1]

Hey Mark I'll meet you in Oct. Just a thought for another tool is a 4" angle grinder. You can get a cheap one at HF for $12.00 get the thin cut off wheels for it they come in packs of 10 for $6.99. I use mine 10 times more than my saw. I use both but the angle grinder gets the most work.

[talmagemark]

Andy - Thanks for the the suggestion of the angle grinder. How much use do you get out of a single cut-off wheel?

[talmagemark]

Andy-My wife is looking over my shoulder at the angle grinder and wants to know how you would secure a piece of ATS-34 to use the grinder on it. Thanks!

[SIXFOOTER]

Congrats on the drill press. Some guys bash on them but I use Dewalt bits for most of my stuff and get a lot of good from them.
Now that you have the press and need something to punch holes in;
Think about Building your grinder, KMG is a fine tool no doubt, but you can build one. I have about $600 in mine including motor, control, wheels and all that.
Was a good project

[ranger1]

I put it in a vise. I just use the angle grinder to cut close to shape. I have done almost all my grinding with one. With a angle grinder and a set of files and some sand paper you can make a very nice knife. Disk last for 1 to 2 disk per knife.
This sword was made without the use of power tools. They do make things easyer.

[talmagemark]

Wow! That's a nice piece. What exactly did you use to make it?