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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

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  #1  
Old 12-17-2011, 03:24 AM
psalmist psalmist is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 3
CNC help

I've enjoyed making knives in the past, and have made some pretty decent ones for friends and family. The problem is I've got some physical issues that won't let me use the belt grinder as much any more.

I was thinking of learning some CAD's and doing CNC knives, and finish them up by hand, maybe make a few handmades now and then.

What is a good solution for this? I was thinking a water jet would be great, less problem with the metal getting work hardened. I know they have some CNC milling machines as well. If some one has specific company names, and makes of machines that would work for what I have in mind, could you clue me in?

I really won't be making anything over a foot. Probably nothing over 2" wide. Nothing over 1 1/2 thick that I can think of... Probably be using it on scales as well. Will probably want 5 or 4 axis.

Thanks in advance,
Jerry
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  #2  
Old 12-17-2011, 09:02 AM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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Water jet is good for cutting out the blade profile but sounds like you want to cut bevels and everything, much like an integral knife. If I understand you correctly you want to make only one or possibly just a few knives of each design. If all of those assumptions are correct, you will probably find CNC to be incredibly cost prohibitive. Even if all you want is the profile and the primary bevels done it would not be cost effective for one or two blades at a time because doing the bevels would require building fixtures and significant set up time for the run. Any machine shop with CNC equipment can do this work so find one near you and verify what I'm telling you.

Water jet profiling wouldn't really help that much either as, again, it is really only an advantage if you want to make a dozen or so of the same knife (which gets boring pretty quickly). I understand you have physical limitations that make it difficult to use a belt sander. It could possibly be a better solution for you to simply buy kit blades and finish your knives that way. There are some very high quality blades available nowadays and a wide variety of designs....


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  #3  
Old 12-17-2011, 11:14 AM
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cnccutter cnccutter is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2011
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Jerry, I run cnc in my shop. I'm set up for cutting non metal, but the idea is the same.

the whole cnc thing has been greatly over simplified in the minds of some. it is not an easy thing to just pick up. you will go through a bunch of material to get to a place where you can just design and cut an object.

in my case I use a combination of three programs to make my projects. right now I have a little over ten grand tied up in that. you can get in cheaper, but you will have to work harder to get the end project. learning all the software took me over a year and a bunch of practice.

you seem to be talking about doing most of your knife with this so you could get along with a 3 axis machine and do a two sided cut. simple speaking you would cut one side of the knife profile and flip it over in a jig and cut the second side.

to do the cutting of metal you will need something in the order of a Bridgeport milling machine. I have seem a few on the used marked set up for the cnc part, but as memory serves me they were asking 10grand ++, cheap compared to the 35 grand new..... oh that doesn't include any tooling so add to that.

if you are really mechanically inclined, you could buy a mill and add all this cnc to it. that way would be much cheaper and you might consider getting a small drill mill and building on that. be prepared for a lot of tinkering, it not something you just pull out of a box and plug it.

please don't take any of this as me being a wet blanket, I just want to male sure you have your eyes wide open before you take the plunge.

have you considered just making some good jigs for a sander to help out with the grinding and take the strain off you ? some of the guys here have made wonderful jigs that really up your quality and seem to make it easier to grind a knife.

I'd +1 on Rays idea of getting kit knives. they have come a long way and are pretty good.

Erik
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Old 12-19-2011, 04:34 AM
psalmist psalmist is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 3
Thanks so much for the replies. A kit knife is not a solution for me, as I really enjoy the design aspect of knife creation. A three axis cnc may be the ticket. I realize the learning curve is huge, I have taken some drafting, and played with some 3D cad software. I would definitely have to take some classes.

Well, it's definitely something to think about. It sounds expensive. If I ever have some time off (like retirement) I'll have to get into it again. I may just make a couple of handmades a month and call it good unless I get lots of requests, then I may look more carefully into CNC.

It's inspiring to see what people are doing on these forums, and I may just have to make some time for it (and just take it easy). It's such a great feeling to see how people enjoy the knives you make, and it's something that can be passed on for generations.

Good information, thanks again

Jerry
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blade, cnc waterjet small mill, integral knife, kit, knife, knives, scales, software


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