"W"s from Walla Walla

Today I reground the bevels to about 600 and started with 400 grit by hand. I use a bent spring steel pop cycle stick with sand paper strips wrapped aroung it. I can use every square inch of a sheet of sand paper this way. The 409 cleans and aids in the sanding plus it smells so nice. It is at 400 and all the vertical scratches are gone so it goes very fast from here all the way to 2000 grit.

I clamped my carbide file guide on backwards and ground the shoulders for the guard. I love this guide.

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Gday Bruce,
Thanks for such in depth WIP's. 2thumbs

Who sells the carbide file guide???? I have just about worn out my normal one doing the same thing!!!

Cheers Bruce
 
Bruce Barnett said:
Gday Bruce,
Thanks for such in depth WIP's. 2thumbs

Who sells the carbide file guide???? I have just about worn out my normal one doing the same thing!!!

Cheers Bruce
Click to expand...

This one is from Brent Finnigan and I bought the carbide from Enco if I remember right.
 
Today I started the double guard. It is about .400" thick 1018 steel. The blade is .200" thick so I'm using a .187" end mill for the slot. I set the stops on my milling machine table and just go back and forth .010" deep per pass. When it goes all the way through I will move simply move over .013" and cut one side to make to equal my blade thickness. Easy as making a pie.

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I also heated the tang with a torch and bent it to conform to the stag taper.

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Bruce, this is very interesting to watch. Shoot, there's enough details that I may be ready to forge some damascus!

I've seen several hardened steel file guides for squaring the shoulders for a guard, but never one with carbide faces. I'm assuming that because it's carbide and that you aren't using an abrasive belt that will cut carbide, you can simply grind in your shoulders as shown instead of filing them. Is this correct? Do you get any wear on the carbide after several usages?

Been thinking about a larger wheel for my grinder so I can make higher hollow grinds. Your 14 incher seems about perfect for this particular blade.

Looking forward to seeing the finished knife!

David
 
David Broadwell said:
Bruce, this is very interesting to watch. Shoot, there's enough details that I may be ready to forge some damascus!

I've seen several hardened steel file guides for squaring the shoulders for a guard, but never one with carbide faces. I'm assuming that because it's carbide and that you aren't using an abrasive belt that will cut carbide, you can simply grind in your shoulders as shown instead of filing them. Is this correct? Do you get any wear on the carbide after several usages?

Been thinking about a larger wheel for my grinder so I can make higher hollow grinds. Your 14 incher seems about perfect for this particular blade.

Looking forward to seeing the finished knife!

David
Click to expand...

Hi David,

The only thing that removes carbide is diamonds. Grinding belts only seem to polish it so I can clamp on these guides and grind in the shoulders.
Grinding the shoulders in has the advantage of heat treating the blade first and making a cleaner, sharper set of shoulders and plunges. No sign of wear on the carbides yet.

The 14" wheel get used on everything now. I rarely flat grind a blade anymore. Even the small slippie blades are 14" hollows. My favorite grind is the 14" and then over to the 5" to crisp up the ridges. It takes a bit of practise but its very exciting.
 
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Bruce Bump said:
Hi David,

The only thing that removes carbide is diamonds.
Click to expand...

Silocon carbide belts will cut carbide. I've re-sharpened some carbide drills, and of course back in the day we used SC wheels to form and sharpen cemented carbide tools. The belts we normally use won't, so I just might check into one.

Thanks,

David
 
Bruce Barnett said:
Gday Bruce,
Thanks for such in depth WIP's. 2thumbs

Who sells the carbide file guide???? I have just about worn out my normal one doing the same thing!!!

Cheers Bruce
Click to expand...

Bruce,

Uncle Al at Riverside Machine sells a CARBIDE FILE GUIDE similar to Bruce's. I bought one a few months back and it is awesome. I'm not sure about the silicon-carbide belts that Mr. Broadwell mentioned above, but the 3M 977/Blaze ceramics and Trizact/Gator belts that I grind with will not touch the carbide faces of the guide... Just buffs them up nice and shiny.

Uncle Al's file guide is expensive, and I spent a lot of time lusting after one but unable to justify the cost in my own mind. After finally taking the plunge, it is unbelievable how much use I get out of the thing. Good investment 2thumbs.

Erin
 
David Broadwell said:
Silocon carbide belts will cut carbide. I've re-sharpened some carbide drills, and of course back in the day we used SC wheels to form and sharpen cemented carbide tools. The belts we normally use won't, so I just might check into one.

Thanks,

David
Click to expand...

I do remember the SC wheels will sharpen carbide mills but I didnt know about the SC belts grinding it. Apparently I dont have any here.
 
Erin Burke said:
Bruce,

Uncle Al at Riverside Machine sells a CARBIDE FILE GUIDE similar to Bruce's. I bought one a few months back and it is awesome. I'm not sure about the silicon-carbide belts that Mr. Broadwell mentioned above, but the 3M 977/Blaze ceramics and Trizact/Gator belts that I grind with will not touch the carbide faces of the guide... Just buffs them up nice and shiny.

Uncle Al's file guide is expensive, and I spent a lot of time lusting after one but unable to justify the cost in my own mind. After finally taking the plunge, it is unbelievable how much use I get out of the thing. Good investment 2thumbs.

Erin
Click to expand...

I lusted after Al's guides too. Mine is inspired from his and costs allot less to make. Like yours, my belts just polish the carbide faces.

edited to add: Erin I just clicked on your Uncle Als link and see his and mine are almost identical. He didnt have that type until recently. I spent about $60 for mine after buying the Brent Finnigan guide and the carbides separately.
 
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Bruce Bump said:
I do remember the SC wheels will sharpen carbide mills but I didnt know about the SC belts grinding it. Apparently I dont have any here.
Click to expand...

I occasionally use the SC belts for stone handles and carbon fiber. They cut the stone while all the others don't, plus they are wet/dry belts and keep the carbon fiber dust out of the air. I don't use them for anything else.

David
 
Bruce Bump said:
I lusted after Al's guides too. Mine is inspired from his and costs allot less to make. Like yours, my belts just polish the carbide faces.

edited to add: Erin I just clicked on your Uncle Als link and see his and mine are almost identical. He didnt have that type until recently. I spent about $60 for mine after buying the Brent Finnigan guide and the carbides separately.
Click to expand...


Bruce,

I contemplated trying to make my own for a while... but it seemed like it would be difficult to do successfully without a milling machine. It sounds like it is important to recess the carbide strip into the guide's face, and I really do not have the equipment to do that.

How much modification did you have to do to the Finnigan guide to install the carbide strips? Does Brent still make file guides, and does he have a website or posted contact info. Right now, Uncle Al's guide seems like the only decent alternative for folks that want a carbide guide without having to machine it themselves.

Thanks in advance.

Erin
 
Bruce Bump said:
I lusted after Al's guides too. Mine is inspired from his and costs allot less to make. Like yours, my belts just polish the carbide faces.

edited to add: Erin I just clicked on your Uncle Als link and see his and mine are almost identical. He didnt have that type until recently. I spent about $60 for mine after buying the Brent Finnigan guide and the carbides separately.
Click to expand...

Thanks fella's
 
The slot is cut in the guard and I rounded off the tang instead of squaring off the slot. It fits too tight right now so I need to file the slot sides or sand down the tang. The tang is tapered slightly already.

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Bruce,

I've been lusting after the Uncle Al's carbide guide also, but haven't got one yet. It doesn't look like your carbide is recessed so I'm curious what you used to bond the carbide to the guide.

I'm going out on a limb and guessing superglue ???

I was thinking about supergluing the carbide then building a little wall around it with JB weld.

-Josh
 
Josh Dabney said:
Bruce,

I've been lusting after the Uncle Al's carbide guide also, but haven't got one yet. It doesn't look like your carbide is recessed so I'm curious what you used to bond the carbide to the guide.

I'm going out on a limb and guessing superglue ???

I was thinking about supergluing the carbide then building a little wall around it with JB weld.

-Josh
Click to expand...

I used the 24 hour JB Weld. Its been on there for over a year now with no signs of falling off. I think Als recess is a good idea though. If mine come off I'm recessing them next time. I dont think superglue is better in this application.
Be sure to clamp the guide and the carbides as one unit between flat plates and waxed paper. I measured my set of carbides and they were slighly different thickness's. The JB Weld makes up for the differance unless you have them surface ground with a diamond wheel afterward.
 
More progress today with the guard and the spacer. I rounded the edges of the tang instead of the usual squaring the guard slot and also milled some locating tabs onto the spacer. The stag taper is super glued in place temperarily so I can shape the guard. Its really in its "ugly duckling" stage right now but a day or two at the foredom and dremel it will begin to take shape.

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Bruce,

It's a big help to me that you show the pics of your work in the "rough" stages ! As an Ultra-Newb I had the impression that things like grinding and shaping started out nearly perfect and just got deeper/taller/wider etc. I have come to my senses and realized that rough is rough and hogging is hogging, just as long as you dont go too far.

I suppose it's like carving the David in marble or granite. Nasty removal of bulk that gets refined through the entire process till the final highly polished product.

-Josh
 
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