Recent content by Boatbuilder

I radius the sides on my glass platen. keeps plunge nice and smooth with no sharp edges

This is what I do but I oil/wax all parts of the blade prior to wrapping in Saran Wrap. I also leave it in for 24+ hours. Jim

I found once I got used to my disc grinder my hand sanding is very minimal. I will use disc grinder to 800 grit then start hand sanding at 600. saves a lot of hand sanding.

Ive been using 1/8" rubberized cork for last 20 years. works great

I hate the mess of using any liquid for cutting. I hand sand all dry. I use left over pieces of sandpaper from my disc grinder of all my hand sanding.

I'm the same. I hate a half worn out belt. I hate burning wood or heating up steel.

Do you have a photo of your ladder dies? Jim

I bought a truck load of belts from China 10+ years ago. Still using them and never had one come apart.

I also have some 1084 from a few years ago from NJSB. I had areas that were hard but also very soft areas. From 40's - 60's Rockwell. I ended up doing the normalization process they recommend on their website and now I get consistent results. Its a PITA doing this extra cycle but necessary

No I haven’t yet.

Does anyone have a recipe/procedure for using manganese phosphate for darkening of the 1080 in Damascus? Thanks Kindly Jim

Exactly what I do.

I want to keep this knife as light as possible because its the knife I use for cleaning fish every day during the summer. I usually spend anywhere from 1 hour to 4 hours depending on the day and if anyone there to help. The knife gets real heavy after cleaning tuna for 4 hours straight. LOL...

I also wanted to get away from CPM-154. I got some RWL34 and just in process of using it now. Only a couple folder blades and 1 larger knife started. Grinds and drills real nice. About all I can say for now but from what others tell me its a great steel.

life of a welder/fabricator/knife maker. Shop equipment modifications never end. We are always striving to make things better.