Belt grinder on ebay: Is it worth the money?
- Thread starter cajundad
- Start date
John Wilson
Well-Known Member
rather off topic...
If a person was looking for a hobby / side hustle that is fun and rewarding without having to rob a bank, pen turning is where it’s at. For about $500 out the door you can be making custom pens. Pens sell, and there’s a darn good markup.
The difference between pens and knives is that you can knock out a pen in about an hour versus 10 hours for a basic knife. But the pen will sell for $60 - $100 bucks versus the knife selling for $250 - $300. And a little more time + nicer materials means the knife can go for much more. You have to sell a lot of pens to make what you can by selling knives. But the much lower costs in materials and time for pens still makes it a heck of a lucrative hobby. And you’ll never get paid for time, so don’t even go there.
If a person was looking for a hobby / side hustle that is fun and rewarding without having to rob a bank, pen turning is where it’s at. For about $500 out the door you can be making custom pens. Pens sell, and there’s a darn good markup.
The difference between pens and knives is that you can knock out a pen in about an hour versus 10 hours for a basic knife. But the pen will sell for $60 - $100 bucks versus the knife selling for $250 - $300. And a little more time + nicer materials means the knife can go for much more. You have to sell a lot of pens to make what you can by selling knives. But the much lower costs in materials and time for pens still makes it a heck of a lucrative hobby. And you’ll never get paid for time, so don’t even go there.
scherf68
Well-Known Member
I found making the tools was just as fun making a knife.
EdCaffreyMS
"The Montana Bladesmith"
Did somebody say pens?? Couldn't resist....
Hobby or Pro, being as diverse as possible in your offerings can mean the difference between success and failure. I started building pens like this to give to customer who purchased high end knives, as a thank you gift. They quickly took on a life of their own, and have been a core source of income ever since.
Hobby or Pro, being as diverse as possible in your offerings can mean the difference between success and failure. I started building pens like this to give to customer who purchased high end knives, as a thank you gift. They quickly took on a life of their own, and have been a core source of income ever since.
Thanks everyone for the different perspectives. Someone earlier had mentioned that building his own sander/grinder caused him much grief and time aligning the wheels to track correctly. That comment really caught my attention. I really do enjoy building things but if alignment is going to be an issue, that will kill my enthusiasm to build my own even though I very likely have all the tools needed to do so. I have collected over the last 30 years a commercial band saw, mig, tig, plasma cutter, etc.. I am no longer working so watching every $ is now a necessity otherwise I would just buy the best belt grinder out there. FYI: I have run into issues with various projects where alignment became an issue and a BIG ISSUE. Mucho time was spent trying to correct it, sometimes it worked, sometimes not. So as of now, I'm leaning to buying already made when the $ becomes available.
Pen turning/making: I actually have the lathe and wood blanks (walnut, maple, mahogany, oak, etc.) to do this, just don't have the time to do it currently. that will change as time moves forward. It's one of my bucket list items once I get into full retirement.
Pen turning/making: I actually have the lathe and wood blanks (walnut, maple, mahogany, oak, etc.) to do this, just don't have the time to do it currently. that will change as time moves forward. It's one of my bucket list items once I get into full retirement.
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That is a SUPER NICE pen. Please tell me what is the material and what tools used to make it?
Chris Railey
Well-Known Member
On day I would like to know how you make damascus tubes. I sure hope it is not by drilling a rod out on a lathe...
EdCaffreyMS
"The Montana Bladesmith"
Thanks for the kind words! I appreciate it!
There was a time when I built everything and ever part for my damascus pens..... problem was, that a complete pen too about a week to make, and it drove the cost past $1k each.... as you can image, not a big seller in that price range. So to quicken the process, and lower the price, I chose to use "kit" parts. The parts are kits from Penn State Industries. I make the Damascus myself.... it's 1080 and Nickel 201. I have rounding dies/fullers for my air hammer, so I can forge the Damascus to a close round shape, leaving it a bit oversized, then the rest is done on the metal lathe. The difficult part is that nobody makes tooling such as mandrels, etc for working metal into pen barrels.... so I had to design/make, or modify tooling intended for making wood pen barrels.
There was a time when I built everything and ever part for my damascus pens..... problem was, that a complete pen too about a week to make, and it drove the cost past $1k each.... as you can image, not a big seller in that price range. So to quicken the process, and lower the price, I chose to use "kit" parts. The parts are kits from Penn State Industries. I make the Damascus myself.... it's 1080 and Nickel 201. I have rounding dies/fullers for my air hammer, so I can forge the Damascus to a close round shape, leaving it a bit oversized, then the rest is done on the metal lathe. The difficult part is that nobody makes tooling such as mandrels, etc for working metal into pen barrels.... so I had to design/make, or modify tooling intended for making wood pen barrels.
EdCaffreyMS
"The Montana Bladesmith"
You nailed it....that is exactly how it's done. It works out to about a 50% material waste of Damascus.... but by using the kit parts, and charging what I do, I can still make it worth my efforts.
Getting a homebuilt grinder in alignment isn't a problem "IF" you use the correct design. The only thing that is critical on alignment is the tracking and platen/contact wheels. Motor alignment can be handled in one of two ways, either use the motor alignment as the tracking adjustment, or using a fixed motor mount as in the 56C motor type mount. These plans are about the best around (free of course) and assure everything will be aligned properly. https://tinyurl.com/y3v8fgvs
There is a link in first post for a "build-along" and plans are in a PDF format. If you purchase everything to build the grinder you'll have $700-$800 or so (for sure less than a $1,000) invested (using a cheap Chinese VFD) that will rival any of the "high dollar" commercial grinders around.
Now, as to the economical aspect of building your own grinder, it depends on how valuable your time is. If, like Ed your income depends on turning out product then time becomes valuable. Like me, as a hobbyist who enjoys building, knives, guns, tools, etc building my own grinder is well worthwhile.
Chris Railey
Well-Known Member
Since I do not have a lathe I figured that was how it is done.You nailed it....that is exactly how it's done. It works out to about a 50% material waste of Damascus.... but by using the kit parts, and charging what I do, I can still make it worth my efforts.
chrisstaniar
Well-Known Member
I built my own and didn't have any alignment issues. The NWG has a tracking adjustment that works well and is about as simple as it gets.
Abbott
Well-Known Member
Exactly what I was thinking. Alignment was never an issue for me either. It may have been another issue rather then a tracking issue. One of the very best benefits from building one's own grinder is that they are easy to modify, upgrade and/or fix if the need or want arises.
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REK Knives
Well-Known Member
Nwg was what I built following the plans and had immense issues... Funny how doing the same thing by two different people can yield such different results!
chrisstaniar
Well-Known Member
Interesting, about the only time I had issues was after using it for awhile and a nut would get slightly loose. Generally on the tensioning spring. Otherwise, it's been bulletproof. It looks like hell right now as it's covered in grinding crud.
Greg Rice
Well-Known Member
Thank you Ken. This is what I have been looking for. A build along with plans n stuff - this is awesome.
Like you, I am purely a hobby guy and actually get more enjoyment from the journey than the results
J. Doyle
Dealer - Purveyor
Ed, if a guy was looking to buy a decent metal lathe for turning nothing bigger than pens, do you have a recommendation?
Abbott
Well-Known Member
The old Craftsman lathes are good and are available on Craigslist fairly often.
Chris Railey
Well-Known Member
You would make killer pens John.
Greg Rice
Well-Known Member
Can you even imagine?