help me out - I need pic's of jigs - Calling all jig pics!

Sorry, I don't do pictures or postings, but I will try to explain. A guide rod is used to give basic alignment to the blade. Two slots are cut on the inside of one of the blocks that make up the holding fixture. They shoild go from one end to the other parralle to the bottom of the fixture block. The slots should be cut to accept a rod in say 1/16, 3/32, or 1/8 and should be level with or just below the surface. One slot can be cut about half the distance between top and bottom and the second slot 1/2" below this. I hope this will do it for you. Frank
 
I have been at this grinding thing for some time now and have to say that Fred Rowe has the best grinding aid around for the money. His bubble made a believer out of me. Even had a Master Smith comment on how well my flat grinds had improved. But I kept our secret Fred.
 
Some one wrote me and told me they felt like they were cheating after using the Bubble Jig to grind with. I wrote them back and told them I didn't think using your brain was against the law.:D

Thanks for the positive feedback Jim.

Fred






jim moyer said:
I have been at this grinding thing for some time now and have to say that Fred Rowe has the best grinding aid around for the money. His bubble made a believer out of me. Even had a Master Smith comment on how well my flat grinds had improved. But I kept our secret Fred.
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Fred that may be a good set up you have there, but I won't be buying it. This set up Is the simplest way to go and it does at sorts of shapes and sizes. As a matter of fact I don't know what shape it can't do. I've presented this for those who want the simplest way to go to get profesional results with just some trials on mild steel of course, without having to spend much money. Just set up an angle to start, keep the fixture flat on the table, and follow the guide lines you have marked on your blade for thickness. I guess that's just 1, 2, 3. It does work peachy dandy, Fred. Frank
 
Jim, that one of Freds may be real good for the money but this one I've presented is for free to set up yourself. It's a no brainer to set up for a blade and then grind. Frank
 
Frank Niro said:
Fred that may be a good set up you have there, but I won't be buying it. This set up Is the simplest way to go and it does at sorts of shapes and sizes. As a matter of fact I don't know what shape it can't do. I've presented this for those who want the simplest way to go to get profesional results with just some trials on mild steel of course, without having to spend much money. Just set up an angle to start, keep the fixture flat on the table, and follow the guide lines you have marked on your blade for thickness. I guess that's just 1, 2, 3. It does work peachy dandy, Fred. Frank
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I enjoy the diverse nature of the custom knife community. That diversity shows in the variety of knives offered, it is also obvious in the different approaches taken to make the knives.
Some makers do it with a pot fire and hammer while others use all varieties of machine to accomplish their work.
There is no one way, or one style, or one mindset that should take precedent over others. It is the variety itself that fuels the industry; if we all approached knife making in the same manner with the same results the thrill would not be there for long.
Lets work to keep the thrill alive however we might get there.2thumbs

Regards, Fred
 
I didn't get in on all of one of the demonstrations at Batson's but saw lots of good jigs and aids for knife making. I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures. I completely missed the other demonstration about jigs and fixtures.
Maybe some other Dogs were able to get to both of these and could post pictures.
I'm really upset about missing these two demonstrations for they were the main two that I had marked to see. If no one has pictures maybe we can impose on these two and get them to post videos or tutorials on Knife Dogs. I know Ken Duram and will try to contact him about it.
 
I e-mailed Ken this afternoon. I will let you know what he says. Following is my e-mail to him.

Ken, I’m sorry that I missed your demonstration at the Batson’s. I had marked the two jig and fixtures demonstrations to be sure and watch. Missed most of yours and all of the other.
I don’t think that I talked to you about www.knifedogs.com. It is a new (since October) knife forum and is very friendly and is G rated. I would like to see you join in and contribute. Tracy has started a thread about jigs and I think that if you were to put pictures of your jigs and fixtures, with discriptions on what they do and how to use them it would be a big help.
I hope to hear from you soon.
 
I see there have been lots of posts to this thread of jigs. I'm hoping there are some out there that are making up the table and blade holding fixture to grind blades with, and will let us know how they are making out. I will answer any questions you may have. Frank
 
i would like to see some more knives made with the bubble jig by the some of the people that have used it.
 
Sometimes "proposed" ideas are overwhelming for some to publicly become involved in. An idea that it can belittle me in the eyes of others can be felt.
I am available at my home email address niro@telus.net to answer your questions about the grinding jig I have had posted for me. any and all inquieries will be kept confidential. Frank Niro
 
Has anyone yet made and tried that jig Tracy posted for me. I do know it works since I use it very regularly. I want to hear it works for you too. Frank
 
mcahron said:
I have osteoarthritis,degenerative disc disease,Rheumatoid,and tendinitis.I make my own damascus,forge,engrave,carve,etc.I also grind free-hand when Im able.But if my hands and wrist are so swollen I cant even hold a glass of water am I just supposed to sit around doing nothing.NO! I can grab a jig to do some grinding and remain productive.So if Ive made my own damascus,stabilized and shaped my wood,engraved the knife,built a sheath,but used a jig to do the simplest part in knife making(the bevels)and then its not considered hand made?!
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Mcahron,
I too enjoy immense amounts of pain in my day to day life, I have fibromyalgia which isn't something I truly believe, I just don't think (all) the doctors have found what the real problem is. It's the power of the mind and any tools, devices and yes jigs that allow us, by us I mean any makers, to do the thing that we get our greatest pleasure from and that for me is making knives. I have used one jig since I started making knives and that's Fred's bubble jig. I think Fred has sold his invention short, it's more than a jig to be used to get your grinds perfect. For me it has become a teaching tool, I'm blind in one eye and have poor to no depth perception, think about how hard it would be to judge the distance of the blade from the belt when you can't tell how far you are from it. The Bubble Jig has taught me how to tell where the blade should be without having to use depth perception. With limited use I have gotten to where I use the Bubble jig only to check my angles, rarely do I have to use it for all of my grinding. I also agree that with the statement that you are still using your hands, it's just another tool that allows us to produce the design we envision in our heads.
The bottom line in knife making is to make a quality knife with high performance, looks good, has good ergonomics, AND built to the best of our ability to NOT fail in the time of need. If you all remember a couple of years ago, the guy that went off rock climbing, he didn't tell anyone where he was going, got his hand stuck between 2 boulders, the only thing he had as a cutting tool was an imported multi tool. He ended up cutting his own hand off using that china made P.O.S., I imagine the agony he went through having to "wack" his own hand off in order to survive, he cut as much as he could with the blade that you know was dull as a butter knife, and then break the bones above his wrist, by twisting and torquing the bones until they broke. I can't imagine the agony, the sheer will to survive is what allowed him to make it out alive. Then I keep in mind that one of my knives might be in the hands of ONE person that maybe in a similar situation. Then it has nothing to do with jigs or anything else other than making the best built, best quality, toughest knife that I can build. That is what I take into consideration when I design and build a knife. Yes, each knife I make has an intended purpose, you wouldn't want to use a chopper for filleting fish, so that's not the one to take fishing unless you have a lot of brush to cut through to get to where you need to go, but it could still clean the fish to a degree, it just wouldn't be the "best" knife for the job.
We all know there are guys making knives that use CNC, milling machines, etc, that's going beyond a simple jig, that aids, especially new makers to become proficient. I believe that if you want to use a jig, use it, I don't think it takes anything away from the knife, if anything it adds to the quality of the blade. Of course that's my opinion, I know when it's done nobody asks, "what kind of jigs do you use?" Quality is quality, our customers buy our knives for particular reasons, I chance to say that they don't care so much about how it's made, as much as they care about the performance, and the look of it. That's my 2cents, I'm not trying to start an argument, or trying to offend anyone, so don't take it that way, we all have to make what we want to, the way we want to do it is up to us, the folks that sit back and say that's not a custom knife probably would never have bought a knife from you in the first place. Rex
 
Thank you for your input,observations,and support.My wife has Fibromyalgia and its no joke.Be sure to ask your doctors about testing for the recently discovered virus responsible for the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia,chronic fatigue,and others mis-diagnosis.Apparently all those doctors who laughed at chronic fatigue syndrome as being hypochondriacs were wrong,this virus causes many symptoms.They have no cure yet,but atleast they have found it and now can works towards a cure.

P.S. sorry Boss Dog,after writing this I realized I should have sent a private message and not hijacked this thread.
 
Frank sent me a few pictures of his grinding jig.

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Personally I would have went with hex bolt rather than Philips head screws. ;)
 
Thank you Dan, for doing the posting of these pictures. I had a few members ask me for something a little more than was up.
 
There has been a conciderable amount of interest created in this forum even though many are intimidated to ask questions directly. Certainly not many saying it's a "dumb" way to have to go. I know that because I have received questions and comments direct . For sure anyone can get to me through my the email address I posted which is niro@telus.net If anyone did not receive an answer, I appologized, and please write again.
 
Here you go boss, This is one I have been working on and finished it this morning. I had to also grind a blade to test it out.
I must say it works pretty darn good2thumbs

All you do it put a knife in it and set your angle by adjusting the wing nuts.
I ground one blade at about 4 degree angle from 90.
I glued leather to the inside of each clamping piece for a better hold.

Sorry for the crappy looking welds, my big welders speed knob broke and my helmet is at work!!

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