The Amateur Crafter: Project 0.2 continued: Grizzlies Sure Are a Bear to Deal With

So, I'm not real sure how I should go about this review because it might be a bit technical and it might be a bit of a rant but here goes.


It's been longer than I intended since my last post but it should soon pick back up. I've been fighting with a Grizzly and it's taken awhile to tame it - specifically the Grizzly G1015 Knife-maker's grinder.

One of the appeals to me of the Grizzly G1015 and I suspect appealing to many other frugal crafters is its cost. While it isn't quite the cheapest out there, it's definitely a far sight cheaper than the high-end professional grade knife-maker's grinders available. Some of these machines can reach well over a few thousand dollars including all accessories. So the Grizzly version at approx. $500 excluding taxes and shipping and it doesn't sting the wallet quite that much.

But the Grizzly has what many consider to be a well-deserved reputation for lowered quality in their construction. Most pieces required some minor tweaking in terms of repairs.Things like chasing the threads where the paint is so thick, or repairing dings and nicks gained during shipping, or even having to re-drill bracket mounting holes because the holes were literally oblong.

An example of the "quality" put into some of the equipment I've purchased. This is a spring-loaded handle for adjusting a tool rest, or rather what's left of the handle after its first and now only use.

These issues took up a bit of time but for me they weren't a major issue. I'm a machinist. I can handle that. No worries. But there was a major problem that I have to point out. The fit and finish of two critical pieces was, in a word, crap.

The assembly that holds the belt wheels attached to the grinder comes in two major sub-assemblies: the shaft and the receiver. Both are made from just low carbon steel with no alloys or special hardening. Just a simple steel shaft and its corresponding mating receiver. But there was such a huge amount of powder coating (paint) on the receiver that the shaft wouldn't fit. Now before folks start snickering like a popular cartoon duo let me just point out that we're talking about precision here. Precision that usually requires + or - around 5 thousands of an inch. That's 0.005" (inches) if you're not familiar with some of the terms. To put that into some perspective, human hair is typically around 0.001" to 0.002" in diameter.

So imagine a bore (hole) machined to a diameter (around 1.0") with a tolerance of +/-0.005 inches. The shaft would therefore have to get machined to a similar tolerance. This leaves very little room for anything else, certainly not a thick layer of powder coating.

The shaft and receiver with an attached collar. Both of these sections required a setup on a lathe and either some turning or some boring to get the two pieces to fit together properly.

Now in my shop I can jury-rig most quick and easy fixtures or jigs needed to do a job, but because the bore is so deep, I had nothing that could reach the lengths I needed to clean up the paint. I could clean up most at the top of the bore, but the bore extends about 12 inches. I tried sanding and later filing down the shaft to see if that could help but it wasn't enough. The two pieces would still bind. So I finally had to take it into the shop at school. I took the pieces into work and set them up on a lathe to do some turning and boring.

I don't have any photos of the operation to clean it up because I was in a rush to get this done and see if it could be repaired without replacing the item altogether. Also, with the Easter break coming, I wouldn't have access to the shop because the school would be closed and I didn't want to wait until the following week to see if the repairs worked.

The (finally) finished and operational Grizzly G1015 with a Norton Blaze 60grit belt. This particular belt has a reputation for quality and high material removal rate. I'll definitely check this one out.

Something else that became a major problem for the machine, one of the set screw holes was stripped out. I suspect that during the assembly of the machine (somewhere in Taiwan) that a high powered air ratchet or some equivalent small impact gun was used to speed up the assembly and this caused the threads to get stripped out. Oddly enough, the threads weren't stripped out completely, the top few threads of the hole remained intact.

This was a problem because the set screws are short enough to recess into the hole and hide the area that was stripped. So I didn't actually see the problem until I finally took the entire section apart out of frustration.

This section here kept shifting during operation which would cause the belt to "untrack" itself. Because of the unstable setup, the belt was extremely difficult to track it back to center. I could move the belt until it approached the center and then just as I would try to bump it just a little bit more it would shoot off the other side.

The straightedge and a similar method I used to sight the wheels to check for alignment. Grizzly does have some information to help realign the wheels but I had to do a good bit of searching to find it. I also put a bevel on each side of the drive wheel. This was recommended and at first I was concerned that doing so would make the tracking issue worse but it worked out fine.

So not only did I have to do some minor repairs on this machine once it was delivered, I actually had to take it into the shop and perform some major repairs to get it going. So was it worth it? Yes. The amount of enjoyment I'm getting from the machine does make it worth while. But, I can already tell that I'm not going to purchase another Grizzly, and I don't mean just the knife-maker's grinder. I mean that I will not purchase any other machines from Grizzly too.

That includes the small 14 inch woodworking band saw I was considering for the shop. If I ever needed to purchase another knife-maker's grinder, I'll simply save up the money and purchase the high-end professional grade machine. Its less likely to require so much effort to get it operational.

Also I finally managed to get the "modular" area up. That simply means that I have a section of work bench that I can add or remove machines as I need them. The machine mounting boards are simply 1/2 by 12 poplar. It would have been helpful if they were milled 4 square but when dealing with Lowe's Home Improvement I guess I can't be too picky about my purchases.

The cheap-ee 1 x 30 inch belt sander by Central Machinery. I purchased this from Harbor Freight, mostly because I could not find any alternative either online or locally.

The eye-bolt and the wood blocks act as a bench dog to allow me to temporarily mount a machine to the bench and benefit from the rigidity without having to mount the machine directly into the top work space.

Once I'm done with any machine in the modular area I can remove it and store it away and get some much needed bench space back.

The Black Bull 6 inch bench grinder. Not a bad purchase so far. This one was bought from Tractor Supply Co.

The rack for the belts was made from a 1 inch dowel (pine - I think) and a 3/4 inch dowel. I drilled holes equidistant along the 1 inch and cut the 3/4 into "pegs" for hanging belts. Then I simply used wood screws to attach them to the 1 inch dowel. Took all of maybe 30 to 45 minutes to put together and only cost me the dowels and the hanger screws to purchase.

The completed "line" ready for knife production.

The Grizzly now runs great and I can't wait to get started on some knives! One thing I've noticed is that the Grizzly does have some vibration at the top of the machine. This isn't currently a problem but the vibration is a bit more than I'd like to see. I think I'll also add a brace to the back side of the upright arm and attach it to the work bench. This should hopefully add some rigidity to the top of the machine and lessen vibration.

Onwards to epic knife making adventure!

The Amateur Crafter: Project 0.2 – A Grizzly Now Lurks in the Cave!

It’s here! My Grizzly G1015 grinder/sander has arrived, along with the oscillating drum sander – also purchased from Grizzly. This adds a whole new level to the process I can use to make a knife. Although it does have some limitations, which I’ll probably write an article on later, it looks like this might just be one of my best purchases so far for the shop. Now I can try out my own designs, or for that matter try to duplicate others. I’ve got a ton of ideas I want to try out. For example, I’ve always been kind of partial to the Spyderco designs. Most just seem really functional and comfortable to hold without losing any elegance in the overall design. I may try a fixed Manix 2 blade. Or, perhaps I’ll try out the Kershaw Mini Skinner 1081

– a good, easy design fixed knife. Still too early for me to attempt a custom folder, I have to learn more about the construction and design of a folder in order for me to try and build one. For the discerning knife enthusiast, how about a “Blackbear’s take” on a Mcusta Katana series folder in a fixed style? Boy, am I excited! Let me just begin the un-boxing and…

Some assembly required.

The Amateur Crafter: Project 0.1 – Workbenches, New and Old

Been just a little while since my last post. There are two reasons this particular article was delayed. First, the original was accidentally deleted somehow. Second, there are a lot of pictures in this article. And even though Blogger is great for posting anything I want about anything, it’s not exactly the fastest to upload images, especially from a camera that’s 14.1 megapixels. So, be prepared for a pretty short article but with a lot of pictures.

I’ve recently purchased a black Kobalt 3-drawer workbench from Lowe’s Home Improvement. It was on sale and it happened to be the last one in that particular store. Compared to the Montezuma Workbench I was thinking about buying from Northern Tool, it was quite a deal. It adds some much needed bench, drawer, and wall space to my shop. I’m really pleased with the look and it’s design. It comes with a small fluorescent light and additional storage space above the light fixture. And, there’s a power strip along the side, which will be a huge help for me. Overall, I’m very happy with it. But it was not without problems.

The one, glaring problem I had with it was its construction. It seems like the pieces for this workbench were thrown together on a late Friday afternoon and everyone was just hurrying to get it done so that they could all go home for the weekend. It’s not that the workbench doesn’t fit together properly, it does. The problem is the screw threads – for practically every single piece. The holes were either too small due to enormous amount of paint caked onto the piece, or the threads themselves were created with a worn-out tool. After I assembled four pieces per instruction, nearly every single piece thereafter required me to chase the threads on approx. 75% or more of the holes and most pieces had at least 4 mounting holes for the machine screws. So I had to spend a great deal more time prepping each piece before assembling them. This made the project take nearly all morning to complete. The other problem with this workbench is that it was missing the “S” hooks it was supposed to come with. This isn’t too much of an issue for me because I didn’t intend to use them, at least not there but it would’ve been nice if I had them for later.

The unassembled Kobalt scattered throughout my shop.

While this wasn’t a major problem for me I can see where this might be a big problem for the average DIY consumer. As a machinist, I have purchased or I have access to the tools necessary for me to complete the assembly of the workbench. It was a bit annoying having to go buy a metric set of taps and dies but I knew what I needed and I knew where to get it. But for the typical DIY-er, I suspect that the screw threads issue would put him/her in a real bind. Simply trying to force the machine screws to work would most likely result in stripping the threads out, which would make the assembled workbench less rigid. I’ve sent word to Lowe’s customer relations via e-mail and I’ve made a customer review on their website. Don’t know how much that would help but hopefully it’ll offer some direction to someone that doesn’t know how to fix it.

From the photos, one can see that I resurfaced the top bench of the main workbench left by the previous owners. All I really did was get a bit of ¼ plywood and cut it to size. Then I laminated the pieces to the top with screws and wood glue. I should note that the previous owner apparently loved his hammer and nails because I found no less than 56 nails, screws, or staples embedded in the top – excluding those needed to mount the top to the frame! I encountered this before when I installed the dozen fluorescent light fixtures in the basement. The person I hired for this worked with me doing this and we found more than 70 nails throughout the basement, most were still sticking out as if it was used to hang something. We stopped counting how many we found around 70 and we continued to find more afterwards. I guess the previous owner’s philosophy was “a nail unused is a nail abused.”

The cheap metric tap & die set to the rescue!

Some lubricant, or as some of my more rural students would say, "some earl!"

Partially completed.

Finished assembly.

I’ve also mounted my meager drill press to the edge and my portaband saw on the other side of the vise. I’m quite pleased with the paint job I did with the aftermarket pieces from SwagOffRoad.com. I decided on a desert camouflaged themed paint scheme and the results are great – even if I do say so myself! The construction of the aftermarket pieces also came with problems. In some ways, it appeared to me that some of these pieces were completed rather quickly with no eye towards the quality of the look and finish. Note the burrs and divots I had to file down in the photos. Again, for me this wasn’t much of a problem. But I don’t like receiving incomplete work that I’ve paid to ship to me completed. After cleaning up the pieces I sanded them down – first with a wire rotary brush, then I used some 180 and later 220 grit sand paper. I also used some primer on my pieces before painting. I’ve no idea if this will improve the life expectancy of the paint job but the paint did adhere much better to the primed pieces than to un-primed pieces. And for additional protection of the paint job, I coated the whole thing after it dried with some clear, flat matte finish. And yes, from the aftermarket pieces assembly photos at the end of this post, one can see that a bit of panty hose was used on the Dewalt. The point to that is for dust. Because the saw is now mounted upright, the port for airflow into the motor (I think) is exposed right behind the blade. This will become a magnet for metal chips, shavings, dust, etc. To help with dust prevention I wanted to cover up the opening but not prevent airflow through it. So, a bit of panty hose and some electrical tape to do the job and I’m in business.

This is the insert that becomes the "table" for the portaband saw.

Very heavy and stout table to hold the insert. It even comes with mitring slots, which I'll probably never use. One concern I have is that the table is 1/4" steel plate, but the sides are 1/8" steel plate. They do hold up the table fine, but repeated use over time may result in fatigue in the sides. I may be way off on this but just the same, I've created a CAD file with the side design, altered for 3/16" steel plate.

The mounting area for the table insert.

One of the many nicks and dings I found in the pieces from SwagOffRoad.

One can see the burr or "wire edge" left all around the mounting area for the table insert.

Primed pieces ready for paint.

The finished "desert camo."

The table surface was left unpainted because it's very likely that the paint will simply get scratched off from use. Also, a bit of paste wax rubbed in and buffed to give the table a smooth surface. Not sure if the wax will help prevent rusting but we'll see.

Finished assembly and installation onto the workbench. It's not noticeable from the photos but I also used some rubber washers in between the washers and the work pieces to be used as possible dampeners. The hope is that this may cut down the vibration for the overall machine.

Some pantyhose to provide at least some particulate filtering for the portaband.

A note on safety. There is a problem that I didn’t see with the purchase of the foot pedal. I thought that it was of the so-called “dead man’s switch” design, but it is not. A dead man’s switch is a type of safety device that requires constant activity from an operator so that the safety switch will allow a machine to work. An example would be requiring an operator to use two power buttons on a hydraulic press in order for the press to work. These buttons are located far enough away from each other that the operator has to use both hands to keep the buttons pressed – thus keeping his/her hands safely away from the pinch points. And if only one button is pressed, the machine will not work; hence the term – dead man’s switch. I thought that the foot pedal was a normally open switch that I would have to keep my foot on the pedal constantly in order for it to close much like a toggle switch – it doesn’t work that way. It works as a push on-push off latching switch. Push once to turn it on, but the switch stays on and requires a second push to turn it off. This will not do. I’d much rather have a foot pedal that will turn off if I take my foot off. For now, I guess I have no choice but to use this particular foot switch. But I’d feel safer with it tucked away underneath something. I’ll probably make a foot pedal housing so that I can’t drop something onto the pedal and have it accidentally turn on. This can be a very simple construction and only needs to prevent anything from landing directly onto it yet still allow the operator (me) to easily reach it.

And for the table saw, I’m probably going to move it into storage for the time being. I’m not likely to start right away into cabinetry or any other small projects that require the use of a table saw any time soon and it’s really in the way right now. But I wanted to mention, no matter how much of a pain in the neck it is, never-ever remove the blade guard or the riving knife from a table saw. In fact, never remove the safety device on any machine. It’s just not worth it. There’s some debate among wood workers about the anti-kickback pawls. Those on the Skil 3310 10-inch are particularly sharp and easily dig into the work quite deep. I don’t like them, but I’m hesitant to remove them. The pawls are removable without removing the blade guard. I may try to modify them by softening the edges. I can probably do this with a file or a decent belt sander. In any case, I strongly suggest that these remain on the machine. I’ll give a really good example; check out this video on YouTube by an experienced wood worker. This video is linked with permission from Tom Hintz from NewWoodworker.com.

Bottom line, removing the safety devices on your machinery is just not worth the risk.

The Amateur Crafter: Project 1 – Forced Patina

Well while I’m waiting for some of my equipment to come in, let’s try a little easy-to-learn project shall we?

Forced patina is the act of producing a “weathered” look on an item, in this case, a blade blank. Now the blank I made on a CNC (computer numerical control) milling center so it’s not how I’m going to produce a custom blade at home. But I will at least give some information about it. It’s a project that the students and I wanted to try out to learn a possible manufacturing process.

Photo A

Photo B

The design is modeled after a Benchmade Mini-Griptillian with a drop point tip. Of course our model isn’t a folding knife, it’s a fixed blade. Now we had to be extremely careful about this particular project because we wanted to make sure that we weren’t violating any state or federal laws by learning this process. The end project will not be a finished blade; we can’t do that. But we can make the profile, heat treat it, and make scales (handles) for them. Even though it’s not technically a finished, useable blade, we decided to keep within the blade restrictions. So the overall length is approx. 6” and the blade itself is less than 3 inches. From photos B & C, one can see the similarities of our blade and the Benchmade 556-PNK.

This particular mini-griptillian was a birthday present to my mother. The handle is a pink color to represent Benchmade’s commitment to donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this model to an institution dedicated to the study of breast cancer, of which my mother is a survivor.

Photo C

Now for my attempt at a forced patina. I’ve read articles and books and visited web pages and watched videos. But I know that some of the best experience is just to get out and try it yourself. So, for the “agent” I’m using just plain mustard with a bit of vinegar mixed into it. I mixed the two carefully because I wanted the mustard to have a bit more “bite” with the extra vinegar, but I didn’t want it runny. It needed to be more of a gel for easier working. This helped some but I probably would have done better at the application with something like a Q-tip. I was out at the time so I resorted to an old model paintbrush. From photo D, one can see how it was applied.

Photo D

And I learned that mixing the agent too think will cause it to dry too quickly, making the resulting patina fairly subdued. Now, I actually like that look, but I intended for the patina to be darker than that. The first attempt I simply laid the mixture on the handle section in something resembling a pattern. For the second pattern I used a bit of electrical tape that I cut up for smaller pieces. This was just to allow the chance at applying the agent to all areas that I wanted to have a patina on. The first attempt, the agent was more of a gel and didn’t run much. So for this attempt, I made the mix a bit runny and laid the agent on smoothly and as evenly as I could. The result was about the same as the first attempt, perhaps a bit improved.

Photo E

Photo F

Again, I’m fine with that look but I did want the patina to appear darker. But I suspect that because the blank was made from O-1 steel, that it won’t weather quite as good as say 1095 steel. And from the photos, one can see where the mix started to leech under the areas where the tape didn’t quite stick properly to the blade.

Photo G

Photo H

The result created some little “blobs” at the tips of the tiger stripes. Still, for a first attempt on steel that probably won’t take weathering too well, I think it came out pretty nice. I can’t wait to try it out on some softer steel. I’ve managed to find a seller of 1095 steel already annealed so hopefully I’ll have some additional blanks soon.

The Amateur Crafter - Project 0: Shop Design

First order of business, design a shop. How do I do that again? Well, from the previous post, I decided that I wanted the purpose of the shop centered on three main functions: knife making, wood turning, and small cabinet making. Small cabinet making may be adjusted to mean simply, small wood working projects. With this in mind, the machines that I’ll be purchasing are going to have to be small from necessity. But basically, most of the work will flow around the main workbench already in place and around an additional workbench I plan to either purchase or make.

Photo A: lower side door entrance

From photo A, one can see the size of the shop okay, but the photo doesn't really show how small it is. And yes, that is a 10”compound miter saw mounted to a shop-made tool stand blocking the doorway into the next room. Technically, the size of the room is 12’ x 16’ but that doesn't mean that I’ll have that much space. Along the back wall, there’s enough space for another workbench and maybe some wall mounted cabinets for tool storage. That’s probably where I’ll stick a woodworking band saw and maybe a small wood turning lathe. Additionally, to the far right corner, I’ll have some sort of dust collection system. Undecided as to which type yet but I know I’ll probably need one.

Photo B: left of the outside entrance

The furnace can be seen in photo B, right next to a pretty stout desk left by the previous owner along with that pegboard. I’m not really big on pegboards and I’ll probably remove it at some point and mount a cabinet there. But the furnace takes up a good chuck of space right next to the door. So, I’m actually missing about a 4’ x 3’ section of the room.

Photo C: Massive workbench

The previous owners also left this large workbench. It measures 10’ x 2 ½’ and even though it’s a bit of an eyesore, it’s pretty stout. I’ll probably try to add a thin sheet of plywood on top to improve its looks – somewhat. It looks like it was made with standard 2” x 4” pieces laminated together with wood glue and screws. The top surface and the middle shelf is ¾” plywood.

Photo D: Decent space available

Side “view” from the entrance to the washer/dryer room. There’s a great deal of empty space available as well as wall space for cabinetry.

Photo E: Entrance from far room.

The problem with the location of this entrance way is that it only leaves about 10” from the right wall. Now, I can construct a narrow bench there but I need to be able to either move it away on casters or have a possible fold-down bench. I haven’t decided yet which. Most likely the simple workbench on locking casters will be a stronger workbench. And by the way, if you’re looking for a table saw, don’t bother with that particular Skil model that can be seen in the photo. It’s a 3310 10” table saw that comes with a pretty lame table. It’s labeled as cast aluminum but I think it’s more of a mixture of pot metal. Also, the miter slots are not standard size and if you want to create a small mitering sled or a cross cutting sled, you’ll have to purchase parts from Skil for the railings. I've not found an aftermarket provider for them. For the beginning hobbyist, it’s a fairly cheap table saw that won’t break the bank. But if you want to have greater flexibility in terms of shop-made add-ons, rigidity, and aftermarket accessories, go ahead and buy a better table saw – possibly the next larger size. It will likely come with a better table and with proper, standard-sized miter slots.

So to start with, I think that I’ll purchase a small metalworking band saw. I have to point out that band saws for woodworking won’t cut metal as well. One cannot simply swap out the blade and expect it to perform just as well on metal as it does on wood. The reason for this is because woodworking band saws operate at a higher SFPM (surface feet per minute). For the new crafter, that basically means blade speed. Wood is a softer material than steel (obviously) and to cut steels, blades must move at about a fraction of the speed and will also require more TPI (teeth per inch). For a metalworking band saw, I have basically two choices: one being a horizontal/vertical 4” – 6” capacity, or a type that’s called a “portaband.” Each band saw has its pros and cons. The floor model (either a dedicated horizontal or dedicated vertical) will probably offer greater stability. But that comes at the price of a higher cost (normally) and more floor space taken up by the larger machine. A horizontal/vertical can be setup to provide a small decent horizontal type band saw and normally comes with a small plate and a locking mechanism to allow vertical band saw work. The problem with this is that normally the plate provided for vertical work is a meager size and does not provide much rigidity – a term I’ll use frequently throughout this series of articles; also it will not offer any reasonable size of working space for vertical cutting. Typically these types of band saws might be good at one type of cutting (i.e horizontal) and somewhat below average ability at another type of cutting (vertical). Rigidity means stability which usually equates to safer use. The portaband saw is a much smaller alternative, and comes at a much cheaper price. A portaband saw is hand-held instead of mounted on a stand and uses smaller blade sizes (i.e. cheaper). But this will have a much smaller capacity and will probably only find use in my shop as a knife-making machine. Due to the size constraints of the room I have to work with, I’ll not likely have an application outside of knife making that the portaband saw can fulfill. Also, for greater rigidity the portaband saw must be modified and mounted on a wall or workbench by the consumer if he/she requires stability, which I will. Fortunately, there are aftermarket resources that can provide kits to help modify the portaband saw for the purposes of mounting on a wall/workbench/table or to allow it to be held in a large vise. Because space is at a premium in my shop, I’ll purchase the portaband saw with the aftermarket kits.

Purchasing the right, good machinery is best accomplished after doing a bit of research on what’s available. Look up various models from a variety of manufactures. Check out customer reviews on websites if they’re offered. Go visit hardware stores or other distributors if any floor models are available for viewing. Basically, do your homework. It may take a lot of time prior to the purchase, but you’re not as likely to purchase a machine more like the consumer grade equivalent of a “lemon car.” And, from the research, you’ll be able to purchase something that may have a good reputation and even a loyal following. I’m thinking of a Makita, or a Milwaukee, or a DeWalt. I’ll not purchase a cordless. I very much want this to have 110v power. The reason for this is because I’ll also purchase a foot pedal for turning the portaband saw on and off, which means that the trigger will have to be fastened in the on position. Once I get that machine in, I’ll be sure to show my mods.

Further posts on Project 0 will involve space, machine and workbench location and work flow.