learning a design and mini Lathe

[Txcwboy]

If your just learning folder making, should you find a design you like and make over and over until you get it perfect or near perfect ? Or is it ok to make ramdon designs just learning the process ? Im on my 4ish knife with none completed but my current one is doing good and I like the design a lot.Once I get this one real close to ready I ll get some of the others ready so I can send them all out to be HT.

Also, any input on the mini lathes ? I would like to make my own parts sometime and didnt know if those mini lathes were up to the task.


thanks

Dave

[Frank Niro]

Dave, my thoughts are that you sound make the same or different as you like. That way you will probably be able to keep your interest even if one doesn't go well and it would be not great to do it over. However, if you stay with the one pattern , you may find more answers sooner. Frank

[Ray Rogers]

In my case, I bought a Benchmade liner lock that I liked and immediately took it apart. Using the Benchmade parts as a pattern I made a nearly identical knife except the materials were different and the butt of the handle was slightly reshaped. By keeping it very similar to the original I was able to concentrate more on getting the lockwork to function properly (the important part) and not worry about the blade shape matching the handle shape and all those other little issues. Even so, the lock wasn't perfect on my first knife (naturally), and so I made a second...and a third..and so on. When the lock was perfect and the rest of the knife was reasonably good, I made another but changed the blade a little and the handle a little more. Over time, that knife became completely different than the original Benchmade that it copied and I learned what I needed to know in order to make any size and shape I want in that type of knife. I think Frank is right when he says you will probably learn the proper methods faster if you make one knife at a time rather than having four knives come out badly on your first try (if that should happen).

As for mini-lathes, try the Search button. There are many good threads on that well discussed subject in these forums....

[Txcwboy]

Well I might have not phrased that correctly. I made 2 prototypes per ya website . The I started my 1st folder. I got it done 90% w/ no HT of blade . It was so so but learned.So I made another totally different design( that i was given the blueprints too,not my design).Its 90% done with no HT yet and needs a tweaking of the lock.Then I made this one from my design and its worked out fair so far.I have just the tinyest bit of play in the lock so I am going to up the stop pin to 3/16 from just below that (no.14 drill hole)and I think that will fix it. I will HT this one for sure ! I think I ll make this one over and over till I get it down pat

I see that there is some stuff on the mini lathes here. Whats a SEARCH button ?

thanks

Dave

[Ray Rogers]

The Search button is at the top of this screen page. There are several search buttons that search different areas. One searches within this thread, another searches the internet, you want the third one that searches all threads on KNET. That button is on the header just above the first post, the header says User CP FAQ Members List.......Search

Be sure to let us see your folder when you get one finished....

[T L Smith]

Dave,

I have a Sherline mini lathe with the milling attachment. It will do anything I need to do on folders and is very accurate. It will handle any material from aluminum and wood to stainless and titainium. On the flip side it is small and slow (light cuts) which is the main problem with all minis. Check it out http://www.sherline.com there is a pdf catalog on the site.

Tom

[Txcwboy]

The "Whats a search button? "was an attempt at humor You have that big search button on your signature.

Dave

[Jeff Higgins]

I have been stuck on getting an Emco Unimat for a while now, and I still may. The Emco or a Prazi would have all the quality and function required to make precision parts, but they cost dearly. Sherline is a sweet little lathe, and they have a lot of options and accessories. You can even buy a dro for them. Taig is a fine lathe also, but if I had to go with the best bang for the buck, I might have to go with Sherline. You can get a complete turnkey separate CNC mill and CNC lath with a pc and the works for something like $4500! How can you beat that?

[T L Smith]

Hi Jeff,

The Emco Lathes have trouble with flexing. Thats why they went out of business. I don't know about the Prazzi but the Taig may be the best of them all because it is a little bigger. I like my Sherline and if you can work within the size limits you are right, most bang for the buck. BTW my lathe/mill was built in 1978 and I was able to buy all the parts and mods I needed to update it. Every part and accessory fits my machine just as if it was a new machine. None of the other machines even have a parts list that I could find.

Tom

[Txcwboy]

I was looking at the HF one, because I had a 20% of coupon so it would be 330 ! And I figured that would be a ok deal on a ok lathe

Dave

[Messinger]

Originally Posted by Txcwboy

I was looking at the HF one, because I had a 20% of coupon so it would be 330 ! And I figured that would be a ok deal on a ok lathe

Dave

Take a look at the Cummins if you haven't already. The bed is 2" longer and it comes with more tooling. Price is $399. If you add up the cost of tooling it's cheaper than the HF and the extra bed length is a bonus.
http://www.cumminstools.com/browse.cfm/4,876.htm

-Ben

[T L Smith]

I use the mill more than the lathe for folders. As for the 7 by 12 (or so) lathes get one made in Taiwan and avoid the ones made in China. Taiwan machines are made with a better grade of iron and have a better chance of being straight when it gets to you. It's just like everything else, you usually get what you pay for. On that note I think Grizzly has the best machines in that size range also a good warantee if you get a bent one. Keep in mind also that it can be tough finding accesories or even tooling for most mini-machines. Sherline excepted. For people that allready have a mini lathe/mills I beleave Taig and Sherline both make chucks and fixtures for "other" brand mini-machines.

Tom

[Messinger]

Speaking of tooling and accessories...
www.littlemachineshop.com has lots of stuff for all the mini-machines, and every item description includes a cross-reference showing which machines the item is compatible with by manufacturer/importer and model number.

-Ben

[T L Smith]

Ben,

Thanks for the link.

Tom