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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

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  #1  
Old 04-02-2015, 08:45 AM
RedstickJP RedstickJP is offline
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HF Bandsaw

Did a search but hadn't found anything recent so...

Has anyone used a Harbor Freight metal bandsaw recently? I have a 25% off coupon for this weekend and was thinking of picking one up to cut my blades out with since it will be just under $200. Any thoughts? It's that or a table saw to cut my scales out with.
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Old 04-02-2015, 09:02 AM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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I'd go with the band saw. The HF band saw can take some tweaking to get it working just right but about half the knife makers in the country probably have one. The other half use some type of Porta-Band but unless you have serious space problems I'd go with the larger saw. Besides, table saws scare the crap out of me ...


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Old 04-02-2015, 09:23 AM
jdale jdale is offline
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I bought a Harbor freight portable band saw about 3 years ago it is still working like a champ. i was going to get the larger one but lack of free floor space was the deciding factor. Plus it was only $70 if you are going to use it to cut pin stock, knife blanks from a bar or have limited floor space I would suggest giving the portable one a thought.
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Old 04-02-2015, 09:53 AM
RedstickJP RedstickJP is offline
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Thanks for the input guys. I'm def gonna pick up the bandsaw this weekend. I'll still get a tablesaw at a later date, since I don't have another way to cut my knife scales out of the 3x3 blocks I have. Tablesaws don't scare me, but then again I learned how to to do woodworking using them in 7th grade
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Old 04-02-2015, 10:46 AM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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Ya, I did wood working in the 8th and 9th grade, I think that's why table saws scare me. Any way, I've had a table saw in my shop and I also have a wood cutting bandsaw and the band saw is by far the more useful tool because it can cut scales and also help you rough shape a handle. They do cost more but much more useful and a lot less noise too....


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Old 04-02-2015, 11:00 AM
jdale jdale is offline
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I have to second ray on the usefulness of a wood cutting band saw. It is the second most used tool in my shop and an absolute necessity especially when rough cutting scales and burls
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Old 04-02-2015, 11:14 AM
RedstickJP RedstickJP is offline
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So the bandsaw works good for rip cuts? I wouldn't mind having two bandsaws :-). I just didn't know if it would be good to cut my scales out of the blocks, only reason I was gonna get the table saw instead. The wood bandsaw is def a more versatile tool than the table saw. My carports gonna be full of tools now :-).

I know I want a wider blade for straight cuts, any recommendations on tpi? The stock I have now is red mulberry, spalted oak, and black walnut.

Last edited by RedstickJP; 04-02-2015 at 11:17 AM.
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Old 04-02-2015, 11:45 AM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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The band saw isn't perfect for rip cuts, you'll probably get a slightly wavy surface but that's what belt sanders are for. On my 14" wood band saw I use a 1/4" blade with 6 tpi. That works well enough when I have to rip but mostly I use it for cutting away large amounts of material prior to shaping a handle.

A lot depends on the types of knives you want to make in the future. The woods you named will make durable and serviceable handles but really not much to look at if you want *bling*. For fancy it's hard to beat a burl. What I'm getting at is that unless you are heavily into wood working you will probably eventually gravitate away from cutting your own wood and end up buying burl blocks from knife supply places. Not only does that save you from all the hassle that goes with drying the wood and processing it into scales and then maybe sending it out for stabilizing but it also lets you spend your time making knives instead of making scales. Plain wood - or moderately nice wood - is cheap, it just doesn't pay most of us to go through all that effort to only end up with a set of average scales. It might seem like you're saving money but it really doesn't unless you do it on a reasonably large scale (which you aren't if you only makes scales for yourself).

So, if you have access to really nice wood and you really enjoy harvesting it and processing it then by all means go for it. For now, while you're still learning to make knives using your own wood might save a few bucks. But, later on, not so much ,so I'd spend my money tooling up for knife making rather than tooling up to make scales...


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Old 04-02-2015, 11:59 AM
jdale jdale is offline
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I have always cut my own scales, of course I do live very close to an exotic wood retailer and save $ buying by the board foot. I use a 3/4" 6 tpi with raker teeth, if i go slow enough with the cut i rarely have to sand out ripples
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Old 04-02-2015, 01:15 PM
RedstickJP RedstickJP is offline
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Thanks for the tips Ray, I appreciate the help. And I agree about buying the nicer pre-made scales, I just got these pieces because they look decent and I figured they would be good to learn on before buying some premade scales from a supplier.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jdale View Post
I have always cut my own scales, of course I do live very close to an exotic wood retailer and save $ buying by the board foot. I use a 3/4" 6 tpi with raker teeth, if i go slow enough with the cut i rarely have to sand out ripples
Thats convenient...and I have a place about 10min from the house that claims to sell exotic woods...never been inside but I may have to check it out and see what they have.

Jesse
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Old 04-04-2015, 04:31 PM
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mwhuston mwhuston is offline
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I bought one used off of Craigslist for 125. It works pretty well for profiling and other things, but I have a 14" Jet band saw with a fence for scales and cutting wood.


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