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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 01-25-2014, 09:02 AM
Hurley Hurley is offline
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Smile Question about variable speed

I was wondering if anyone knew anything about Stepless Speed Controllers?
MLCS 9410 20-Amp Heavy Duty Router Speed Control - Amazon.com MLCS 9410 20-Amp Heavy Duty Router Speed Control - Amazon.com
Seems that it would work in principle; however, it also says that they are mostly for routers and other wood working tools. I wondered how they would hold up in knife making? I have one Digital VSC, but it's wired to a 1 1/2 hp motor which is reserved for my 2x72 grinder when I build it. I was simply looking for a low cost alternative to slow my 3/4 hp 4x36 down so it wouldn't be as apt to "hog" the steel off my blanks at such an alarming rate.


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Old 01-25-2014, 09:31 AM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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This type control won't work with soft start (capacitor start) motors and they usually lose torque as you slow the motor down. If your grinder has the right kind of motor this should work but you may not be very impressed with the performance. Let us know if you try it....


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Old 01-25-2014, 10:13 AM
Hurley Hurley is offline
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my 4x36 only has two speeds off and 2100 rpm at the belt. I just want to calm down and not be such an over achiever! I'd like about 7-800 rpm. I'm going this route because I wouldn't even begin to know how to hard wire the digital vsc on my 1 1/2 hp to this 3/4 hp. Probably end up ruining both motors..............lol


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Old 01-26-2014, 09:05 AM
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I'm with Ray on this Keith. At best you'll get mediocre to poor performance, losing on the torque end (stall easily). At worst you will build up too much extra heat in your motor windings and they will break down, shorting out.....never a good thing.

Do the math and install a two or three step pulley to get you to the range of speed you want. You'll find yourself rarely changing it or looking for a "special" speed in between these.


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Last edited by Crex; 01-26-2014 at 09:08 AM.
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  #5  
Old 01-26-2014, 10:53 AM
Hurley Hurley is offline
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It's a direct drive Porter Cable 4x36, there are no pulleys to step down. That's the conundrum I'm in... lol
One side of the grinder drives the belt grinder, the other side drives the disc sander. The disc spins at a little over 3000 rpm about 1000 rpm faster than my belt.


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Old 01-26-2014, 02:08 PM
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Got it, see your problem. That seems a bit fast for most anything. Way to fast for wood product and kinda fast for general knife grinding (at least for my preferences). You could try the speed controller but pretty sure you'd be disappointed.


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  #7  
Old 01-26-2014, 04:20 PM
Hurley Hurley is offline
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Well.....it does great for truing up knife scales, but not steel. Looks as if I might have to give it a go. Think I read about 1 that amazon had that wasn't supposed to steal too much torque, but who's to say how much it is. Well if it doesn't suit my needs I'll just send it back.


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Old 01-29-2014, 01:38 PM
Hurley Hurley is offline
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No problem! I'm not sure what would happen with one. I just know that you need to keep the blade well lubricated for metal, a constant stream is best. I was reading about one converter they had that didn't sacrifice much torque. But like I said who knows what that is compared to. The only thing I can tell you for certain, is that I'm going to buy one for my needs, probably use it for my saw too if if works. If not, I'll return it. Never know for sure till you try, and if it doesn't work, I'll send it back.


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Old 01-29-2014, 02:03 PM
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Converting a wood saw to cut metal can be a fairly big job. Wood saws usually have rubber coated wheels, metal saws do not and there are good reasons why each is built this way. Metal saws are much slower than wood saws, you already know this, but they also require much more torque to do their jobs - the same torque you will lose if you do manage to slow down the motor. Also, wood saws run dry while metal saws benefit from a little lube now and then - this makes for quite a mess as sawdust starts absorbing oil.

But, you probably won't slow down the motor. All of those cheap router control gizmos I have seen only work with soft start motors and most band saws are capacitance starters. Considering that a Harbor Freight metal bandsaw can often be found on sale for $179 and only costs about $220 regularly there really isn't a lot of reason to screw up your wood saw. BTW, that HF saw is by far the most popular metal saw found in knife maker's shops. Nearly every body uses that saw or the Grizzly that is the same size and design or at least a Porta_band clamped in a vise. Not much need for most people to convert a wood saw ...


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Last edited by Ray Rogers; 01-29-2014 at 02:14 PM.
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Old 01-29-2014, 03:37 PM
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I didn't say it wouldn't work - can't say that without knowing more about the motor on your saw. But, I can say it isn't likely to work very well if it works at all.

If space is really tight in your shop you could do what I did with my saw and cut it off the stand it comes on and mount it on something else. Or, you could do as quite a few others have done and buy a Porta-Band. Those are small portable saws meant to be hand held but we mount them in a vise or build little stands for them. They cost as much or more than the HF saw but they are pretty small. If you are interested in this idea use the Search feature to look up some old threads on it since only a few of those saws are really good for this job....


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Last edited by Ray Rogers; 01-29-2014 at 03:42 PM.
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  #11  
Old 01-30-2014, 05:53 AM
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The portaband is definitely a space saver. rigging a stand of vise mount is simple. Pretty good thread here on KNF somewhere as Ray said.
Keep your eyes open on Craigs list or Ebay and you can get one on the cheap (relatively). The deep throat is favored over the standard for obvious reasons. They are good tools if maintained and treated properly and quite versatile when working metals. Well worth the expense.


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