windancer

Made a few more cuts today, still the same blade...

Always a day late and a dollar short :) VERY nice work.

Francesco, that looks like a sissy knife to me. You'd best just send it to me and I can destroy it for you :) Very nice work.

Good work!

The vise is good and tight. Had been running Lennox blades and switched to a different high-quality blade to see it it would make a difference. It didn't. I have always run bandsaw blades as tight as I can get them. I read through the manual again twice. I see they recommend a little play in the blade. Against all my ideas I went ahead and loosened it a little- the loosened blade has made many, many cuts and is still going strong. I am not convinced yet, but the results looks better.....

Yes! More pics! Dave

My annual update for feathers, Frosty. Keep hoping to find an easier way to ,make gorgeous feathers without beating up my wrists. Can't work for a couple days when I make one by hand. The easier ones don't look as good to me for some reason. I think this die idea could work is done so they look like real feathers :)

Old thread, I know, but beautiful feathers!

Hey, Spears! Nice job on the feather experiments. Really old thread, I know, but am curious if you have done anything else with the ideas? I am just starting out. Made a few by hand in brass and steel. Love the way they look if you get close. Would rather run 'em through the air hammer, though. My elbows and wrists aren't what they were years ago :) Dave

Those feathers are first drawer!

Nice job!

Do a Google search on Bruce Evans, knifemaker. Bruce used to make a few knives from crescent wrenches. always telling folks they were just junk and not real knives. Think he charged $50 for them. I make a few knives from RR spikes as trade goods with some of the shops that allow me to pick through their scrap. Bill Cottrell made some spike knives adding a piece of good steel in the split spike- pretty darn good knives. There was a local challenge to build the best spike knife- won by Dave L. He made a spike from Damascus and then used that for his effort! I have an 18 inch busted Crescent wrench in the shop by the air hammer- may make a junk knife, or not, or a tomahawk, but I see it sitting there quite often, Usually makes me smile. Experiment. Play. Have a good time. ENJOY!

Wow! Thanks fellers.. The saw is metal cutting. No coolant. Will try some paraffin and see if that helps. I never oil or WD40 the blades. High quality blades, always. They are NOT breaking at the factory weld. I have the weight/pressure dialed way down. The cuts are not perfect but certainly acceptable. Cutting at the slowest feed rate. I still think it is the blade bearings. I am building a heavy bolster to hold RR Spikes to bash on the heads. 10 spikes, three cuts on each. Broke two blades. Noticed today that the blade is really screaming as it nears the end of the cuts. I agree that it is close or the cuts would be out of square one way or the other. I am on my way back to the shop now- will post back after I realign the dang guides again and see if that, and the paraffin make any difference. I love the saw and the way it works, but I am NOT willing to just keep breaking the blades. Any input about mig or spot welding the blades as they break? Thank you all again for the ideas :)

My new Jet bandsaw keeps breaking blades. Have followed the manual instructions and it is some better, but I am only getting maybe 25 or 30 cuts. Anyone have any suggestions based on experience? Also, can I mig the busted ones to get a little more use from them? Thinking about a brass backer and a real hot spot weld, then flap disk to smooth..... Thanks

Nice truck! Mine is a 68 Chevy short stepper...

very fine work!

Looks like you may be on to something!

If it will hit flat and not tear up elbows/wrists that will work :)

Saw him all three days- very impressive young-un. Easy to talk with, good response to questions. Eager to share his knowledge any way he can. Enjoyed meeting / watching him work.

I bought a very nice heavy Damascus ring last year from Dave @ Studio4 in Seattle. It left a stain on my finger for 3 or 4 days, now no stain or irritation. If you just keep wearing it I bet it will stop making the stain. My gold wedding ring is in a box- the gold kept wearing through from the smithing. The Damascus holds up just fine and the pattern is still great! Gave myself quite a start the first day in the shop with the new ring- I have a magnet on my torch holder and it kept 'grabbing' the ring. Felt much better when I figured out what was happening :)

The fella I was talking about is a knifemaker, and he is from Argentina. He makes TONS of stuff- great site! http://www.aescustomknives.com/

There is a well-known smith in Argentina [i think!] that routinely makes Damascus with copper and/or brass. That is way beyond anything I do so remembered it couod be done and went on my way. Pretty interesting to me. Dave

Sounds as though maybe a visit by your folks would do some good. You and your folks should also be ready with a working hours schedule that limits [a little] the hammering noise. Let your folks have a go before you quit altogether.

Yeah, cheap steel to practice on is a good thing!

Looks very good. I have bought a couple and built a couple, fairly happy with them all. If that top is actually hinged on one side so it can be opened easily that is a great idea. If I ever build another it will have a hinged top! Enjoy your new forge. Dave