Homebrew Grinder

[zarathustra]

Hi guys,

I wasn't sure which forum to post this, it's my first post, and I'm a noob -- so here goes..

I've recently just purchased my first lockpick set (Sparrows Tuxedo) which I like (I'll post photos once I've polished them), however I'm already looking at doing some homebrew picks, pry bars, etc.

I don't have any power tools, so I'm looking at getting a bench grinder and dremel. I'll most likely be making picks out of hacksaw blades as a starting point because they're cheaper and possibly move on to feeler gauge strips once I increase my toolmaking skills. Based on what I've seen of bosnianbill's videos, I may look at stainless steel knives for pry bars (possibly not necessary to use stainless steel). I was looking at something like this, which I can get for $79 AUD:

http://www.ozito.com.au/c/60-benchtop-p ... le-drive-1

My question is -- would this be suitable for cutting and grinding/shaping to make picks and pry bars, particularly if I decided to try stainless steel (I'm guessing I'd need a diamond cutting wheel)? I did see a thread where kokomolock quickly reviewed a similar looking Harbor Freight 3" mini bench grinder with flex shaft and had been using it for 6 months. I believe the Ozito range is just made up of other brands that have been rebadged for Australia -- so I've been unable to find reviews of the Ozito grinder and instead have just been looking at similar models (Harbor Freight, Neiko, etc) that are available overseas to gauge the quality and suitability.

The alternative is to spend around $50 AUD on a 6 inch bench grinder (which is easier to find replacement wheels for) and around $40 AUD for a Dremel 200. This would only cost an extra $10 and give me two separate tools instead of just the one. I'm only a hobbyist in the early days, however, and I prefer the look of the grinder above as it's nice and small. Would this be suitable? If not, I'd be happy to spend a little more to get the larger grinder and dremel separately.

My main concern is that the smaller grinder with flex shaft might not be good enough for making picks and pry bars, but I would prefer it due to the compact size if it was doable. I searched around a little, but couldn't see any other reviews on similar 3" mini bench grinders with flex shafts or how these are suited to making picks, pry bars, etc. The other option is just to get a grinder OR a dremel, however I've read mixed opinions about this and seem to get the impression both tools would be ideal rather than just using one of the other.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[aeporia]

Hey mate,

I’ve been in a similar position, starting out making some of my own gear since bringing in the good stuff from overseas is so annoying.

I would grab both the dremel, and the grinder. I’ve moved recently, and haven’t been able to bring a grinder with me into the new place, and thus have been relying on the Dremel 200 (recent acquisition), which hasn’t been (excuse the pun) cutting it. I’ve played with other dremels and it’s not a lack of any particular dremel itself (don’t bother with the more expensive dremels, I find) that leaves me wanting my grinder again: having something that is ready to spin, without first clamping the dremel up, etc. is worth it, not to mention the larger grinding surface, etc.

My 0.2¢.

[zarathustra]

Excellent, thanks for the feedback.

I thought I'd be better off with both a grinder and dremel, but I'm still unsure if I should just get the grinder with flex shaft or separate tools I'm not sure how much difference it makes, but one other thing I noticed is that the Ozito grinder w/ flex shaft is variable speed and does seem more like a small hobbyist grinder / rotary tool.

If I were to buy a separate bench grinder, the cheaper ones aren't variable speed and the Dremel 200 only has a low/high speed -- although I'm not sure if this matters much.

[gnarus8429]

I have playes with that grinder slash dremel that you are looking at harbor freight. The bench grinder and seperate dremel is a better solution in my opionion. The quality is better and you have some flexibility in the speed you are grinding or polishing at with the dremel. Additionall you have a guy in AU that makes an attachment for a drill press called a wasp sander. Should be cheap shipping and it is only $40 US. It uses a regular belt from a belt sander. I just got mine after paying ridiculous shipping to the US but its neat.

[gnarus8429]

http://www.benchpro2000.com.au/wasp-sander-p-15.html

Here is the link to the wasp sander

[aeporia]

I can’t speak directly about the combo Ozito tool, w/ the flex shaft thing. Generally speaking though, I prefer the one tool for the one job; things that try to be too many things at once tend to have more failure points and aren’t that good as a specific tool designed for a given task (something I learned in the software-world, but this seems to apply to the analog world too…).

If I were to buy a separate bench grinder, the cheaper ones aren't variable speed and the Dremel 200 only has a low/high speed -- although I'm not sure if this matters much.

It doesn’t. I looked at the other more expensive Dremels in the same lineup: there wasn’t that much more granularity offered in the more $$$ models—and even if they offered great granularity, for making custom security pins, cutting materials in half, buffing, etc., you won’t need anything like this.

My only complaint about the 200 (and all other more recent Dremels I’ve used): they don’t make ’em how the Germans used to make this sorta gear 10 years ago. I like the 200, but I don’t see surviving for more than a few years in my hands, whereas I had a 25yo German dremel that’s served 3 owners well (recently finally died). RIP.

(:

Make sure you show us your creations with your eventual gear purchases!

[zarathustra]

Totally agree with the above, and thanks again for the suggestions. I ended up grabbing an Ozito 6" bench grinder, Dremel 200, some files, safety gear (glasses, ear plugs) and hacksaw blades.. not too bad for $135 all up. I'll play around with the cheap hacksaw blades first, and once I'm a bit more comfortable look at ordering feeler gauge strips.

I'm still unsure which cutting part to get for cutting stainless steel if I decide to -- I'll either get one of the tungsten carbide cutters, or maybe a diamond cut off wheel. The tungsten carbide cutter is supposed to be suited to stainless steel, whilst the diamond cutoff wheel is for tiles. Assuming it works, I think I'd prefer the diamond cutoff wheel as it appears to cut a lot cleaner and finer (the tungsten carbide cutter is almost just like a round drill bit).

Cheers

[GWiens2001]

Thus spake Zarathustra.

Gordon

[aeporia]

@zarathustra: btw, I had trouble finding wet&dry sandpaper above 1.2k in most hardware places. I can link you to the folks I found online (based in QLD) who supply up to 3k paper.

Thus spake Zarathustra.

Gordon

Amazing composition; even better book, arguably. >_< /OT

[mastersmith]

Gnarus, I don't think my little Chinese drill press would like the side pressures being put on the spindle with that cntraption. It is a good idea, unless of course your chuck presses (friction fit) on like mine.

[zarathustra]

@zarathustra: btw, I had trouble finding wet&dry sandpaper above 1.2k in most hardware places. I can link you to the folks I found online (based in QLD) who supply up to 3k paper.

I noticed that.. I'm currently in the process of polishing my Sparrows set. I was able to get up to 1200 at bunnings, and got 1500 at an auto store. I may order some higher grit sandpaper online.

[mastersmith]

Zarathustra, you may want to do what I have started to do with the hacksaw picks. Keep them as templates for future picks. Once I got to the point that I moved on to better materiels I started making "pattern" picks from the saw blades that I had left. They are a lot more durable than paper!

[Neilau]

Mastersmith is right about using cheap hacksaw blades for templates. They are stronger than paper templates but as far as picks go, you might as well use paper.

The more expensive blades are better.

You can get 6 inch strips of SS shim stock on Amazon or eBay for very little.

You don't need anything special for grinding SS. Just remember to keep it cool. Have a water container close to the grinder and dip often. A good way to know when it is getting too hot is to hold the steel in your hands while grinding - this for rough shaping. Final shaping can be done with the Dremel or files.

You can make half diamonds and hooks on a bench grinder to just about finish in 10-15 minutes.

For snakes and Bogs ( ) leave a block(?) at the tip and shape it out with your Dremel and a chainsaw sharpening grinding cylinder or use 1/4" chain sharpening file.

Once you start you will soon work out what works best for you.

Looking forward to seeing your results.

[zarathustra]

I made the mistake of attempting to spray paint around my paper template which I had glued on to a stainless steel knife blade I had cut the handle off (I'm mostly following bosnianbill's pry bar tutorial before moving on to more delicate picks). The paint ended up flaking off too easily when quenching and from the bench grinder. It's not perfect, but after trying a few different permanent markers, some of which worked and were water resistant and others which weren't, I just filled in the excess around the glued on paper template with an Artline marker:

IMG_20151228_193249.jpg

Hopefully the rest should be fairly smooth sailing.