That is a great question Kip! And a frustrating one because it makes me think about all the shiny new machines out there 🤣 I think a machine with a larger table, higher speed spindle, and better 3D contouring performance would be what I'm looking for. I have pondered this question many, many times! I have a few answers depending on budget: I have a billion dollars and I gotta spend it: Makino F5. Probably the nicest hard-milling machine around... They are designed for working on super tight tolerance molds and dies. Fine pitch chilled ballscrews on all axes, linear scales on all axes. 20,000RPM HSK-63A spindle... These machines are capable of producing mirror finishes on hardened steel parts with very little effort! Beastly machines! Ballpark price around $180,000 USD (I think...) Things are going super well, everyone and their grandma are ordering knives and I've got excess cash: Okuma Genos M560V. Very sturdy machine with a great reputation for really high quality finishing capabilities. Bit more of an 'all rounder' than the Makino as the spindle is slower but tougher, can run larger tools more comfortably. 12K RPM CAT40 Dual Contact spindle. No ballscrew chillers or anything, but it still has a reputation for being very accurate. I think this is honestly the most sensible 'high end' choice. Price is $133,000 USD What will most likely happen some day: HAAS VM-3. The definition of 'probably good enough, and definitely better than my current machines' lol 🤣 12,000 RPM CAT40 Spindle, decent in most ways! About $95,000 with the options I'd want! I have obviously considered this a lot! I would LOVE a shiny new machine, but I don't think I can really quite justify it yet... Maybe some day!
@@GoughCustom thank you for the thoughtful and detailed answer. Sadly, I'm out of grandmas but I'm happy to let other grandmothers know what nice work you do. When cherry handles come back I plan on putting my money where my mouth is. Have a great weekend. Oh, I see the cherry handles *are* purchasable. So I did. Now I'll have something to show everyone and their grandmas.
@@kipsimpson2332 No worries at all Kip! I love chatting to you guys about this stuff! I actually have Cherry Red knives available now! No pressure though, they will be available every month going forward!
@@GoughCustom i agree that Makino is a fantastic hardmilling machine, And the Okuma genos series is one of the best "middle of the road" machines out there, they even have a 5 axis machine! I dont know about your pricing though, as they list a starting price for the 560 at $133k.. Theres also Kitamura's new 4xv, and DMG Mori's CMX-1100V, which, if memory serves, starts at a hundred k. One thing i would absolutely do before making a decision, is visit area machine shops, and hear what they have to say - you may find that the "local" okuma dealer service is 500 miles away(service rates start not when they walk in your door, but when thry leave the dealership!) And does shitty work. You want a machine thats reliable AND has good local service, so ask around. If you're having issues with repeatability, have you considered you might have a bad encoder, especially considering the machines former life milling graphite...
Thank-you very much Zac! I still struggle a bit when programming and machining brand new parts as I'm simply not used to doing lots of different parts like I would if I was a job-shop... Definitely very pleased with the machining process for the knives themselves though!
Thanks for watching mate! Yeah I am pretty happy with the finish! I know I can still do better though, I'm excited for the idea that one day I will machine a perfect mirror finish!!
Your kaizen-esque approach to constant improvement is inspirational. I am a novice knife-maker. Hand tools, no automation. But I am inspired by your quality drive and that is something I want to emulate.
Thanks Vincent! Kaizen is something I've been exposed to in many different ways, both in the software world and in manufacturing, I think that slow steady improvement over time is vital and I try to apply it not only to my process but also to my knives as well! I am really glad you liked the video mate! Should be more coming soon!
Great knife ! Love mine If you haven't ordered one trust me , you won't regret it . Aaron has come a long , long way . Its been a pleasure watching his videos over many years .
Hey Aaron, Simon from the UK!! My knife I bought 2 (3??) years ago is still performing absolutely perfectly. Aside from some stropping, I haven’t had to give it a “proper” sharpening Stunning knife, and nice to see you back on TH-cam!! ATB
Hey Simon! Really glad to hear your knife is performing so well mate, that's what I like to hear! Thanks again for your support! Should have some more videos coming soon!
I really enjoy how you manage to mix informative content with a little bit of humour. I'll never own or use a milling machine but I love watching these videos.
Thanks Thomas! I am very pleased with how they turn out! Some of the newer CNC machines are capable of producing perfect mirror finishes with relatively little effort... Those are pricey machines though!
Your videos are so good! I hope you start posting more again soon. Currently working on a button lock folder (first knife) and trying to figure out how much to hard mill and what tool paths work best in Fusion. So much learning still to do and your content is very helpful (as I squint to see your toolpath choices in Fusion :-))!
Love your videos and your work! I got a knife from you a few years ago and still enjoy it. My 7 year old son is watching this with me and I'm explaining to him that he can engineer things like this one day. My father is law is a software developer and let's the kids program small robots so it was really cool to see you programming more complex robots.
Hey Gary! Thanks very much for the order mate, really appreciate your support and I'm looking forward to making your knife! As always thanks for watching mate, I hope you enjoyed the video!
Eye would love to have this guys set up and experience. Gotta get my hands on one of those blades as well, Looks like it would be a kick ass bush crafting knife.
Haha thanks Ross! Really glad you like it! Make sure you subscribe as I'm working on another machine at the moment (quench press) that is all beautiful machined aluminum parts, it's going to be a real looker! Pic of some of the parts here: instagram.com/p/CZktjz3vLkg/
Outstanding video Aaron!! All the details and why's of fixture making really is educational and you did it perfectly. Finish is amazing and goes to the other part of these processes...experimenting and choosing the Right End mills. That 3way measuring tool is almost a dial CMM, very cool and didn't know they made those...pricey I imagine. My hat is off to you for how far you've come in just a few years and the amazing knives you bring to life! Thanks Aaron!! How are the chefs knives coming?
Hey PJ! Sorry for the slow response mate... I'm swamped as usual! The Haimer dial indicator was actually not crazy expensive, about $500 which is very reasonable for what it does! I have been using it for 5-6 years and definitely have zero regrets about the money spent! The chefs knife is going pretty well! I am most of the way through making the fixtures for it which is great! I have run some initial prototype toolpaths but still have a fair way to go... I think I'll have initial production prototypes completed within a month or two!
@@GoughCustom More kidding than sarcastic. I enjoyed the video. Wish I had the tech skills or manual craftsmanship to do that stuff. Need a workshop to mess around in.
Watched as soon as I saw the notification. High tech custom made . Hopefully all is going well for you now. Take care and keep making those knives. Looking forward to the next upload.
Thanks for watching and for the kind words Grant! Things are going fairly well, life has stresses as always but I have a lot more time to myself which in of itself is a large positive change which is great! I am also working on a lot of new & fun projects which you will start seeing over the next few months! Kitchen knife, folding knife design, and also a robotic sandblasting cabinet which I am excited about!
A little hint from my personal experience (I do things like that for living). When you are jamming a hardened blade against the softer metal of that fixture, you are causing slow but steady displacement. It's hard to say when exactly (depends on geometry, torque, etc) but it's going to wear and might cause weird results. It makes sense to run it through the heat treatment and make it just about 5-8 HRC softer than what you are machining on it. Also, depending on the volumes, it might make sense to ditch the vise and make a table-mounted fixture that would hold multiple blades. It makes the load-unload process longer, but you gain longer cycle times that you can utilize for doing some other work by yourself not being interrupted.
Great tips! I actually implemented all of the above on my main fixture that I built a few years ago. All of the clamping components are spring tempered A2 tool steel, and the fixture is mounted straight to the table and located with dowel pins. Has been working great for a LOT of cycles! The fixture shown in this video was really just meant as a stop-gap and I have actually already stopped using it, just needed more throughput for a few months there!
Thanks Yan! You should see some of the finishes that are possible on the modern high-end machines! I have to work pretty hard to get a result like this, but some of the new machines can do mirror finishes with minimal effort! I really look forward to the day when I can finally get to that level, I have to take the long way around though as I can't afford to spend $250,000 on a machine!
@@YanDoroshenko yep it's true! I have come close to justifying it a few times :) The main thing that's stopped me is the potential stress of having a large monthly payment on the machine... At some point in the future I might still make the leap though!
Another great vid Aaron, thanks! That ultrasonic cleaner looks awefully familiar; ours has been a goto for years (knock on wood). We did supplement it with a 15L size with a built in drain for larger parts. That lil guy is still gets the most use. Like the dust shroud on the knife grinder, hadn’t noticed that before ;-)
Hey Jesse! Yeah that little cleaner was an amazingly good purchase. That was one of the few 'cheap' purchases I've made where I opened the box and was amazed at the quality! The dust shroud around the grinder works soooo well! Very worthwhile making one! I need to make a replacement out of sheet steel soon!
G’day Azza. Great to see back in front of the camera. That’s a beautiful looking knife fixture plate you made buddy. Awesome work 👏. Trust you’re safe and well. Cheers Aaron 🍻
Hey Az! Thanks bud, glad you like it mate! Pretty straightforward, but still satisfying that's for sure! Things are going fairly smooth over here, I'm just keeping to myself! How are things with you mate?
@@GoughCustom doing very thanks Aaron. Family is good and all going strong. Been doing a bit with my other TH-cam channel (Aaron Engineering). Cheers 🍻
Hey mate! The coating that I use on my blades (DLC) is very sensitive to contamination. Any oil or loose dust on the parts will cause discolouration of the coating or failed adhesion of the coating. The place that does my DLC coating ultrasonically cleans the blades before they're coated, but getting grease/oil on the sand and then blasting that oil into all the tiny crevices formed during sandblasting seems like a bad idea! I also do not handle the blades with bare hands after blasting, they are all handled with gloves to make sure no skin oil is transferred. I cannot say conclusively that either of these sources of oil is definitely an issue, but I have had lots of issues with the coating process in the past and now I do absolutely everything I can to ensure cleanliness during the final stages before coating! That even includes filtering my compressed air to a ridiculous level. I have a screw compressor now which runs the air through an oil separator, then a refrigerated drier, then I run the air through a moisture separator, coalescing oil filter, and then an activated carbon filter... I'm pretty confident you could breathe the air coming out of my compressor at that point! To reduce dust I only use fairly fresh 120 grit aluminum oxide, and run a dust collector in the cabinet to pull in any broken up media... I have noticed that if I let the media get broken down and become too fine it leaves very fine dust on the blades which is hard to remove and also causes coating issues. It is a very tricky thing to get right consistently and I've had a lot of delays from issues in the past so now I'm pretty overkill about it!
@@GoughCustom Thank you for replying in such details! Recently while I was dialing in my 3D printer, I've came to the conclusion that if you are doing thing a sufficiently high level, you'll started to be able to detected and adjust increasingly minute things. To the uninitiated, you'll seem like you are doing a lot of things with very little improvements. But in my mind, those little improvements towards 100% perfection is what sets you apart. Keep it up!
Great video. I am a machinist as well cnc & manual, been at for 30 years. I read the comment you made about a Haas mill and I would advise against it we have a very large Haas with trunion instead of table. We have somehow managed to make it last from 07 until the present day. It should have been replaced 5 years ago. There are much better machines available.
Hey Billy! Thanks for the feedback! I agree there are definitely much better machines available than the HAAS, but given my current machines I think the HAAS would still be a step up! What in particular don't you like about the HAAS, have they been giving you mechanical issues?
If you're worried about breaking taps, you might consider trying out form-threading taps as they're more riggid. I've only broken a handfull of taps in 5 years, all due to the drill was broken beforehand :)
I haven't yet tried thread-forming taps, but I definitely want to! My understanding is they're better for softer materials like aluminum, especially when used outside a CNC, but something I'm keeping in mind for sure!
As much as I love knifemaking, I don't think that putting money into a knifemaking company is necessarily a good investment! It is a lot of fun though!
Can't wait for the next video showing your entire process lol Like, the fourth or fifth video on that topic at this point, but I love watching them anyway
There will definitely be another process video coming at some point! Things are changing pretty rapidly right now so it's not a good time to do it, but within a year I think there will be process videos for the Resolute and for the new Kitchen knife!
Thanks John! In this case the finish pass was 7500RPM, 60IPM. With the 6 flute tool I used in the video that gives a chipload of 0.0013". I have recently moved to an identical tool but with 8 flutes, running a little faster feed to get the same chipload.
I was taught to set your Z zero off the top of the part, Never from the bottom, less chance of error . As a you are working above the fixture for offsets .Rather than from bottom. Same with the lathe , always from the face of the part. Never the jaw face or spindle stop. And that VRX stubby has seen better days LOL. Ran those a lot at my last job. Glad you are up and running with both mills.Thought , have you considered running the roughing cycle for both blades. I noticed you finished one blade 100% , was this a cycle test for that offset? Looking forward to more videos in the future. Stay healthy and happy!!!
Hey Mike! I will usually set offsets from the top when I'm doing a one-off, however when using offsets with fixture plates I always set it from the table as Z zero... I think there are many different ways to do it, as long as you always have a 'system' to avoid mistakes then you're good! I generally group my operations per station on the fixture, rather than per-tool as this lets me very easily run just a section of the program if I need to do work on a single knife or something... Costs a little bit of time on tool changes, but my programs usually take hours anyway so it's not a big issue!
Hey Danny! The endmill I used was one that Maritool make custom for me... It is a 1/4" diameter 6 flute endmill with 0.06" corner radius and a short length of cut (0.375"). The high flute count and short flute length means it's very rigid! I get about 10-12 knives per tool which works out great. They just starting making an 8 flute version for me as well... Both are for sale on their website under the 0.250" diameter section: www.maritool.com/Cutting-Tools-End-Mills-Finishers-Square-End-5-Flute-and-Higher/c78_79_80_131/index.html
Those are some great finishes on those blades. What endmill are you using and from where? It looks like you are using the same EM for roughing and finishing?
Dude the expertise this man has is fucking insane. He may not see it, cause we’re all our own worst critics. The level of cleanliness and Finish is like what you’d see at a Swiss watch manufacturer
Haha thanks Yan! Just one step at a time honestly mate! Looking at everything together is very daunting, but there was a million little steps between there and here!
The clamps (pitbull clamps) have a pivot underneath so they push in toward the blade as well as downward when you tighten down their bolts. They are amazing little clamps!
Hey Doug! The endmills are custom made for me by Maritool, and have evolved slowly over the years. Originally they were standard off-the-shelf 1/4" Diameter 4 flute endmills with 3/4" flute length and a 0.06" corner radius... The latest version is 1/4" Diameter, 8 flutes with 0.375" flute length and 0.06" corner radius. Increasing the flute count made the tools drastically stiffer as well as providing more cutting edges for increased life. The shorter flute length again increased stiffness. I run 2 identical tools in the machine, a fresh one as a finisher, which then gets used as a roughing tool after it's seen some wear. I get about 10-15 blades out of each tool as a finisher and same again as a rougher. You can see/buy them here: www.maritool.com/Cutting-Tools-End-Mills-Finishers-Square-End-5-Flute-and-Higher/c78_79_80_131/index.html If you go up one level you'll see they have 5, 6, and 8 flute versions of the same tool as we have stepped up the flute count over the years. The lower flute counts are great for softer materials where you can take a larger chip! I would still recommend sticking with the 4/5 flute versions for annealed steel though, the gullets are just too small to clear larger chips properly when roughing with the higher flute count tools.
Have you considered putting some pattern on blade bevels? Having them nice, flat and smooth is good for blade cleaning. It also looks great! But it makes blade a bit sticky while slicing raw meat, soft cheese or some soft and juicy fruits or vegetables. It's a compromise of course, but maybe some nice and small grooves (from cutting tool?) can make blade less sticky. What do you think?
Hey Oleg! This is something I'm definitely thinking about for my upcoming kitchen knife! I haven't really thought about it too much for the Resolute, but it's an interesting idea!
Thanks! Right now each side takes about 40 minutes, but I still have to finish the bevels with hand sanding unfortunately... Perhaps in the future I'll be able to improve the surface finish further...
Would the surface finish be better if you angled the blade surface instead of running the mill at a slope action? Have you tried something like that? If I would to do this I might mount the fixture stand up 90 degrees (add the bevel angle) and run the mill on the side this might be more efficient only need to do 2-3 passes and the surface finish will be better the tool marks will be parallel to the blade just like the final sanding But that’s just me I’m sure there’s still lots of problems to be solve
Hey mate! I have actually machined them with the blade tilted in the past and the surface finish was much worse! Basically when machining like that the whole bottom of the endmill is making contact and this makes it much easier for a chip stuck to the endmill to score rings into the blade and generally results in a worse finish... It's also quite painful to make fixtures that are tilted like that, and then if you want to fine tune the blade angle or edge thickness you can't without re-making the fixture. I have found the 3D machining process to be much more reliable! Regarding tilting the blade all the way up and cutting with the side of the endmill: because I'm hard-milling these blades I think that would be impractical unfortunately. It would also force me to make a more radiused plunge line, which I don't really like, and would again be very fussy if the angle or whatever needed to be changed. Overall I've been very happy with the current approach! The only real issue is that it's slower than the other options, but honestly it's still pretty quick!
Why no kern 5 axis with a custom automatic dressing grinding wheel??? I may have watched too much grismso... Great work. Great video. I would love to see more advanced technical stuff on your channel.
I wish mate! It would be very cool to have a machine like John's, but I don't have the stomach for that kind of debt... I am definitely moving into more technical videos! I am slowly working on a PVD coating system that I will document here, as well as a robotic sandblasting system that I am custom building!
Great video as always! Wow what a finish, thats just incredible, why dont you rough mill the second blade right after roughing the first one though? Wouldnt that shave off a few seconds on machining time? Really great job, its incredible!
Thanks Bart! Yeah I am definitely very happy with the finish! One day I will get a brand new machine and start making mirror finishes :) I usually group the toolpaths by operation or fixture station rather than by tool. I definitely lose a little time to toolchanges, but my cycle times are usually 2-3 hours or more so it's a small drop in that bucket. Having the toolpaths grouped by station makes it really easy to run just a section of the fixture if I have to do re-work or if I need to catch up on a certain process!
What would your dream CNC mill be?
That is a great question Kip! And a frustrating one because it makes me think about all the shiny new machines out there 🤣
I think a machine with a larger table, higher speed spindle, and better 3D contouring performance would be what I'm looking for. I have pondered this question many, many times! I have a few answers depending on budget:
I have a billion dollars and I gotta spend it: Makino F5. Probably the nicest hard-milling machine around... They are designed for working on super tight tolerance molds and dies. Fine pitch chilled ballscrews on all axes, linear scales on all axes. 20,000RPM HSK-63A spindle... These machines are capable of producing mirror finishes on hardened steel parts with very little effort! Beastly machines! Ballpark price around $180,000 USD (I think...)
Things are going super well, everyone and their grandma are ordering knives and I've got excess cash: Okuma Genos M560V. Very sturdy machine with a great reputation for really high quality finishing capabilities. Bit more of an 'all rounder' than the Makino as the spindle is slower but tougher, can run larger tools more comfortably. 12K RPM CAT40 Dual Contact spindle. No ballscrew chillers or anything, but it still has a reputation for being very accurate. I think this is honestly the most sensible 'high end' choice. Price is $133,000 USD
What will most likely happen some day: HAAS VM-3. The definition of 'probably good enough, and definitely better than my current machines' lol 🤣 12,000 RPM CAT40 Spindle, decent in most ways! About $95,000 with the options I'd want!
I have obviously considered this a lot! I would LOVE a shiny new machine, but I don't think I can really quite justify it yet... Maybe some day!
@@GoughCustom thank you for the thoughtful and detailed answer. Sadly, I'm out of grandmas but I'm happy to let other grandmothers know what nice work you do. When cherry handles come back I plan on putting my money where my mouth is. Have a great weekend. Oh, I see the cherry handles *are* purchasable. So I did. Now I'll have something to show everyone and their grandmas.
@@kipsimpson2332 No worries at all Kip! I love chatting to you guys about this stuff! I actually have Cherry Red knives available now! No pressure though, they will be available every month going forward!
@@kipsimpson2332 haha and I just saw the email for your order!! Thanks very much mate, I'm looking forward to making that for you!
@@GoughCustom i agree that Makino is a fantastic hardmilling machine, And the Okuma genos series is one of the best "middle of the road" machines out there, they even have a 5 axis machine! I dont know about your pricing though, as they list a starting price for the 560 at $133k.. Theres also Kitamura's new 4xv, and DMG Mori's CMX-1100V, which, if memory serves, starts at a hundred k. One thing i would absolutely do before making a decision, is visit area machine shops, and hear what they have to say - you may find that the "local" okuma dealer service is 500 miles away(service rates start not when they walk in your door, but when thry leave the dealership!) And does shitty work. You want a machine thats reliable AND has good local service, so ask around.
If you're having issues with repeatability, have you considered you might have a bad encoder, especially considering the machines former life milling graphite...
It's always a good day when you upload a video, thanks!
I’ve been a CNC machinist a few years now, and a knife maker for longer. Those are some beautiful parts.
Thank-you very much Zac! I still struggle a bit when programming and machining brand new parts as I'm simply not used to doing lots of different parts like I would if I was a job-shop... Definitely very pleased with the machining process for the knives themselves though!
That surface finish is mint. Thanks for the insight into your process.
Thanks for watching mate! Yeah I am pretty happy with the finish! I know I can still do better though, I'm excited for the idea that one day I will machine a perfect mirror finish!!
Your kaizen-esque approach to constant improvement is inspirational. I am a novice knife-maker. Hand tools, no automation. But I am inspired by your quality drive and that is something I want to emulate.
Thanks Vincent! Kaizen is something I've been exposed to in many different ways, both in the software world and in manufacturing, I think that slow steady improvement over time is vital and I try to apply it not only to my process but also to my knives as well!
I am really glad you liked the video mate! Should be more coming soon!
Love watching your videos and always amazed at how clean you manage to keep a workshop !
Great knife ! Love mine
If you haven't ordered one trust me , you won't regret it . Aaron has come a long , long way . Its been a pleasure watching his videos over many years .
Thanks very much mate, really glad you are still loving your knife!
It is very satisfying to watch the machining of the hard bevels. Good work!
Thanks very much mate! Yes I agree it's a very satisfying and hypnotic process!
I can say one thing you don't post often but when you do it makes this old tool and die guy very happy . Happy trails
Thanks Mike! :) Trying to get videos posted more often but it's crazy how fast the time seems to disappear these days!
Hello I am a French cutler, and I use artisanal and manual working methods. however I am impressed with your work, very high quality. Congratulations
Thank-you very much David!
Nice work my friend. Time is the most valuable commodity and CNC machines are great for making more time.
Thanks mate! Totally agreed regarding time! Time and money, 2 things I wish I always had more of! 🤣
Someday I will own one of your blades. I can't wait for that day.
Thanks Matthew! I'll really look forward to making one for you mate!
You won't regret it . It is one of my prize possessions.
So great to see you! Wonderful video. Enjoy watching our CNC Machining. You’ve come such a far piece! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks very much Robert, really glad you enjoyed it!
Hey Aaron, Simon from the UK!! My knife I bought 2 (3??) years ago is still performing absolutely perfectly.
Aside from some stropping, I haven’t had to give it a “proper” sharpening
Stunning knife, and nice to see you back on TH-cam!!
ATB
Hey Simon! Really glad to hear your knife is performing so well mate, that's what I like to hear! Thanks again for your support! Should have some more videos coming soon!
I really enjoy how you manage to mix informative content with a little bit of humour. I'll never own or use a milling machine but I love watching these videos.
Really glad you liked the video mate! Thanks for watching! Should be more videos coming soon!
Wauw, I would not have thought that such a surface finish was possible! Impressive!
Thanks Thomas! I am very pleased with how they turn out! Some of the newer CNC machines are capable of producing perfect mirror finishes with relatively little effort... Those are pricey machines though!
I almost forgot about this channel , glad i found it . You make some badass knives my friend !
Thanks very much Joseph! Will have more videos coming soon!
I have no patience for this kind of stuff. But, love someone who does.👍👍
I totally understand that James! I am the same with doing repetitive tasks by hand, love watching someone else doing it, hate doing it myself!
Amazing content as always!
Thanks very much Shlomo, glad you enjoyed it mate!
Your videos are so good! I hope you start posting more again soon. Currently working on a button lock folder (first knife) and trying to figure out how much to hard mill and what tool paths work best in Fusion. So much learning still to do and your content is very helpful (as I squint to see your toolpath choices in Fusion :-))!
Love your videos and your work! I got a knife from you a few years ago and still enjoy it.
My 7 year old son is watching this with me and I'm explaining to him that he can engineer things like this one day. My father is law is a software developer and let's the kids program small robots so it was really cool to see you programming more complex robots.
Very cool man! He absolutely can make things like this one day! I will look forward to seeing what he comes up with! :)
I've been watching your videos for years. I just treated myself to a knife. Cheers Aaron.
Hey Gary! Thanks very much for the order mate, really appreciate your support and I'm looking forward to making your knife! As always thanks for watching mate, I hope you enjoyed the video!
Great video!!! Cannot believe how complicated everything is!
It's always more complicated than we'd like eh! It's honestly not too bad, just have to take it one step at a time!
Your attention to detail is priceless and phenomenal. Always looking forward to your vids. Keep up the amazing work bud
Thanks very much Jeremy!!
Best Fadal working vids I've seen
such a nice themed video with great craftsmanship
Thanks very much Zex!
Wow man, nice job.. i tried to do an hss straight razor at my cnc but it was too hard,. Then i've finished with power tool.. great job man😉
Thanks very much mate!
Eye would love to have this guys set up and experience. Gotta get my hands on one of those blades as well, Looks like it would be a kick ass bush crafting knife.
Cheers Daniel! I'm sure past me would love to have current me's setup as well :) Just slowly built things up over the years! Glad you like the knife!
Looking great! Love seeing how you're doing fixturing. Shop improvement projects like that are some of my favorites.
Really glad you liked the video mate! Will have another similar video coming soon!
That's a lot of work. Well done
Cheers Lance!
Great video man👍👍👍
Thanks very much mate!
I thought your knives were gorgeous and then I saw your fixture plate. damn son, calm down - i can only get so excited.
Haha thanks Ross! Really glad you like it! Make sure you subscribe as I'm working on another machine at the moment (quench press) that is all beautiful machined aluminum parts, it's going to be a real looker! Pic of some of the parts here: instagram.com/p/CZktjz3vLkg/
You continue to impress me A LOT.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching Tony!
I find your content amazingly useful on many fronts (as always). Presentation hits a good balance of process and entertainment. Thanks man!
You're very welcome mate! Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching!
Great process, great surface finish!
Thanks very much Johan!
Thank you so much for sharing valuable information about knife making
You're very welcome mate!
Outstanding video Aaron!! All the details and why's of fixture making really is educational and you did it perfectly. Finish is amazing and goes to the other part of these processes...experimenting and choosing the Right End mills. That 3way measuring tool is almost a dial CMM, very cool and didn't know they made those...pricey I imagine. My hat is off to you for how far you've come in just a few years and the amazing knives you bring to life! Thanks Aaron!! How are the chefs knives coming?
Hey PJ! Sorry for the slow response mate... I'm swamped as usual! The Haimer dial indicator was actually not crazy expensive, about $500 which is very reasonable for what it does! I have been using it for 5-6 years and definitely have zero regrets about the money spent!
The chefs knife is going pretty well! I am most of the way through making the fixtures for it which is great! I have run some initial prototype toolpaths but still have a fair way to go... I think I'll have initial production prototypes completed within a month or two!
Nice video! It makes me happy everytime you upload, even before watching!
Thanks Tobias! Really glad to hear that!
Awesome. Just awesome. I really appreciate you taking the time for these excellent videos AND sharing all that experience and knowledge. Thank you.
You're very welcome Matus! Thanks for watching mate!
I'd buy one of those knives. They're probably really good and serve well.
love that old world craftsmanship!
Hey George! Not sure if you're being sarcastic or not with this comment? Tone is always hard to convey via text!
@@GoughCustom More kidding than sarcastic.
I enjoyed the video. Wish I had the tech skills or manual craftsmanship to do that stuff. Need a workshop to mess around in.
@@OttoMatieque Glad you enjoyed it! It is definitely a steep learning curve to get to this point, but it is pretty addictive!
Very clever. I like it. Congrats!
Thanks very much Mustafa!
Loving the videos, thank you!
Really glad you like them mate, thank-you!
Blade looks mint!
Thanks mate!
WOW. I am seriously impressed. Thanks. J.
Thanks very much John! Glad you liked the video!
Watched as soon as I saw the notification. High tech custom made .
Hopefully all is going well for you now.
Take care and keep making those knives.
Looking forward to the next upload.
Thanks for watching and for the kind words Grant! Things are going fairly well, life has stresses as always but I have a lot more time to myself which in of itself is a large positive change which is great!
I am also working on a lot of new & fun projects which you will start seeing over the next few months! Kitchen knife, folding knife design, and also a robotic sandblasting cabinet which I am excited about!
A little hint from my personal experience (I do things like that for living). When you are jamming a hardened blade against the softer metal of that fixture, you are causing slow but steady displacement. It's hard to say when exactly (depends on geometry, torque, etc) but it's going to wear and might cause weird results. It makes sense to run it through the heat treatment and make it just about 5-8 HRC softer than what you are machining on it. Also, depending on the volumes, it might make sense to ditch the vise and make a table-mounted fixture that would hold multiple blades. It makes the load-unload process longer, but you gain longer cycle times that you can utilize for doing some other work by yourself not being interrupted.
Great tips! I actually implemented all of the above on my main fixture that I built a few years ago. All of the clamping components are spring tempered A2 tool steel, and the fixture is mounted straight to the table and located with dowel pins. Has been working great for a LOT of cycles! The fixture shown in this video was really just meant as a stop-gap and I have actually already stopped using it, just needed more throughput for a few months there!
Fantastic! A long way from hand grinding these in the basement.
Yes sir! It's been a fun journey!
Смотрю ваши видео с большим удовольствием!
Спасибо!
👍👍👍
Thanks for watching mate, really glad you like the videos!
Very nice to see a video from you again
Thanks Martin! Hopefully I'll have more coming soon!
New video and new podcast. It's a good day.
Glad you found the podcast! It's been a lot of fun to do!
Really great job and amazing explanation!! Thanks
Thanks very much Nadir!
one day i hope i can find a knife in stock, thanks keep up the good work
I'm very glad you like my work Frank! I actually have knives in stock on my website right now! goughcustom.com/
Great video! Also great podcast, looking forward to more episodes!
Thanks mate! Really glad you found the podcast and that you're enjoying it! Let me know if you ever have any suggestions/questions/feedback!
Outstanding. Always interesting, always informative. Thank you.
Thanks Michael! I have been enjoying making videos again!
Awesome stuff, I didnt know finish this nice is possible for a machine.
Thanks Yan! You should see some of the finishes that are possible on the modern high-end machines! I have to work pretty hard to get a result like this, but some of the new machines can do mirror finishes with minimal effort! I really look forward to the day when I can finally get to that level, I have to take the long way around though as I can't afford to spend $250,000 on a machine!
@@GoughCustom A thousand Resolute MKIIIs, just sayin'.
@@YanDoroshenko yep it's true! I have come close to justifying it a few times :) The main thing that's stopped me is the potential stress of having a large monthly payment on the machine... At some point in the future I might still make the leap though!
Very nice result!
Do you ever miss the hand filing days?
Thanks Tommy! Can't really say I miss the hand filing, no! It's a lot of work and I'm much happier with the final results I get these days!
Wow here is evolution of knife making
Thanks Nick! I agree! I'm looking forward to where it goes in the future!
Another great vid Aaron, thanks! That ultrasonic cleaner looks awefully familiar; ours has been a goto for years (knock on wood). We did supplement it with a 15L size with a built in drain for larger parts. That lil guy is still gets the most use.
Like the dust shroud on the knife grinder, hadn’t noticed that before ;-)
Hey Jesse! Yeah that little cleaner was an amazingly good purchase. That was one of the few 'cheap' purchases I've made where I opened the box and was amazed at the quality!
The dust shroud around the grinder works soooo well! Very worthwhile making one! I need to make a replacement out of sheet steel soon!
G’day Azza. Great to see back in front of the camera. That’s a beautiful looking knife fixture plate you made buddy. Awesome work 👏. Trust you’re safe and well. Cheers Aaron 🍻
Hey Az! Thanks bud, glad you like it mate! Pretty straightforward, but still satisfying that's for sure! Things are going fairly smooth over here, I'm just keeping to myself! How are things with you mate?
@@GoughCustom doing very thanks Aaron. Family is good and all going strong. Been doing a bit with my other TH-cam channel (Aaron Engineering). Cheers 🍻
@@DCT_Aaron_Engineering Sweet mate, I will give you a follow on the other channel! Glad to hear you're well!
Very pleasing! Would love a milling machine, even though I have no use for one!! 😁👍🏻
Once you have one you would find a lot of uses for it I'm sure!
@@GoughCustom I’ve got one now!!! A fellow knife maker just rocked up and gave me his old one!!!!! 😁💪🏻
Question: why you can't get oil in your sand blaster?
It's so cool and satisfying seeing hard milling!
I'd imagine if he's running on the finer end, clogging might be an issue with something that has a low volatility.
Hey mate! The coating that I use on my blades (DLC) is very sensitive to contamination. Any oil or loose dust on the parts will cause discolouration of the coating or failed adhesion of the coating. The place that does my DLC coating ultrasonically cleans the blades before they're coated, but getting grease/oil on the sand and then blasting that oil into all the tiny crevices formed during sandblasting seems like a bad idea!
I also do not handle the blades with bare hands after blasting, they are all handled with gloves to make sure no skin oil is transferred.
I cannot say conclusively that either of these sources of oil is definitely an issue, but I have had lots of issues with the coating process in the past and now I do absolutely everything I can to ensure cleanliness during the final stages before coating!
That even includes filtering my compressed air to a ridiculous level. I have a screw compressor now which runs the air through an oil separator, then a refrigerated drier, then I run the air through a moisture separator, coalescing oil filter, and then an activated carbon filter... I'm pretty confident you could breathe the air coming out of my compressor at that point!
To reduce dust I only use fairly fresh 120 grit aluminum oxide, and run a dust collector in the cabinet to pull in any broken up media... I have noticed that if I let the media get broken down and become too fine it leaves very fine dust on the blades which is hard to remove and also causes coating issues.
It is a very tricky thing to get right consistently and I've had a lot of delays from issues in the past so now I'm pretty overkill about it!
@@GoughCustom Thank you for replying in such details! Recently while I was dialing in my 3D printer, I've came to the conclusion that if you are doing thing a sufficiently high level, you'll started to be able to detected and adjust increasingly minute things. To the uninitiated, you'll seem like you are doing a lot of things with very little improvements. But in my mind, those little improvements towards 100% perfection is what sets you apart. Keep it up!
Great video. I am a machinist as well cnc & manual, been at for 30 years. I read the comment you made about a Haas mill and I would advise against it we have a very large Haas with trunion instead of table. We have somehow managed to make it last from 07 until the present day. It should have been replaced 5 years ago. There are much better machines available.
Hey Billy! Thanks for the feedback! I agree there are definitely much better machines available than the HAAS, but given my current machines I think the HAAS would still be a step up! What in particular don't you like about the HAAS, have they been giving you mechanical issues?
If you're worried about breaking taps, you might consider trying out form-threading taps as they're more riggid. I've only broken a handfull of taps in 5 years, all due to the drill was broken beforehand :)
I haven't yet tried thread-forming taps, but I definitely want to! My understanding is they're better for softer materials like aluminum, especially when used outside a CNC, but something I'm keeping in mind for sure!
@@GoughCustom We use the on all our aluminium parts in our CNC machines 😃
Really Interesting to see. Also I really like your way to make knifes and videos. Allways very informative 🙂💪
Thanks very much mate! Glad you liked the video!
I think it looks great.Im sure it saved tons of time.
Thank-you! Yes it definitely did!
This is so intriguing. I'd like to get to know more about the full process, from a new design to the final product.
Hey mate! I have an older video that covers the end to end process a bit more here: th-cam.com/video/Zt-1SrOpPU4/w-d-xo.html
@@GoughCustom Thanks, I really appreciate this Super Cool!
Exciting day to see your notification pop up! Love the video, keep them coming. :)
Thanks very much mate! Got a bunch more videos partially completed!
Beautiful. Great work man!
Thanks very much mate!
Amazing as always!!
Thanks very much Ahmet!
If I'd money would invest in a Knife Company...modern tech is so incredible, including 3D printing.
As much as I love knifemaking, I don't think that putting money into a knifemaking company is necessarily a good investment! It is a lot of fun though!
Todavia no veo el video y ya le di like bro, se que estara genial.
Saludos desde mexico.
Thank-you very much sir!
Fantastic content as usual.
Thanks Mark! Really glad you liked it mate!
To be honestly I really enjoy the video. Please keep it up. 👍
Thanks Noel, I'm really glad you enjoyed it mate!
Can't wait for the next video showing your entire process lol
Like, the fourth or fifth video on that topic at this point, but I love watching them anyway
There will definitely be another process video coming at some point! Things are changing pretty rapidly right now so it's not a good time to do it, but within a year I think there will be process videos for the Resolute and for the new Kitchen knife!
I love watching your videos, Aaron, they’re always so informative and entertaining.
Great work, mate 🤜🏻💥🤛🏻
Thanks very much mate! I'm glad you've been enjoying them!
Amazing job !
Thanks very much mate!
Awesome. Love your work
Thanks very much Mike!
When you are milling the bevels, what kind of tool paths are you using, and what are your settings like?
I'm using a parallel finishing toolpath, running about 7500RPM at 80IPM.
@@GoughCustom awesome! Thanks
@Gough Custom... How are you able to machine without oil or water? All the other vids I watch use one or the other.
Great vids and content thx!
That hard milling is beautiful, what is the surface speed and chip load for something like that?
Thanks John! In this case the finish pass was 7500RPM, 60IPM. With the 6 flute tool I used in the video that gives a chipload of 0.0013". I have recently moved to an identical tool but with 8 flutes, running a little faster feed to get the same chipload.
Parabéns pelo seu projeto! Seu trabalho é uma inspiração para mim .
Thank-you very much mate!
I was taught to set your Z zero off the top of the part, Never from the bottom, less chance of error . As a you are working above the fixture for offsets .Rather than from bottom. Same with the lathe , always from the face of the part. Never the jaw face or spindle stop. And that VRX stubby has seen better days LOL. Ran those a lot at my last job. Glad you are up and running with both mills.Thought , have you considered running the roughing cycle for both blades. I noticed you finished one blade 100% , was this a cycle test for that offset? Looking forward to more videos in the future. Stay healthy and happy!!!
Hey Mike! I will usually set offsets from the top when I'm doing a one-off, however when using offsets with fixture plates I always set it from the table as Z zero... I think there are many different ways to do it, as long as you always have a 'system' to avoid mistakes then you're good!
I generally group my operations per station on the fixture, rather than per-tool as this lets me very easily run just a section of the program if I need to do work on a single knife or something... Costs a little bit of time on tool changes, but my programs usually take hours anyway so it's not a big issue!
hi, have you ever tried to use a diamond burnish Face Milling tool after the finishing pass ?
I have not! Do you have a link to a tool you would recommend so I can check it out?
Can you please do a video on your 3d surface milling? it's so insanely good, and i'm struggling with it on knife and non knife projects
That mill you used for the bevel looked very interesting? What are the specs on it??
Hey Danny! The endmill I used was one that Maritool make custom for me... It is a 1/4" diameter 6 flute endmill with 0.06" corner radius and a short length of cut (0.375"). The high flute count and short flute length means it's very rigid! I get about 10-12 knives per tool which works out great. They just starting making an 8 flute version for me as well... Both are for sale on their website under the 0.250" diameter section: www.maritool.com/Cutting-Tools-End-Mills-Finishers-Square-End-5-Flute-and-Higher/c78_79_80_131/index.html
Is it possible to show evolution of Resolute in one video?
Interesting question! Good idea for a video, I will add it to my list!!
Those are some great finishes on those blades. What endmill are you using and from where? It looks like you are using the same EM for roughing and finishing?
very interesting as always!
Thanks very much mate!
Dude the expertise this man has is fucking insane. He may not see it, cause we’re all our own worst critics. The level of cleanliness and Finish is like what you’d see at a Swiss watch manufacturer
Thanks man! :) I am pretty happy with how things are coming out these days, but I gotta admit that I think there's always room for improvement!
How the hell do you go from Ruby to this? Hats off to Aaron.
Haha thanks Yan! Just one step at a time honestly mate! Looking at everything together is very daunting, but there was a million little steps between there and here!
How does that actually hold the blade in there on the blade side?
The clamps (pitbull clamps) have a pivot underneath so they push in toward the blade as well as downward when you tighten down their bolts. They are amazing little clamps!
@@GoughCustom I actually got it and my goodness its sharp
Curious what hard milling end mills you use, not familiar with them.
Hey Doug! The endmills are custom made for me by Maritool, and have evolved slowly over the years. Originally they were standard off-the-shelf 1/4" Diameter 4 flute endmills with 3/4" flute length and a 0.06" corner radius... The latest version is 1/4" Diameter, 8 flutes with 0.375" flute length and 0.06" corner radius. Increasing the flute count made the tools drastically stiffer as well as providing more cutting edges for increased life. The shorter flute length again increased stiffness. I run 2 identical tools in the machine, a fresh one as a finisher, which then gets used as a roughing tool after it's seen some wear. I get about 10-15 blades out of each tool as a finisher and same again as a rougher. You can see/buy them here: www.maritool.com/Cutting-Tools-End-Mills-Finishers-Square-End-5-Flute-and-Higher/c78_79_80_131/index.html
If you go up one level you'll see they have 5, 6, and 8 flute versions of the same tool as we have stepped up the flute count over the years. The lower flute counts are great for softer materials where you can take a larger chip! I would still recommend sticking with the 4/5 flute versions for annealed steel though, the gullets are just too small to clear larger chips properly when roughing with the higher flute count tools.
Have you considered putting some pattern on blade bevels? Having them nice, flat and smooth is good for blade cleaning. It also looks great! But it makes blade a bit sticky while slicing raw meat, soft cheese or some soft and juicy fruits or vegetables. It's a compromise of course, but maybe some nice and small grooves (from cutting tool?) can make blade less sticky. What do you think?
Hey Oleg! This is something I'm definitely thinking about for my upcoming kitchen knife! I haven't really thought about it too much for the Resolute, but it's an interesting idea!
Nice job ! How much time does it take to finish one side of the blade ?
Thanks! Right now each side takes about 40 minutes, but I still have to finish the bevels with hand sanding unfortunately... Perhaps in the future I'll be able to improve the surface finish further...
Would the surface finish be better if you angled the blade surface instead of running the mill at a slope action?
Have you tried something like that?
If I would to do this I might mount the fixture stand up 90 degrees (add the bevel angle) and run the mill on the side this might be more efficient only need to do 2-3 passes and the surface finish will be better the tool marks will be parallel to the blade just like the final sanding
But that’s just me I’m sure there’s still lots of problems to be solve
Hey mate! I have actually machined them with the blade tilted in the past and the surface finish was much worse! Basically when machining like that the whole bottom of the endmill is making contact and this makes it much easier for a chip stuck to the endmill to score rings into the blade and generally results in a worse finish... It's also quite painful to make fixtures that are tilted like that, and then if you want to fine tune the blade angle or edge thickness you can't without re-making the fixture. I have found the 3D machining process to be much more reliable!
Regarding tilting the blade all the way up and cutting with the side of the endmill: because I'm hard-milling these blades I think that would be impractical unfortunately. It would also force me to make a more radiused plunge line, which I don't really like, and would again be very fussy if the angle or whatever needed to be changed.
Overall I've been very happy with the current approach! The only real issue is that it's slower than the other options, but honestly it's still pretty quick!
Why no kern 5 axis with a custom automatic dressing grinding wheel??? I may have watched too much grismso... Great work. Great video. I would love to see more advanced technical stuff on your channel.
I wish mate! It would be very cool to have a machine like John's, but I don't have the stomach for that kind of debt... I am definitely moving into more technical videos! I am slowly working on a PVD coating system that I will document here, as well as a robotic sandblasting system that I am custom building!
Great video! Did you make another fixture for machining the other sides of the blades?
Thanks Andres! The same fixture actually machines both sides of the blade! The side nearest to the camera machines the opposite side
Great video as always! Wow what a finish, thats just incredible, why dont you rough mill the second blade right after roughing the first one though? Wouldnt that shave off a few seconds on machining time?
Really great job, its incredible!
Thanks Bart! Yeah I am definitely very happy with the finish! One day I will get a brand new machine and start making mirror finishes :)
I usually group the toolpaths by operation or fixture station rather than by tool. I definitely lose a little time to toolchanges, but my cycle times are usually 2-3 hours or more so it's a small drop in that bucket. Having the toolpaths grouped by station makes it really easy to run just a section of the fixture if I have to do re-work or if I need to catch up on a certain process!
Damn that surface finish is unbelievable! Definitely worth the decrease in production costs though. Great work bro
Thanks very much Mr McCringleberry! :)
Gough Custom haha, that’s my secret online identity lol