# Finally in the garage shop!!



## Seffers93 (Aug 29, 2020)

Hey everyone!

The majority of my posts on here have started out with "so my wife and I are buying a house soon, and I'll be setting up a knife shop in the garage." We've been waiting for just over a month, and we finally moved in today! And one of the first things I did was set up the garage shop! I'm pretty happy with the setup. I literally went from having zero tools in an apartment to this! Ordered all of it within two weeks and built the work bench yesterday at my father-in-laws shop lol.

On the left is going to be the forge setup.. propane tank, large torch, ten insulated fire bricks and a couple old ammo cans for quench tanks.
Work bench.. band saw, drill press, toaster oven, granite surface and a 2x42 belt grinder that will soon be modified. 
This and that over on the shelves. Most important part over there is the boxed up 1084 and 1095 and handle material!!
I know this is a beginner setup but I'm so excited to get started! I'll post some works in progress in a few days!


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## Slim278 (Aug 29, 2020)

It' too clean. Lets see some projects on those benches!


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## tincent (Aug 29, 2020)

Following. Do you happen to have a Shigefusa Nakiri?


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## Seffers93 (Aug 30, 2020)

tincent said:


> Following. Do you happen to have a Shigefusa Nakiri?



I do not!


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## M1k3 (Aug 30, 2020)

Seffers93 said:


> I do not!


Any Nakiri's at all? They make good Gyuto projects. I also hear there's a Nakiri rescue starting up, if you wanted to go that route.


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## tchan001 (Aug 30, 2020)

Looking forward to the progress your project. Hope to see your masterpieces later on.


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## juice (Aug 30, 2020)

M1k3 said:


> Any Nakiri's at all? They make good Gyuto projects.


Sigh, more blade-shaming


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## tincent (Aug 30, 2020)

juice said:


> Sigh, more blade-shaming


Who's shaming? He is clearly a fan. As am I.


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## Carl Kotte (Aug 30, 2020)

Wow congrats! That’s one lovely shop!


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## Tim Rowland (Aug 30, 2020)

Awesome, glad you got everything set up for the most part.
Now the most important part....go make some dust and have fun.


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## birdsfan (Aug 30, 2020)

Freaking awesome! You are going to have fun! Wish you luck in your initial projects.


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## tomsch (Aug 31, 2020)

Great shop! Love the toaster oven


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## Barashka (Aug 31, 2020)

Nice setup! 
So clean ...
I suggest some kind of filtering system as well .. a shop vac or something as dust will build up.


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## Seffers93 (Aug 31, 2020)

Barashka said:


> Nice setup!
> So clean ...
> I suggest some kind of filtering system as well .. a shop vac or something as dust will build up.



Thanks!!

I have a couple shop vacs I'm going to clamp to my work surfaces while I'm grinding. Not the best system but I suppose it'll do for now!


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## VICTOR J CREAZZI (Aug 31, 2020)

Seffers93 said:


> Thanks!!
> 
> I have a couple shop vacs I'm going to clamp to my work surfaces while I'm grinding. Not the best system but I suppose it'll do for now!


Watch out for fires in your vacuum system! It's pretty common.


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## Seffers93 (Aug 31, 2020)

VICTOR J CREAZZI said:


> Watch out for fires in your vacuum system! It's pretty common.



I’ve heard about metal dust being combustible.. I didn’t know it was that common. How do I prevent it?? Now I’m scared to leave it unattended lol


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## Seffers93 (Sep 1, 2020)

From what I’ve read, it doesn’t sound like 1084 or most knife steel dusts are combustible? Am I missing something?


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## M1k3 (Sep 1, 2020)

Hot sparks+wood dust=


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## Luftmensch (Sep 1, 2020)

M1k3 said:


> Hot sparks+wood dust=



 @M1k3 is 100% spot on.... Igniting fine wood dusts is pretty easily done

Since you have two shop vacs, you could use one for metal and one for wood. Or if you want to run both at the same time, clean out the wood dust every time you switch to metal. It can build up in nooks and crannies so be thorough!

But you are right.... In either situation I wouldnt leave it unattended. Before leaving the shop, I would clean up and let the system cool down a bit so you are confident nothing is smouldering. You don't need to be paranoid... 5 mins would probably do it. Just be aware that it is a risk.

Since we brought it up... it wouldn't be a bad idea to install a fire alarm down there... $20 bucks is not a bad price to pay for piece of mind!


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## Seffers93 (Sep 1, 2020)

Luftmensch said:


> @M1k3 is 100% spot on.... Igniting fine wood dusts is pretty easily done
> 
> Since you have two shop vacs, you could use one for metal and one for wood. Or if you want to run both at the same time, clean out the wood dust every time you switch to metal. It can build up in nooks and crannies so be thorough!
> 
> ...



Thanks for the advice! And I’m definitely going to go pick up a fire alarm. Like you said, worth the peace of mind!!


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## VICTOR J CREAZZI (Sep 1, 2020)

Yeah, its the other flammable material in the vacuum. This can also be flammable parts of the vacuum itself as they aren't really designed to vacuum up hot metal.

A friend of mine was using a small bagged vacuum while belt sanding a repair area on a wood floor during a remodel. It was quitting time and his workmate wanted to come back the following day to finish while he wanted to finish, clean up the tools, and be done. While they were discussing, which he said went on for quite a while, the vacuum burst into flames. He had been hitting some nail heads with the belt sander. There was no doubt in his mind that had they left when his workmate wanted to, that they would have burnt the place down.


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## Tim Rowland (Sep 1, 2020)

Beyond a fire alarm you need AT LEAST 1 fire extinguisher in your shop.
I suggest 1 by your grinding area and 1 by your heat treating area....rated for oil fire.

Almost every single knife makers guild meeting I attend there is a new story of an accident. Most of the time it is saved by an extinguisher before a shop or home is lost. By the time an alarm is going off and you make it down to the shop it can already be to late.
You and your families safety is worth spending about $60 and getting in a routine of safety check before leaving the shop.

I would also suggest a metal troft/tray with water under your grinder catching the sparks.
On a larger setup you will see people using 5 gal buckets but in your case I think a metal drywall mud troft would fit underneath the bottom wheel with some water and should minimize a lot of sparks/larger metal dust.


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## Seffers93 (Sep 1, 2020)

VICTOR J CREAZZI said:


> Yeah, its the other flammable material in the vacuum. This can also be flammable parts of the vacuum itself as they aren't really designed to vacuum up hot metal.
> 
> A friend of mine was using a small bagged vacuum while belt sanding a repair area on a wood floor during a remodel. It was quitting time and his workmate wanted to come back the following day to finish while he wanted to finish, clean up the tools, and be done. While they were discussing, which he said went on for quite a while, the vacuum burst into flames. He had been hitting some nail heads with the belt sander. There was no doubt in his mind that had they left when his workmate wanted to, that they would have burnt the place down.



Thats crazy! Glad they were there to catch it. And I'm very thankful you replied to this thread to warn me about dust fires. I definitely needed this knowledge. Thank you!


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## Seffers93 (Sep 1, 2020)

Tim Rowland said:


> Beyond a fire alarm you need AT LEAST 1 fire extinguisher in your shop.
> I suggest 1 by your grinding area and 1 by your heat treating area....rated for oil fire.
> 
> Almost every single knife makers guild meeting I attend there is a new story of an accident. Most of the time it is saved by an extinguisher before a shop or home is lost. By the time an alarm is going off and you make it down to the shop it can already be to late.
> ...



Thanks for the reply Tim! I'm heading out to the hardware store right after work and picking up a couple fire extinguishers and a fire alarm. 
I have a plastic tote sitting under the grinder that seems to be catching the majority of dust. No water in it though..
I'll look while I'm out and see if I can find something small enough to slide under the grinding belt. If not, I'll just fill the tote up with water I guess!


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## Seffers93 (Sep 1, 2020)

Do you guys know if a regular Class ABC extinguisher would be okay to keep by the grinder? Or would I need a Class D?

Edit: I'm going to start a new thread on this!


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## Dave Martell (Sep 1, 2020)

Belt fuzz and hot metal sparks = *F**I**R**E*. I'd bet that belt fuzz catches up easier than even wood dust does. I've had a couple of small fires right at the dust port inlet and one really decent one that swept through my entire dust collector piping that burned out 50% of the plastic hose before I shut it down by spraying a fire extinguisher into an inlet while the collector was still running. That big one happened so quick it was scary and what a mess it made, just glad I was able to stop it. Based on my experiences I now use only metal hoses/piping and I never blow into a bag - I blow it all outside through the use of a (metal) dryer vent. Since I've been doing it this way I haven't had a single incident. I'd never use a vacuum cleaner - that's asking for it for sure, just my $0.02


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## Seffers93 (Sep 1, 2020)

Dave Martell said:


> Belt fuzz and hot metal sparks = fire. I'd bet that belt fuzz catches up easier than even wood dust does. I've had a couple of small fires right at the dust port inlet and one really decent one that swept through my entire dust collector piping that burned out 50% of the plastic hose before I shut it down by spraying a fire extinguisher into an inlet while the collector was still running. That big one happened so quick it was scary and what a mess it made, just glad I was able to stop it. Based on my experiences I now use only metal hoses/piping and I never blow into a bag - I blow it all outside through the use of a (metal) dryer vent. Since I've been doing it this way I haven't had a single incident. I'd never use a vacuum cleaner - that's asking for it for sure, just my $0.02



Thanks for the reply Dave. Glad you're not having any more issues! Unfortunately for myself, I have no windows in my garage shop. Just brick wall. So I'm kinda stuck with a shop-vac for now. I'll just have to do some research to make the best out of what I have. I'm going to start a new Fire thread under shop talk and ask a couple more questions.


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## Dave Martell (Sep 1, 2020)

Seffers93 said:


> Thanks for the reply Dave. Glad you're not having any more issues! Unfortunately for myself, I have no windows in my garage shop. Just brick wall. So I'm kinda stuck with a shop-vac for now. I'll just have to do some research to make the best out of what I have. I'm going to start a new Fire thread under shop talk and ask a couple more questions.




Well you're aware of the issue now so that's half the battle, you can figure out a way to deal with it I'm sure.

BTW, there's something that some makers use that's an attachment for a vacuum where sucks through a water filled bucket (sort of like a spark arrestor) before going into the actual vacuum itself. If I can find a link I'll post it.


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## Tim Rowland (Sep 1, 2020)

Seffers93 said:


> Do you guys know if a regular Class ABC extinguisher would be okay to keep by the grinder? Or would I need a Class D?
> 
> Edit: I'm going to start a new thread on this!



Sorry I should have given this information in my earlier post

ABC is fine for regular fires, 
D is for combustible metals like zirconium, titanium, magnesium, etc.
K is what is rated for grease/oil fires.

So ABC by your grinding area
K by your heat treat area.


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## Seffers93 (Sep 1, 2020)

Tim Rowland said:


> Sorry I should have given this information in my earlier post
> 
> ABC is fine for regular fires,
> D is for combustible metals like zirconium, titanium, magnesium, etc.
> ...



Thanks Tim! I'm picking them up tonight!


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## Tim Rowland (Sep 1, 2020)

This is probably far into the future of your new hobby but this is what a good friend of mine uses in his shop and is actually next on my buy list for my shop.









1-1/2 HP Metal Dust Collector at Grizzly.com


<h1>T28798 1-1/2 HP Metal Dust Collector</h1> <h2>Keep your fabrication shop clean while reducing levels of harmful fumes.</h2> <p>The Grizzly T28798 Metal Dust Collector features a multi-stage filtration system with three 15.5" x 19.5" filters with 30, 5, and 1-micron ratings.</p> <p>Operate up...




www.grizzly.com


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## gregfisk (Sep 2, 2020)

Seffers93 said:


> Thanks for the advice! And I’m definitely going to go pick up a fire alarm. Like you said, worth the peace of mind!!


You can’t use smoke detectors in a shop unfortunately. If you can find a stand alone rate of rise heat detector that would work in that dusty of an environment. There are two types of smoke detectors. Both have chambers that have to stay clean and will either fail or false alarm depending on which type you use. If you own a security system your alarm company can add a ror heat detector which is your best bet.


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## Seffers93 (Sep 3, 2020)

gregfisk said:


> You can’t use smoke detectors in a shop unfortunately. If you can find a stand alone rate of rise heat detector that would work in that dusty of an environment. There are two types of smoke detectors. Both have chambers that have to stay clean and will either fail or false alarm depending on which type you use. If you own a security system your alarm company can add a ror heat detector which is your best bet.



Good to know. That makes a lot of sense. Thank you!


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