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Messages - MPeppard

#1
Ok, so Paypal should work internationally.   When I was looking into it I read that it only work in a few countries out side the US, the web site I was at must of been sponsored by a wire transfer service...

Thanks.
#2
Still waiting on a quote from the CNC shop for parts, the owner is really busy but I will inform everyone as soon as I have the information.  So unfortunately I still haven't any idea on price yet.

There are currently about 25 people that expressed interest so that will start to help in volume discounts for piece prices.

I still need to figure out how to accept payments from other countries, Bitcoin would be easiest and lowest fees but I don't want to make people get a Bitcoin account for one purchase.  So if anyone has any information about accepting credit card payment globally without a merchant account and tax ID number I could use the help.  Unfortunately Paypal and Google Pay are only good in the USA and a few other countries. 
#3
There has been some interest in the modified SVM-45 holder with adjustable offset that I made.

But before I can move forward on getting quotes for CNC'd parts I need to get some feel on the number of people that would be interested in purchasing one.  Unfortunately I haven't any idea of final price so I don't want to throw out any numbers just yet.

If you think you may be interested in purchasing an Adjustable Offset SVM-45 please email me at Mpeppard246@gmail.com

This is just to gauge interest, you are not committing yourself to purchase (final price will be a big factor)

Also I know a lot of people always use the Pin Pivot Collar on their holders so I am thinking of offering the option of not having the shaft threaded for the handle since some don't use the screw on handle-stop anymore.

RickKrung a long time forum member and also the inventor of the Pin Pivot Collar is helping me out big time on getting parts made.  Rick's help should greatly increase the chances moving forward with this due to his previous production experiences.
#4
Knife Sharpening / Optical Blade Alignment Checking
April 13, 2019, 08:53:30 PM
Here is a fixture I have been playing around with for checking the alignment of the blade in the holder.  It's a bit over kill and not something that anyone really needs, just experimenting trying to come up with a way to also measure how far off-angle the edge is from the spline. 

It works by having an optical reference point in-line with the center axis of the SVM-45's handle using an USB microscope.  If the blade's edge is centered in the jig correctly it will intersect with the reference point.
The reference point is set using a 12mm calibration rod with a 1mm post at the center and drawing a circle around it with the viewing software.

After the edge is centered, moving the focal plane up the blade you can check for off-angle by the symmetry of the blade's sides from the distance to the reference point.  Here are some examples with one blade being very close to being perfectly aligned and one with the edge centered but off-angled a little.

Just centering the edge doesn't really fix everything if the blade is off-angle, the blade also needs to be parallel with the axis otherwise the bevel grind widths can be uneven.  In reality the edge would need to be off-angle quite a lot before it would start to make a noticeable difference.
#5
Quote from: Fernando on April 09, 2019, 05:13:48 PM
just great.
I only have one question, how much does the tool weigh?

12.9 oz, the stock one weighs 11.4 oz.   Most of the weight difference is due to switching to a stainless steel handle.
#6
Quote from: RickKrung on April 07, 2019, 09:44:13 PM
Quote from: MPeppard on April 07, 2019, 09:11:03 PM
Using the adjustment screw's pitch (4-40) to set the offset would be one way to do it, but I think its much easier just to test it with the knife installed.

Ken S mentioned this method a few times where you can do an easy check with a V-block and vertical marking surface (a wide base wax candle work well).

Place the knife and jig on the V-block with the blade horizontal and slide the marking surface up to the blade and make a reference cut.  Rotate the knife/jig over 180 degrees and recheck.  If the two marks are in the same place, then the blade is centered.  If the marks are off, you would need to adjust the blade half the distance between the two marks, which is a bit easier with the adjustable offset because you just turn the screw to align it.

I kind of like this method because it takes into account a lot of variables at once, like blade thickness, how the blade is mounted in the jig and if the edge is off-line from the spline.

I am about half way done on a blade alignment fixture that uses an USB microscope to center the blade, probably a bit over-kill but I think I can get a few other uses out of it.

Nice.  I do not recall having heard of the V-block/wax candle method.  Very slick.  I like it and will use it to test the shims in the modified jigs.  As you say, actually checking the blade is better than indirect methods. 

What USB microscope are you using?  I looked at them last fall, in particular some from DinoLite.  Unfortunately, I was not satisfied with the resolution of even their top end scopes.  I was especially interested in their models that have focus stacking.  A very handy feature.  In that process, I did find some third party apps for focus stacking, which freed the search from just those scopes that do it natively. 

I'll be very interested to see more on how you might use the scope for centering.  For the level of accuracy most of us need, it seems like the V-block/was method would suffice nicely.   

Rick

The microscope I am using is a cheap $65 Aomekie 2MP, the depth of view and image aren't that great but good enough for how I plan to use it, plus it's a UVC camera so I can view the image on my phone using an OTG adapter.  I mainly went with this one because it's a pencil style that is easy to work with, most of the others are all oddly shaped and don't have a very good way to rigidly mount them.   

#7
Quote from: RickKrung on April 07, 2019, 07:42:02 AM
Congratulations.  Very impressive.  Exactly the kind of thing I like to make.  I'm just a bit jealous I didn't think of it.  Looks to be some mighty fine work. 

Knowing the thickness of a blade, how do you go about adjusting the dovetail for the necessary offset?  Do you go by the height of the step of one dovetail to the other?  The screw looks to be of a fairly coarse pitch.  Are you able to use the rotational position of the "leadscrew"?  For example, an #8-32 screw with a thread pitch of 32 tpi has 0.032" per rotation.  One-quarter turn = about 0.008".  One-quarter turn should be easy enough to gauge using an allen wrench.  A 40 tpi thread gives 0.025" per revolution (same as an inch micrometer), but that means eye-balling 1/5th turns for 0.005" increments. 

I modified several jigs by milling part of the jaw away, as per Wootz's jigs and use shims for centering the blade.  Also, not a DIY for most.  I made a table with blade thickness in 0.005" increments.  The change in shim thickness, per 5 thou. increment is 0.0025", which rounds to either 0.002" or 0.003" in my table.  I made it into a PDF file (attached) and have that on my phone for easy reference at the workstation.  I also keep a printed copy of it, but they get trashed after a while. 

Please show (or tell) us your setup procedure.

Rick

Using the adjustment screw's pitch (4-40) to set the offset would be one way to do it, but I think its much easier just to test it with the knife installed.

Ken S mentioned this method a few times where you can do an easy check with a V-block and vertical marking surface (a wide base wax candle work well).

Place the knife and jig on the V-block with the blade horizontal and slide the marking surface up to the blade and make a reference cut.  Rotate the knife/jig over 180 degrees and recheck.  If the two marks are in the same place, then the blade is centered.  If the marks are off, you would need to adjust the blade half the distance between the two marks, which is a bit easier with the adjustable offset because you just turn the screw to align it.

I kind of like this method because it takes into account a lot of variables at once, like blade thickness, how the blade is mounted in the jig and if the edge is off-line from the spline.

I am about half way done on a blade alignment fixture that uses an USB microscope to center the blade, probably a bit over-kill but I think I can get a few other uses out of it.

#8
I have been visiting this forum for some time and figured I would share a project that I just finished up, it allows for changing the offset of the holder to adjust for different blade thicknesses.

Basically, I cut the clamping section off an SVM-45 and mounted it to a sliding dovetail joint.   The casting for the handle section wasn't all that uniformly round, so I threaded some 12mm SS rod and replaced the shaft while I was at it.

When "zeroed" it has the same offset (1.25 mm) as the stock SVM-45, the dovetail adds +/- 3.5mm, which should handle the adjustment for most blade thickness, up to about 9mm.

Sorry it's not really a DIY solution for most, but maybe it help give someone an idea for something simpler.