I just finished engraving the Buck knife from GRS with Ron Smith's design on it. It was an interesting exercise, to say the least. While a fairly difficult (busy?) design, it taught me a lot about technique. I spent about twelve hours on it and learned a great deal about tool control and sharpening gravers for the desired effect. Not everyone will be pleased with such a project, but the results from tackling it will tell you a lot about yourself. At first I was intimidated because I had never undertaken anything so intricate before, but was totally relaxed when I attacked the other side. I had two slips per side, and both were caused by the compressor coming on when I didn't expect it to. I have one of the small air compressors for a nail gun, and it rattles the house when it comes on; I MUST get a quieter air supply! Nevertheless, I consider it a good investment to really see what you can do as far as technique goes. I would send a picture for your critique, but it is packaged up and ready for shipment to my brother-in-law, as he will be using it as an incentive for his customers to purchase tools. He is a Matco tool distributor and a ticket will be entered in the kitty to draw for the knife with every $50.00 worth of tools bought. I hope it works for him. All in all, I actually enjoyed the project.

William Moody
2/17/2007 9:09:23 PM

my compressor used to scare the crap out of me. i finally put it in my cellar. run 3 lengths of hose to where i worked, and put the regulator there also. a tad inconvenient to gather up the hose, but eliminates jumping outta your seat when the bleepin compressor starts !
sometimes in the scrapyards you can get air hose for ( at least around here ) for free. it's rubber. test for leaks, repair where needed. save a lotta bucks, except for the required fittings. the repairs can be made with short lengths of copper tubing and stainless steel band clamps.

j.d. swartzfeger
2/17/2007 10:36:07 PM

j.d. swartzfeger
2/17/2007 10:38:53 PM

When I moved out to Colorado i left my old sears compressor with my son and bought a new one from home depot. It was the new oiless type. I found it was noisier then all getgo...and it even stopped working properly after only a few months. I exchanged it for w bigger upright oil type which is much quieter and doesnt seem to run as much. I have the compressor set up in my garage which is next to my workroom. What I did was pipe the compressor through the wall with some metal fittings (really easy to do) and I put a quick change coupler on either end so i can disconnect the hose as needed especially for things in the garage. It works out great and I sometimes forget to turn the compressor off until I hear run in the middle of the night.

Martin Rabeno
2/18/2007 9:57:02 AM

I have my setup very similar to Marty's with the compressor in the garage, except I installed a separate regulator that is set at 60 psi and from there I glued together 1/2 inch pvc pipe and ran it to my work shop in the basement. A run of about 60 feet. I don't hear the compressor running at all.

Robert Bissell
2/18/2007 12:36:49 PM

Robert, a word to the wise: I learned from another forum I frequent that plastic pipe for air is a NO-NO. The stuff has been known to shatter under fairly low pressures and when it does the shrapnel sticks into the walls and anybody in the way. I ripped mine out. Keep on cuttin'.

Mike Atkinson
2/18/2007 1:00:16 PM

In regards to plastic pipe if the pipe is assembled per the specs (pipe is cleaned, fittings are primed and glued properly) then they should be able to hold the pressures listed on the site below. Most people try to get off cheap and use the really thin pvc. Another thing to consider is that pvc will not stand up to sunlight. If the piping is gonig to be outside use CPVC. It is rated for outdoor use. Also consider other weather affects (freezing, etc.)

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/pvc-cpvc-pipes-pressures-d_796.html



Kevin Monahan
2/18/2007 4:25:15 PM

Thanks to you all for your responses. I wanted to place my compressor away from the work area, but my studio is upstairs in a 75 year old house. Miss Mary didn't want me working in the dining room or the stairwell, so I was banished to an upstairs room. The noise may be a little much, but she is quiet! I'm looking for something really quiet and inexpensive, but no luck so far.

William Moody
2/18/2007 9:36:52 PM