Well made product
I have a mate, John Fluerty, who's a pretty good knife maker
On our last day of High School we were talking about what we were going to do in the future.
John said this and that ..and "one day I'm going to learn to make knives"
My response was like “How are you going to do that? You'd need a whole factory!”
Well fast forward 46 years or so and Fluerty knives are really something to behold.
Inspired by that and looking for a new hobby, I thought I'd give it a crack.
Bought a cheap Chinese grinder on eBay and eventually produced a knife good enough to consider investing in a grinder more like John's Gibson 72".
Problem - no room for it. The only space I could use was 80cm wide X45cm deep.
Enter the Shop Mate 48"
I built a small trolley with locking rear castors and straight running castors at the front (this keeps the swinging castors to the rear, out of the way).
With two 10mm bolts to screw down as supports, once positioned, this keeps everything easily accessible and stable.
Just need to remove the platen and rest ( they sit on the trolley too.)
Just wheel it into position, screw the bracing bolts down to the floor and plug it in.
Walla. Ready to go!
I’m still in the process of learning how to use this mini beast effectively-but it’s awesome!
What took me forever on the 1”X30” Chinese grinder takes minutes now.
It’s not just that it’s a bigger belt and a more powerful machine but that I can change the configuration so easily -instead of hours customising the other to do something similar.
A big thank you to Ewan who was very patient and helpful with a newcomer to metal working and is always a pleasure to talk to.
..and as for that conversation back in High School - well the Shop Mate 48” does pretty good job of turning your garage into a knife making factory!
Absolutely wicked engineering! Can’t wait to use it!!
The product came as advertised, strong quality construction, minor assembly required, well packaged to protect all the components, will be definitely using this company again , totally happy
Brilliant service and brilliant product
