Making the ULTIMATE Hand Sanding Machine (for the knife-maker)

Thank you to Princess Autio for sponsoring this video. Apart from the aluminum, all materials and parts for this build came from Princess Auto. So great to have such a well-stocked store for those of us who like to make stuff. www.princessauto.com
For a deeper dive into the thought process and some of the build specifics on this project check out my Patreon page. / simplelittlelife
#knifemaking #knifemaker #maker

[@brysonalden5414]

The results, both the mirror polish and the stunning time savings obviously speak for themselves. I am impressed!

[@mattcrawford2666]

I love it! As a fellow millwright I totally approve. Personally I would name it “The Knuckle Buster”.

[@Simplelittlelife]

Right on man! That's a great name! Cheers 👍

[@wolfparty4234]

Pretty cool maaan!! Shurap has a crazy contraption similar with the same concept. 👍🏻

[@jefferyleemiller1377]

The achievement laugh at the was is priceless!

[@0ddSavant]

It's not so much the tooling, or the milling machines, or the metal lathe, or the welding gear. It's not even the welding table and clamps and myriad drills and bits and rotary tools and accessories. I can understand the forge & the pneumatic accoutrements & at least 2 of the benches. I've got my head around most of that - but how do afford the frankly unreasonable horde of little containers of cutting fluid and machining oil? It's truly remarkable. Excellent video. Thank you for posting. Cheers!

[@glenmccauley1]

Such a great build. I want one. I can build this stuff but you learn so much watching someone else build it. Thanks for another amazing project. So inspiring!

[@Simplelittlelife]

Thank you!

[@mjaydk]

Nice machine ;) You should "automate" the "holding the sandpaper in place" part as well.. something spring loaded maybe that you can flip up when changing grits.. then you just need to stop the machine and change the sandpaper every once in a while.. would also be less dangerous ;)

[@javanbybee4822]

Yeah, something like a 1/3 sheet sander

[@smeedatelierwijtvliet576]

Exactly, leave it running while preparing handle material etc, with a timer or something to occasionally change the paper/checkups.

[@bigernbladesmith]

I want I want I want. My back and shoulders will thank me. Really cool project.

[@billclancy4913]

Way cool! Great idea, combined with mad machining skills!

[@SchysCraftCo.]

Wowsers that turned out very unique. Hopefully you get great use out of it for many years to come my friend. Keep making.

[@RedBeardOps]

Dude, this is amazing... I've seen one other guy do this but I forgot who... always thought it looked cool. I like you design as always! VFD may be nice on something like this. Like you said, I bet it can get a little dangerous. lol - Cheers sir!

[@Simplelittlelife]

Thanks James! Much appreciated 👍

[@smaqdaddy]

Shurap has a rig like this. The guy that does the patter welded blades.

[@RedBeardOps]

@@smaqdaddy Yep, that's the guy I was thinking of. Pretty neat home made tools he has

[@daveasharps]

This is amazing! I feel like with a couple tweaks you could fully automate hand sanding. Just add a little hold down arm for the sandpaper with some adjustable tension, give the sanding pad a little bit of compliance and i think it would make the device a lot safer, and even easier to use. If you wanted to go real wild, just add a lil motor on the sanding arm that slowly rotates a sheet or a belt of sandpaper. Fantastic lil machine there!

[@Nanoaiello]

This proves how fun handsanding is lol

[@Simplelittlelife]

Hahaha!! Exactly 👍

[@mrstephenporter]

Really nice build Jer. Following on from some of the suggestions below, a cool and safe way to keep the digits out of the way might be a spring loaded bar that you can roll and slide back and forth (to the side kind of like a lathe feed knob) that reveals fresh grit. Definitely going to play with that idea in my head a little. Sore hands at 40 has me looking for options

[@EphemeralRage]

That's insanely genius good sir! You are utterly brilliant! God bless!

[@Simplelittlelife]

Thank you so much! Got the idea for old steam locomotives. Thank you for watching! God bless you as well! Cheers 👍

[@jayallan519]

This is awesome, will save a lot of time with handsanding. I would love to make this but maybe a bit to bulky for my workshop

[@johnhipp8040]

What do you mean linear actuators?

[@homemadetools]

Very cool. We shared this video in our homemade tools forum this week 😎

[@masoodamg6633]

Dear Jeremy. It was great . You are an inventor. I liked it very much. that was perfect .👍👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏👏

[@andrelevesque6300]

Great build!! That will help alot in your shop no doubt. What about adding a variable speed controller??

[@endurogubbarna]

Nice! I have been aiming to make one since I started with knife making 2y ago when I say Shurap version... 2y down the line I at least have the motor and the ball bearing rails from SKF on the shelf - All from recycled equipment. I have prioritized some other equipment builds, but soon :) Btw, Shurap is from Ukraine.... Do hope we will see more of him and his videos soon.

[@tobymaples7646]

I like that knuckle buster right up the middle! Very cool project

[@thewoodlandforge9217]

Great build Jeremy, I have been thinking of making one for some time but I need a workshop that doesn't leak before I begin. I first saw this type of device from Koss on KZbin.

[@Simplelittlelife]

Thanks! I never knew he made one, I'll have to check that out. I found the one by Shuarp when I was just about finished with this but there really isn't a lot of info on the internet about these things. Cheers 👍

[@andrejohnson6731]

Very cool build, Jeremy! 👍🏻

[@griffithshandmade-knives]

Ha! This is what I have always loved about this channel! Awesome work Jeremy👍. Do you think Linear actuators just wouldn’t have enough power? There’s a few with 6 or 12” stroke. Got me thinking. 👊

[@paulmendolia8483]

I'm sure you can work out a contraption to hold the sanding block with the ability to adjust pressure.

[@soonerfrac4611]

Great setup! Reminds me of a setup by a Ukrainian bladesmith that goes by the name Shurap.

[@justindoyle5972]

You’re laugh 😆 got me after you seen the shine on the blade

[@heyimamaker]

Looks like a success to me!

[@BirdieBeaman]

I love it!

[@chadhutchins646]

😮👏🏻 Awesome build Jeremy

[@dalebenavidez4896]

Awesome build

[@Simplelittlelife]

Thank you!

[@adrianhernandez974]

Que idea tan genial para el taller, excelente video, felicidades !!! Saludos desde Ecatepec, México 🇲🇽

[@erikcourtney1834]

The “bloody knuckle gut gutter” I love it. 🤣 thought about making one myself

[@ethantman6629]

Maybe you could add something like a low-tension trunk lifting strut and a pivot joint to attach to the sanding block. It would press the sanding block against the knife and make it completely hands-free!

[@Simplelittlelife]

That would be sweet!! Great idea! 👍

[@bb_forge]

Hey Brother , another great video. Thanks! I have had a chance to see most if not all of your Knife Sharpening Tool reviews. I’m only a few years into this art at this point and still making knives for friends family and co workers as gifts. Im sure most go through this phase before actually feeling comfortable selling a piece. I need to up my sharpening game. keeping in mind Im not making any money at this point and its just a hobby.. which of the “affordably priced sharpeners would you recommend for someone like me at this phase . I like the idea of the knockoff Tormecs but I prefer the control of the bench rested tie rod type sharpeners. Thanks man and keep em coming.

[@garrettlisenby8787]

Pretty sweet! It'll definitely get alot of use! A day or two of work beats hand sanding by a long shot! 😅

[@smaqdaddy]

Sweet project! You know what would make it cooler? Get a long magnetic door strike and you'll have a magnetic chuck with no clamp to bump your fingers on!

[@smaqdaddy]

Going to use one to do a chuck for a surface grinding attachment.

[@jordansteenson3231]

Beautiful work and creation! I’ll take one!

[@JustTex]

Looks like the scariest part is get your hands onto the knife while running , i was thinking maybe a a slow starting motor or just a footpedal to start and stop. Not sure that would be an improvement though. Cheers4 sharing sir.

[@bitsindustries9848]

Great work Jezza! Though I feel that maybe an indexing stroke ajdustment might be handy... For shorter blades, or the recessed bevel on a huntsman knife.

[@Simplelittlelife]

Thanks! By changing which hole I bold the are too changes the stock length.

[@richardbranton2780]

If I had a choice of busted knuckles or hand sanding all of my knuckles would be bloody LOL. Great job I have got to have one

[@jamm197511]

You sir....are a fricking genius! 🤗😅😆 That is awesome to watch. Amazing for real. How are the bearings in the slide holding up? Keep up the awesome content man. Love your channel

[@jaredverke3455]

That is so cool.

[@Simplelittlelife]

Thank you!

[@markpoetzl3529]

Cool build. A magnetic chuck on that would be really cool too!

[@Simplelittlelife]

That would make a huge mess. The last thing I’d put on this machine is a magnetic chuck.

[@jacknissen6040]

I really need to make one too, but a sidenote here. Try to keep swarf out of the slides. They are generally rated at 50k cycles.

[@dalekidd420]

Very slick. My biggest concern is how well those drawer slides are going to hold up. Those things are usually rated for numbers of operations rated in the tens of thousands... you'll achieve that within a month or less. I'll be curious to see how they wear.

[@Simplelittlelife]

They take less than 5 minutes to swap out and are $9 a pair. That was a significant reason why I decided to go with them.

[@collinstphillip]

I like it. It’s terrifying, but I like it! Well done, once again, sir.

[@Nortoncb]

Congratulations on your work, many things well done and many great ideas here! One question, what is the reduction ratio of the speed reducer used? Would it be 1/37 or smaller? thankful!

[@krissteel4074]

Its definitely a lot better than I was expecting, but also as dangerous too! I think like everyone who's spent more than an hour sanding probably appreciates it to some extent... now, how about a Mk2 with a VFD? :)

[@BillDerr]

It looks really good! Only issue I see is the drawer sliders. I would not have used them. They may be designed to open and close thousands of times, but not thousands of times in a row. They likely will wear out too quickly. I would have made my own rollers using larger bearings to help absorb the heat from the constant movement when it's in use. But other than that, it looks really good and solidly built!

[@Simplelittlelife]

These drawer slides are $10 a pair(on sale) and take 5 minutes to swap out. I see no sense in making something to use instead. Just a lot of added (unnecessary IMO) build time. I sanded two knives back to back and there was no heat on the slides. I bet I get a year or two before they need replacing. The one thing I doubted about them was if they would be accurate enough and not move around creating weird scratch patterns. I was very surprised they worked so well. Always start with the simplest solution first. 👍

[@joecoastie99]

Gotta love carbide inserts!

[@Simplelittlelife]

Oh yeah!! 👍

[@busa_rider_cy4012]

This is awesome

[@Simplelittlelife]

Thank you so much!! 🙏👍

[@augie.7]

I wish I was a bit better on the grinder and that would cut down on hand sanding, but I am not. I think this is a great idea, while I do not mind hand sanding I am getting carpal tunnel from it and my hands will be numb at times for a couple of days after. I think this would be a fine solution for me. Thanks for sharing

[@acoop101]

hi from one Augie to another

[@augie.7]

@@acoop101 Hi Augie, nice to know there are a few of us out there.

[@tombrown879]

Very nice.

[@carycleland9506]

Now create an arm on a pivot that holds the sandpaper block, so all you have to do is hold the lever down, also gives you more downward force. I’m thinking something like a lever on mortising jig.

[@chrisjaustin88]

J would think there's a way to mount the sanding block as well with some slight angle and leveling adjustments to provide even pressure. Then it's a walk away and takes your hands away from the equation. Also can you list the cost of parts used for this project?

[@ZPositive]

Glorious. Absolutely glorious. How much time do you think it saves you vs. the ol' elbow grease method?

[@benjamindejonge3624]

It’s a lifesaver

[@vidarreiersen4820]

Fantastisk 👌

[@user-db4jn1kf7h]

You broke this knifemaking world :D

[@TheTikka308]

Great idea. Curious why you didn’t use cheap linear bearings instead of drawer slides?

[@Simplelittlelife]

Thank you! I couldn’t find any cheap linear bearings and I wasn’t sure this was even going to work. These however were $9 a pair on sale so I figured that was cheap enough. I can swap them out in 5 minutes or even upgrade to proper linear bearings in the future if these fail too quickly. 👍

[@TheTikka308]

@@Simplelittlelife guys a little quirky but he’s a genius at shop fixtures

[@havikhobbies]

If it's worth doing, it's worth over doing! This thing is built like a tank! I wonder how getting some finishing stones involved would work out? May cut down on paper changes in the initial stages? Great build mate 👌

[@sticustom]

Maybe a foot switch to turn on and off. Also quicker to stop than reaching for the switch? Just a thought.

[@richardrubinski6495]

Very nice. Are you using 75/25 Gas for your mig or flux core wire? I noticed you didn't have any splatter on your welds.

[@Simplelittlelife]

Thank you! I am indeed using 75/25 with this new welder I got and I am really happy with it. 👍

[@SweetTooth8989]

Exactly what I'm looking to make. But with a large dead flat piece of float glass for perfect precision sanding and lapping of knife blades and other steel parts. I do that by hand right now when i want a piece that is perfectly flat, although i do have a mill that use first to get the parts 95% of the way there but the other 5% done by hand is... Not fun lol

[@nateand3]

Pretty damn slick man....just make sure you keep them fingers out the way

[@trmakertr]

It's a nice system. From time to time, many people ask me to build a machine like this, but. I'm not sure if this is really necessary. can the result be perfect with every knife

[@73FORGE]

I’ll pay for your plane ticket, come to San Diego and make one for me! 🤣👍🏼🍺

[@Simplelittlelife]

Done!!! I’ll go to San Diego any day for any reason! Love it there👍

[@AlexanderHonsVonEber]

? Where can I get a sandpaper holder like yours? Love that rolling block design that holds down the sandpaper.. Great vid thanks

[@Nickporter17]

Very smart and very cool. My only question is about those hinges. I would think they'd be sloppy as hell when it comes to a precision job like finish sanding. Did they work? Or did you end up installing some proper guide rails?

[@AlphaMachina]

Now, if you could just make an adjustable arm that can apply just the right amount of tension to hold your various grits and polishes against the blade for you. Perhaps an articulating arm with a piece of wood lined with felt on the end of it that sandpaper can be clamped around.

[@Robpearceknives]

Great build Jeremy. I’d seen a similar tool on Sharup’s channel. I was always concerned about J-hooks with these, which kept me from building one, but you seemed to have overcome that. Did you do non-mechanized pull strokes at the end of each grit? Also, is there a mechanical advantage of the vertical sway bar? I would think your design would function the same without it, but I very well could be missing something there (not a critique, just curious).

[@Simplelittlelife]

Thank you! I was worried about J-hooks too but there do not happen at all. Zero hand passes with the machine turned off. The long sway are is necessary. I have a 20 minute video on the design aspect of this machine on my Patreon.

[@HoY_82]

I've been wanting to make something like this for a couple of years, but unfortunately I've fallen back into my video game addiction. One of these days I'll snap back out of it and take on something like this.

[@Simplelittlelife]

Hahaha, right on buddy. Get out there sooner rather than later my man. The world waits for no one.

[@gavsgav90]

Awesome project. I need one of these in my life lol. What was the polish you used on the knife at the end?

[@chrismathie5054]

Neat idea. Foot pedal instead of a light switch? Is that also the princess auto welding table? If it is do you like it?

[@Simplelittlelife]

I like the foot pedal idea! Excellent, thank you! It is the princess auto one and I have been super happy with it so far. Had it about a year and have used it a fair bit. I have no complaints 👍

[@spottedhoss1920]

I want one, I really do

[@Simplelittlelife]

If you were closer you could have this one. I actually don’t use it much….

[@garagehobbies]

Love it, I just might replace the drawer slides with HDPE or something similar or more industrial... those things are gonna fail but should work awesome until that time.

[@Simplelittlelife]

And for $9 a pair, 5 minutes to swap out, I think I’ll stay with these. By far the easiest workable option I have. I see no point in complicating things.

[@garagehobbies]

@@Simplelittlelife Can't argue with that. The engineer in my always want's to eliminate failure points.

[@acrrca9407]

nice rig ...

[@Simplelittlelife]

Thank you so much!

[@MrGerd]

Ultimate drawer slides testing machine ;)

[@marcellomoruzzi8290]

Hello amazing machine ,congrats for the realisation ,is it possible to get the list of the parts you buyd to Princess Auto

[@user-cs3hi8zp7p]

Ahhh...Ye Olde cheat Code self-build, I see!! Level up achieved! 💪😎👍

[@paulthebaker]

What about a magnetic base, Wouldn’t that make the machine exponentially safer?

[@Simplelittlelife]

I don’t want a magnetic chuck on it because of all the little abrasive bits created during the process. I think that would be terrible to deal with. Also, I’d worry about it interfering with the metal rail slides.

[@paulthebaker]

@@Simplelittlelife thanks! I love your content!

[@SuicideNeil]

I wonder what inspired you to make this style of mechanism- I've seen it used for other purposes myself but wouldn't like to comment further...

[@Simplelittlelife]

Old fashioned steam locomotives. 👍

[@patrickvilda9929]

You are a genius 👍😂

[@canadawoodcraft9722]

Holy Poop!! This is awesome!

[@Simplelittlelife]

Thanks👍

[@cheffandrewscookingshow1455]

I’m building one of those

[@Simplelittlelife]

Right on. This thing works so good I wish I had one years ago.

[@jeremiahcoakley4168]

Sooooo..... When can I buy the parts kit and plans from you? Hand sanding is the only part of knife making I don't like so I need this machine!

[@youmandt]

Where did you get that awesome sanding block?

[@jacknissen6040]

Any chance of finding out the motor rpm and reducing gearbox ratio?

[@mcseforsale]

What's the US equivalent of Princess Auto? Grainger...or Tractor Supply? Seems like Princess Auto has just aboot everything.

[@lordscan1047]

Hand sanding is the worst, is it really worth it a pristine surface finish? My toughts on that is how much do you want to charge for your knife and what kind of use is going to get, maybe i dont like too much hand sanding and i lie to myself saying i dont want a mirror finish because i want my knifes to be used and not stored. Great job trying to look for a solution for that.

[@selador11]

I loves me some overkill! This is about like building a tank, to get a bicycle unstuck from the mud... LOL I wonder how much the reach, or 'throw' of a sewing machine could be extended, if laid on it's side? Pretty sure I could get the same throw from a windshield wiper motor and the appropriate disk. Instead of the clamp, what about a magnetic hold down?

[@reddogknives]

Now your talkin my lingo, plenty of 12v power supplies with a spring loaded sanding block so you could walk away

[@destroyedsevenfold]

Everyone knows hand sanding is supposed to hurt and cause early retirement… Superb build.

[@willw7595]

Nice build. I see you are running it in the second hole. you have a third hole which should slow the speed down a little more. When you hand sand you're not sanding very fast. your sander will sand 3 to 5 times faster than you hand sanding your knife. it will speed up your sanding process a lot. maybe you can do a video on sanding a knife from start to finish. take care ..

[@Simplelittlelife]

The holes will change the speed but the reason I put them in there was to change the stroke lenght. To me that was more important. 3" blade with a 7" stroke is super difficult and dangerous. I tried it. 👍 I change the speed by hanging the pulleys on the motor and gearbox.

[@willw7595]

@@Simplelittlelife Ok, your right. still a great build.

[@mking3219]

Do you think this is possible without a lathe, and mill? Or could you build one for me?

[@TheJuly1300]

awsome i originally thought it was going to be a surface grinder

[@TheRicardoSanchez]

So satisfying. Brilliant. Some fine mother-of-invention engineering sir. Pride-induced tear to eye. Result: 1 epicly bespoke knife-sanding, self-stabbing, finger-off-cutting machine. Rick Sanchez would be proud. Next vid: From ER - ideating a fast-reacting abdominal-wound-closing device while being stitched up after knife shifted under higher-speed operation and commenced with the shivving.

[@Simplelittlelife]

Hahahhaha. Yeah, and covid is going to kill us all 😆

[@jackspradt1562]

@@Simplelittlelife put a mask on that grinder!!!!

[@coreyscott690]

Can you tell me where you buy your steel? I can only seem to find online suppliers and the shipping is expensive

[@CadaMul]

First thougt: Ultimate Stabbing Mashine. It will improve workingtime for handasnding soooooo much.

[@Simplelittlelife]

Hahahaha! I was thinking of showing it stabbing a water melon or something like guys do with cutting tests of their weapons. But I'm pretty sure that would 100% get me a channel strike. You know, it's scary and all. 😆👍

[@dmg4415]

Maybe a foot pedal for power, You must hold it down to operate?