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Thread: Metal files 101

  1. #16
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    I have some old Nicholsons and Wiltshires, both are good. Bahco is a company now clearly run by accountants and cashing in on their name. Same with new Nicholsons. Don't bother with either. My new files are British, can't recall the name off the top of my head, but the poms are still clearly good for something as they're very good. Oh I have a chrome steel file, Swiss, again can't recall the name but truly excellent. You don't exactly buy these weekly so why anyone would use cheap crap is beyond me, buy a few decent files and then look after them.

    As far as looking after them, put handles on them and preferably hang them. The two I use the most I keep on a magnetic strip but I don't recommend that as the strip magnetises the file and is a PIA. If you can't hang them, then keep them in a draw separated. Don't let them smash all over each other as it will dull them. Learn to file properly. Definitely DON'T use a file brush on a file to clean it, it's one of the fastest way to dull a file. The bristles on the brush are hardened. If you were to look at it under a microscope the bristle looks like a hardened burnishing rod on the sharpened edge of a chisel. It's no wonder they dull the file. Instead use a wedge of wood to clean the teeth. Frank Ford has an excellent file cleaner on his site, mine is a bit more ... err "agricultural"

    HomeShopTech

    I have sharpened files using acid and it works quite well. However I'm sure there is only a limited number of times this could be done. I'd guess the acid won't etch the steel perfectly evenly and the teeth would loose their shape each time.

    Pete

  2. #17
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    Hey thanks for that Pete,
    Some really good info there.

    Quote Originally Posted by Pete F View Post
    Bahco is a company now clearly run by accountants and cashing in on their name.
    I've heard that said. However, the thing I always found with Bahco stuff, primarily mechanical tools, was that when you pick them up, they just feel right. Regardless of changes within the company, I inevitably find that still the case. Having said that, items such as files or chisels, where quality is not immediately obvious, I take your point.

    As far as looking after them, put handles on them and preferably hang them.
    I've already given this some thought, and it's going to have to be a drawer I'm afraid. But I will be making some mods to it, to reflect what I' ve learnt here.

    Learn to file properly.
    To quote a certain ex-polly "Please Explain".

    Definitely DON'T use a file brush on a file to clean it, it's one of the fastest way to dull a file.
    Thank you. I would have had you not mentioned it.
    Loved the tool in your link.

    I have sharpened files using acid and it works quite well. However I'm sure there is only a limited number of times this could be done.
    Considering I'd never realised it could be done, that it can only be done maybe a couple of times is no big deal to me. I'll be getting more use out of my files than before regardless.

  3. #18
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    Default Hand Files

    I agree with you Pete quality files are hard to find.
    I just checked out the ones I have that have lasted the longest.
    Without doubt the best ones I have were made in Germany & are called "F DICK"....
    an unusual name, I agree but they are fantastic files.Maybe they are still available through Toolmaking suppliers. I have a few Pillar files made by this company & a whole bunch of Die files & Riffler files with "F DICK" stamped on them & they have stood the test of time since my apprentice days 50 yrs back.
    Recently I purchased on E Bay new, & unused... triangular double extra slim taper made by Nicholson Australia in the original box. They are great for sharpening small Tenon & Dovetail woodworking saws (With a Magnifier) & seem to be good quality.
    Wiltshire Aust (Old but still good) represent the others that I have & are the ones that stood the test of time.
    The files in Bunnings & also stuff sold at markets & the like, lack sharpness, & are really useless !
    I think one has to search carefully to get quality files.
    regards
    Bruce
    ,

  4. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Abratool View Post
    ............& they have stood the test of time since my apprentice days 50 yrs back.
    Bruce, have you really gotten 50 yrs out of a file?
    I wouldn't have thought that was possible. Obviously, it is?

  5. #20
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    The longevity of the file would be dependant on how often it was used.

  6. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by pipeclay View Post
    The longevity of the file would be dependant on how often it was used.
    Well, I guess that makes sense. Doesn't it?

  7. #22
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    Default Files

    Quote Originally Posted by Grandad-5 View Post
    Well, I guess that makes sense. Doesn't it?
    Correct, please understand my files are only used occasionally, but the ones that have stood the test of time are the ones outlined.
    The cheapies have been thrown out or made into woodturning chisels,,, 3 corner metal scrapers & the like.
    regards
    Bruce

  8. #23
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    While we're talking about files, let's talk about handles. Wisdom has it that you should never use a file without a handle unless you like puncture wounds in your palms. All my Wiltshires come without handles.

    I have been buying bags of Pferd blue plastic handles that I just bang onto the end of the file tang. You throw them away with the file. They are OK, but unfortunately they often don't go on perfectly straight, so I end up with the file and the handle slightly out of alignment. It's no big deal but it feels terrible to use.

    What do you guys use use for handles? I'd love to turn a handle out of Delrin and fit some sort of collet into the end for clamping to the tang. The problem as I see it is that the tangs are rarely straight or of uniform shape.

  9. #24
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    In regards to fileing properly,you would probably say there is a prefered method.

    There are a few methods probably mentioned in refference material.

    One particular type of fileing is draw fileing,where the file is placed across the material to be filed,(normally not an overly wide piece of material),the file is then pushed along the material,biggest problem with this method is keeping the material flat,as the file is held by both hands either side of the material being filed,if the same amount of pressure is not applied to both hands the file can tilt one way or the other and result in loss of squareness.Another problem if the job is a reasonable length is that the pressure will not be constant along the length of the job and could produce a Convex or Concave surface.

    Some times for polishing, a piece of emery will also be used,the emery will be placed grit down on the surface to be filed and the file placed on top,chalk can also be used as a polish.

    When normally fileing the file would be placed along the job with one hand on the file handle and the other doing the guideing,either by the fingers resting on the top of the file or by holding the end of the file.

    The amount of strokes of the file would be similar to the stokes of a Hacksaw.

    For material that is less than the width of the file you can file with the file parallel to the material,if the material is wider than the file you can place the file about 15 degrees to the material being filed,the file should travel over the full distance with each stoke,most cutting with a file is down on the forward stroke.

    When fileing round pipes,tubing,solid bars etc,the file should be used in an upward motion and not a downward motion.

    You would also need to use the desired cut of file and type of file for the desired job if available.

  10. #25
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    In regards to File handles I prefer to use the Vallorbe handles,although most of mine are Timber.

  11. #26
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    Default F DICK files

    Just happened to follow up on the beaut "F DICK"files I mentioned previously that I found to be of excellent quality.
    Johann Friedrich Dick started making hand files in 1778 & they are still made so there must be a lot of expertise.
    I started a search for availability & noticed they are available from "Koodak Supplies" in Melb Victoria.
    Please lets know if anyone has used or purchased the F DICK file recently.
    I would like to get hold of a few, to last me, say another 50 years.
    regards
    Bruce

  12. #27
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    I am fortunate in that I have all old Nicholsons and Wiltshires files....acquired years ago
    To clean them I have fitted a brass wire wheel to one end of a grinder and a steel wire wheel to the other, a light run over the brass wheel holding the file at an angle to line up the grooves with the wheel keeps them clean and sharp
    Ashore




    The trouble with life is there's no background music.

  13. #28
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    Another vote for wood handles, I find plastic handles on tools give me blisters if I'm using them a lot.

    With regards learning to use a file correctly, I guess that's what an apprenticeship is for I did mine in another field however we still learnt fabrication and the main point stressed as far as using it and looking after the file is not to drag the file backward along the work, or at least not with any real pressure. Consider the file teeth a bit like a shaper with hundreds of teeth instead of just one. A shaper's clapper box lifts the tool whereas when filing we have to lift the tool manually. However the principle is the same.

    Pete

  14. #29
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    [QUOTE=jack620;1380621]While we're talking about files, let's talk about handles. Wisdom has it that you should never use a file without a handle unless you like puncture wounds in your palms.



    got lazy and didn't fit a handle to a file once, used it on the lathe and it caught a jaw of the chuck, saved by my flabby gut but it did break the skin.

  15. #30
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    Yes I actually wrote above that of all things a file should NEVER be used on a lathe without a handle. The potential for a very serious accident is just too great. I erased that part of the post, but now you menton it .... you were very lucky!

    Pete

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