Old filing video

[Nutball]

 

[Tree09]

In the right hands simple tools like that are as powerful as a machine tool, good stuff.

 

[Tree09]

I really wish i could post pics, there's a really cool idea i want to have an excuse to make. I've been reading lots of old machining books from the early 1900s, and they have details for a filing guide using 2 hardened points or 2 bearings. It's shown as a tool for a steady rest, so someone could use it to file flats on something, like a hex head. I would likely add them on a vise or plate, and then adjust it with fine thread bolts or rod.

 

[lxskllr]

Go old school. That's what I've been doing. Directly loading pics to a forum is a fairly recent luxury.

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[Tree09]

Thx, but I'll admit to being too lazy to do that today, hopefully it's resolved soon. I dropped my phone so it's not working too well with its cracked screen, and it's a simple thing, 2 bearings for the file to ride on as the fixture straddles the piece. The bearings are set for the height of the finished piece, and then an indexing technique is used for the various angles, usually a simple pin locking a gear in place. I would likely just do some bolts threaded into a plate (think faceplate or drill press table) since it likely wouldn't be for a lathe, but rather simply taking something down a few thousandths. One could conceivably lower and flatten small engine components in this way, or use it to "machine" (shape might be a better word) small parts from scrap, which would be a pretty cool and useful trick to pull off with minimal investment and tools. Since the file rides on the bearings you have precise control over the depth of cut and how straight and flat the surface is, basically cheating the skill part of accurately filing something by removing the human part of the equation. It's the same idea as a roller guide for sharpening chainsaw chain, which of course weren't even invented yet when these were common.

Here's clickspring again with filing tips, he goes into other types of guides towards the end.



And here is a video of an updated version of the rest, much easier to understand than a 100 year old mechanical drawing.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I was proud of my self one day after messing up a hex head bolt. No way to go buy a new one to replace it after getting it removed. So I filed it down to a new size a little at a time for a different size head for a different socket. No jig though. Of course, I replaced it later after I was able to purchase some new ones. But it got me on the road again.

 

[Tree09]

I end up using files all the time, when preparing a weld a file is used to both ream the inside and for flattening the land perfectly. The old school way is to torch cut a bevel, bash a land in with a hammer, and then ream the inside with a file, no power tools needed at all. It often is used to chip slag, and then is used to file the corners of any slag is still there. We also do a lot of intricate stuff and a file is about the only thing that can finish the parts. More then once I've even had to cut slits with a saw or drill a series of holes, chisel out the majority, then file the rest, full on chip and file like its 1900 again. It's common enough that i have considered building a die filer, but it's often done in place so that wouldn't help much for that. A die grinder with a carbide works well on some stuff, but a file is still used a ton.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I use a round file a lot for holes. Touching them up or enlarging.

 

[lxskllr]

Outside of saws, I don't use files much, but I don't really work with metal much, and certainly not fine metal work. When I use a file, it's usually just as a crude way to remove material, with little regard to form or finish.