I'm going to need a bigger file rack...

[ED65]

Got these a while back as an early anniversary present and have been slowing working my way through in small batches so will post a few before-and-after pics in due course.

I was chuffed to have so many to pick through but to say I was thrilled to find two dreadnought/vixen files in amongst the rest is an understatement as they weren't visible in listing pics and there were quite a few other pleasant surprises sprinkled through the lot.

 

[AES]

Very nice selection there, and with a proper refurbish I think you'll find some more jewels there.

I know you mentioned a rack in your heading, but (sorry, Granny& eggs) you won't leave them "stored" like that, will you? (I'm sure you won't).

I think I can see a double-ended saw file (with wooden handle) in there (amongst other things).

It never fails to amaze me how much many people abuse their files though. No consideration for what is in reality a precision cutting instrument.

 

[ED65]

Very nice selection there, and with a proper refurbish I think you'll find some more jewels there.

Yes, much Sheffield-made quality (including some real oldies, pre-Great War in at least one case), a sprinkling of American (old and newish) and one or two from the Continent.

As you spotted there are a few saw files which I can always do with more of since I've only managed to build up a very small stock to this point.

I know you mentioned a rack in your heading, but (sorry, Granny& eggs) you won't leave them "stored" like that, will you? (I'm sure you won't).

Yes except for needle files that's how I keep my files, blade down resting on the shoulder of the handle. Problem?

For actual storage I make sure they've had a very light oiling or greasing and individually wrap in paper, then they go into a drawer or box.

It never fails to amaze me how much many people abuse their files though. No consideration for what is in reality a precision cutting instrument.

Oh God yes. Chucked loose in box or drawer with a bunch of other metal items does seem to be the standard storage choice!

 

[heimlaga]

I don't know why......but I have only once came upon a secondhand file which wasn't dull beyond recovery.

I hope you'll get at least a few good ones out of that box.......... and sorry for destroying your happiness.

 

[AES]

ED 65 wrote, QUOTE: Yes except for needle files that's how I keep my files, blade down resting on the shoulder of the handle. Problem? UNQUOTE:

No problem at all that I can see, provided the cutting surfaces don't accidentally knock together. From what you've said later on in your post I'm sure you'll be guarding against that possibility.

Unlike our Finnish friend I've very seldom bought SH files - most I inherited from my Dad and it was him who first put me wise to making sure they never clang together - a point that was subsequently reinforced during apprenticeship.

Of the few I did buy SH I got individually, and they were OK after a good clean. Unless they're too much caked in muck you can see if they're too far gone, but on e-bay, etc, I guess it's just pot luck.

Nice "find".

 

[ED65]

I don't know why......but I have only once came upon a secondhand file which wasn't dull beyond recovery.

Oh that's a very unfortunate proportion. You do see files rusted to hell all the time but I've seen plenty over the years that I wasn't interested in that were in decent enough shape that you could be confident of your purchase.

I have to say, a surprising amount of rust can be present with a usable file hiding underneath, but it is difficult to judge this though. Sometimes you don't know until you complete the restoration process.

I hope you'll get at least a few good ones out of that box.......... and sorry for destroying your happiness.

I'm about 3/4 of the way through the box now and my rough estimate is that about 90% of the files are usable Some very nice ones: Tome Fateira, Öberg, Heller, American-made Nicholson, and 'a few' pieces of quality from Sheffield

No problem at all that I can see, provided the cutting surfaces don't accidentally knock together.

Oh yes, very careful about that. Drummed into me from my earliest reading on files and now just the sound of it raises my hackles!

Of the few I did buy SH I got individually, and they were OK after a good clean. Unless they're too much caked in muck you can see if they're too far gone, but on e-bay, etc, I guess it's just pot luck.

Yeah when they're very filthy you take a big chance, one reason I'd be reluctant to buy from photos normally unless very inexpensive as with this lot, which worked out to under €1 a file.

 

[AES]

ED 65 wrote, QUOTE: ..... which worked out to under €1 a file. UNQUOTE:

Whaaaat! As much as that? Far too expensive, send 'em to me mate

As said before, nice buy. I was just looking at some reasonable quality new files just the other day (JUST looking mind, I have enough to last me out AND to pass on to someone) and I don't know about how expensive they are in UK these days, but the prices here are now horrendous - over 15 quid (equivalent) for an 8 inch smooth! Blimey.

 

[DannyEssex]

What would be the best process for restoring a file? I have quite a few that could do with a good clean.

 

[stoopiduk]

Probably a daft question, but how can you tell the manufacturer of so many of the files? Are they stamped?

 

[ED65]

What would be the best process for restoring a file? I have quite a few that could do with a good clean.

There are a few ways to do it but basically you degrease as you like, clean as much of the gunk from the file as you can (or as long as your patience holds out), then de-rust. The optional extra step is to sharpen.

Degreasing can be done using any suitable solvent, a commercial degreaser, caustic soda or just giving them a scrub in hot soapy water does wonders.

Cleaning proper takes many forms, there's usually some brushing with a wire brush of some kind but it's often required to use a piece of wood or brass along the teeth to sort of plough out the gunk and swarf. But metal clogging, called pinning, can be very firmly embedded (especially aluminium!) and some flick them out one bit at a time using a needle :shock:

If you want to sharpen the file you either soak in an acid after all this or if your rust remover is an acid already you just soak it for longer. Some files can be brought to better-than-new condition by an acid soak, sharper and more 'bitey' than many a file made today. Even weak acids like vinegar and citric acid will do the trick.

Probably a daft question, but how can you tell the manufacturer of so many of the files? Are they stamped?

Yes, if they're branded files are generally stamped on the clear area between the tang and the start of the toothing.

Here are a few of the stamps from these files I happened to capture in the before photos:

Sometimes files are stamped on both sides, in which case on the side opposite the branding you could see practical information, e.g. descriptions of coarseness like Smooth or Dead Smooth.

You might need your reading glasses on to be able to make out a stamp even on a clean file! And if there's even a little rust on the surface it can be very hard to spot that there is even a stamp there.

 

[DannyEssex]

Thanks for the info, gives me another little job to do when I get time

 

[AES]

If you've seen previous posts by ED 65 it's pretty obvious that " 'ee knows 'is onions" when it comes to wood finishing, but from this thread it's also clear that his knowledge is also very extensive when it comes to files. FWIW, I agree 100% with all he's written!

To add just a little amplification, if you go to the Metal Working section here you'll find right at the top a sticky by some bloke called AES (!) on Files & Filing. If you scroll down through that lot until you come to pictures 21 & 22 you'll see pictures of the main armoury I use for file cleaning. The 1st and main weapon is the "scratch card", basically a wide flat wire brush with very short "bristles". Some say these damage files but I've never had a problem.

I also use a couple of those little brass bristle brushes (for cleaning suede shoes) which I find useful for cleaning small fine files and needle files. And I also use the little red handled knife (rather than a needle) for clearing really stubborn clogging of individual teeth (as ED 65 says, often that's ali chips which are a real pest to get rid of).

And just as ED 65 has said, on badly clogged files basically you just keep going with the scratch card and wire brushes until you get fed up - though sad bloke that I am, I find such jobs quite therapeutic!

The real trick of course is to clear the file you're using after EVERY job, so it's normally only a job for a few seconds (they should NEVER be allowed to get into the state that ED 65 has shown in his first pic)!

About damaged files, the picture of the Oberg file that ED 65 has shown above (the RH file), I THINK that just near the Top LH of that file you'll see a broken tooth - at a guess someone had allowed the file to bang hard against another file. That damage cannot be repaired, but in that particular case it doesn't really matter because although you should use as much of the full length of the file as possible on every stroke, that particular damaged tooth is so near the "top" of the file (the tang end) that it will hardly be used at all.

Thanks to ED 65 for a great post, full of info. I may (?) have a bee in my bonnet, but IMO it's time that people learnt to treat files with just the same care as they would lavish on a chisel or plane iron - they're doing just the same job.

Lecture over!

Edit for P.S. And nowadays, decent files (when you can fine 'em) cost a bomb!

 

[Racers]

Sunflower ******* Cut File by Pete Maddex, on Flickr

Pete

 

[RichardL]

Has anyone got a picture of the way they store files - i.e their file rack. I have a bunch of files I saved from being chucked out by an elderly friend that I don't just throw in a drawer, but I probably could do a better job of looking after. I do use them, so accessibility is important.
Cheers
Richard

 

[AES]

Yup, go to the Metal Working section and up the top is the sticky "Files and Filing". Scroll down through that post and there are several pictures of how I store my files.

 

[ED65]

Thank you AES!

Pete, super photo of the Sunflower stamp. The small Dead Smooth second from right in the below photo is a Sunflower, is yours also stamped with a JK on the opposite side?

Richard, here's my rack of everyday-user chisels and files. It was built about three years ago from strip pine/spruce with small spacer blocks at the ends. Like I said, I'm going to need to build a bigger one!

This is removable, the back strip is overlong and it slides in from the right to be held by a rebated block. The idea was I could move the rack wholesale to other benches as needed since this bench was intended to be temporary.

 

[ED65]

Some before and afters.

That one on the end was just a rudimentary affair, a junky piece of ash dowel with an off-centre hole bored in it, but I wanted to see if it could be made into a decent handle with a bit of work so a cleanup, shorten and thread wrap later...

If anyone is wondering about the flaking green paint, from the first moment I saw it I decided it had bags of character and I wanted to try to retain it. After a quick steel wooling and a buff with a cloth there's no more flaking paint and it's comfortable in the hand as I'd hoped.

This was actually the first batch of handles I tackled just to get back into the swing of things after the dry months post-car boot season:

The user-made handle in the centre was too far gone and anyway needed to be removed to allow restoration of the file, but in honour of the previous owner I decided to remake it using the original ferrule. Since I don't have a lathe cue tons of paring, rasp and file work:

 

[RichardL]

Cool, thanks for the pic. I was thinking of horizontal storage but that looks easier.

Cheers
Richard