8 Old School Tips For Better Hand Filing

After vanishing down a rabbit hole of international machine-tool outsourcing, white-label production and general confusion, it appears that Glardon Vallorbe files are still manufactured in Switzerland, are well-regarded, and are also widely available (relatively). Rio Grande carries them, and they come in a "Valtitan" version which is 72HRC. Amazon has them as well, if you want to take a chance on getting a counterfeit instead... Grobet meanwhile seems to have has moved their production around, and I can find folks online complaining about their production quality having slipped. "Grobet USA" in particular is not very well-regarded (eg: among people who sharpen saw blades).

Martin Anderson

Hey Mauri, yes I have separate sets and migrate the brass files to the steel set as the lose their bite - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Oh I hit Enter, a dealer in your country. I have been told that German F.Dick an Pferd file are reasonable.

MAURI HAKALA

Hi Chris . Do you have separate sets of files for brass and steel ? If you go to <a href="http://www.vallorbe.com/en-ch/products/files/precision-files" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.vallorbe.com/en-ch/products/files/precision-files</a> you can check if there

MAURI HAKALA

Panasonic HCX920 Camcorder - I recently bought a GH5 but I haven't figured out how to use it yet.

Clickspring

Oh master, what is the camera(s) you’re using?

Deano

Thanks peter, I'll add it to the OST list - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Once again we appreciate your communications very much. A small addition: we like to use a height adjustable backrest with a roller to support the free end of the file for precision work. A suggestion for a topic: My knurling is unpredictable and often messy. I have seen you showing it in a very controlled and elegant way with nice results. How do you do it?

Cheers Rich, thanks for sharing your advice :)

Clickspring

Surprised you didn't mention about work height. General rule of thumb for hand-fileing (at last here in the USA, turn of the century through at least the 1950's) is that your work should be chest high, this is to make sure your arms are only moving in 1 polar axis (radial/horizontal), any lower and your arms are moving in 2 polar axis (radial and angular). You eluded to it, but didn't explain it, your light source should be located on the opposite side of the work. The light reflects and shadows the workpiece, as you are filing, creating patterns that are easier for the human eye to pickup, showing how the file is cutting (especially when it starts clogging). This is why most filing stations were against the factory and workshop walls with large windows behind them and not a solid wall. Keep up the great work, can't wait for the next A.M. Episode.

Rich Cizik

Great question mate - The vast majority of the filing work that I do is non-powered (ie not on the lathe) and is done with needle files that have a small shank style handle built into them. I really like the agility these slender handles provide - they make the file seem so light and precise - so I just use them as-is. On the lathe I always use a wooden handle, no matter what the file has built into it. I have a small selection of wooden handles in a drawer, and I just tap one on as required - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Love the new stuff. Do you prefer handles or no handles on your files? I work with brass keys as a locksmith, and I don't think I do as much filing as you, I do like a file with a handle. What do you think?

m_tini

Cheers Steve :)

Clickspring

Great tip Marc, thank you :)

Clickspring

Thanks for a very useful video and also some great tips in the comments.

One thing that I don't see mentioned often is the storage of files. They're just like any other cutting tool, if you let them get rattled around and bumped on other files or tools, they will get dull quickly. I keep mine in cardboard sleeves when not in use to make sure they stay sharp as long as possible.

Marc Banks

Great tips mate - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Leo G.

Another fine video, Chris mate. My two-penn'orth... 1) When using a standard bastard cut, second cut or smoothing file, make sure the working surface is at elbow height. It's far easier to maintain squareness when your arm is acting on the same plane between elbow and hand. 2) Train your muscles to exert the same downward pressure with the hand on the handle and the one on the tip (depending upon whether you are left or right handed). Equal downward pressure will ensure squareness across the work piece. 3) After draw-filing with a smoothing file, stroke the file with chalk... it blocks the tooth depth and renders a much smoother surface (and can be easily removed with a file card). 4) After chalk draw-filing, improve the surface to a finer grade by draw-filing with fine emery cloth wrapped around the file. For an even finer finish, draw-file with ever increasing grit 'wet or dry' silicone carbide paper to 400 grit, 600 grit or more, up to 2,000 grit for a near mirror-like finish. Just some tips from a bloke who worked his engineering technician apprenticeship in an engineering tool room during the latter half of the 1960s, in the machine section and the fitters' benches. That's where the job description comes from, a skilled fitter/turner. Strange that only turning is mentioned, paying no deference to those whom operated milling machines, surface grinders, metal shapers or horizontal/vertical borers. Now I'm rambling again, Chris, for which I apologise. Keep up the good work, mate... whatever you're doing, you're doing it correctly.

Gordon Burns

Ha ha! Thank you Al :)

Clickspring

Hey Bruce, the most frequently used shapes I have are tri-cut, square and barrette, and I have them in cuts 2, 4, 6 and 8. That small selection probably covers 95% of the filing that I do - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Yes they do Dylan, they're just like any other cutting tool really - Its largely dependent on the material being worked, and to a lesser extent filing technique. I get very long life out of mine because I generally work with soft materials like brass. But I know of one very successful clockmaker who simply accepts that he will wear out a set of brand new needle files every time he makes a chronometer detent, because he's working with steel, hardened for the last few steps - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Cheers John :)

Clickspring

Cheers Bill!

Clickspring

Yes I do Bruce, particularly the larger files - I'll probably include chalking in a follow up vid :)

Clickspring

Its a pleasure mate :)

Clickspring

So true - nothing quite like the pain of knowing you've got to start over on a complex part... :)

Clickspring

So pleased to hear that mate :)

Clickspring

Awesome story Sean, thank you :)

Clickspring

Hey Gregor, I often chalk files, but I don't use file cards at all - I find that its kinder on the files and more effective to push out the pinned metal with a scrap of brass. This is one of the tips that got the chop from this video, but when I do a follow up on this video I'll include both chalking and cleaning with brass - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Great video again. Filing is one of those skills that is glossed over. Watching your video reminds me how badly I use a file.

Al McKague

Thanks for another great video Chris - Could you list some of your most common file sizes and types?

Bruce Edney

stupid question... do files wear out?

Dylan T

Thanks for another great video Chris, looking forward to the next one!

Excellent video, as always Chris. Thanks!

Bill Yester

Ooops! should have been a question mark at the end of the last sentence....

Thanks for another great video. Nice job. Do you ever "Chalk" your files.

Great start to the day, thanks for taking the time to make these videos Chris

Michael Lloyd

Another mighty fine produced video, very well executed. For those reading my comment, I'm a Locksmith for 27 years now. Chris, my Grobet file is shaped "pippin"... That thing is the 6 inch version, in #4 (extra fine) with a small price tag of $80. The part number is 31.269. For my work, it's very controllable, locks normally have a fair tolerance, about 10 thousands or so. Just like Chris mentioned, you need to be patient, take your time, and make sure you don't get carried away. It doesn't matter what your building, be patient. Make sure everything is as it should be, the last thing you want is to start over. Not only is it time consuming, but down right aggravating. 😁

Adam Ackels

A new Clickspring video is a good day! I can and do watch all of them over and over. Always get something new on each pass.

Kirk Jensen

G'day Chris. Love your work, but particularly this video. I have a trade background, and had to learn filing at trade school as part of the general skill set. I hated it at the time, but several decades later I now think it was the single most useful general hand skill they taught us, and I wish I had paid more attention and done more practice. Our filing teacher was an old German fella, trained back in the pre-WW2 days when it was a 7 year apprenticeship and your master basically owned you. First day of classes with him he just said to us "Watch": Then, using only basic hand tools and marking blue, he took two bits of 3 x 100mm plate mild steel, and proceeded to mark, cut, and file a T from one and a matching T hole in the other. You couldn't see a single ray of light in the fit, including the corners, and the edges were all perfectly flat and square with the faces. Took him less than two hours, and he didn't appear to be in a hurry. Then he said to us: "Your turn." Two days later not one of us cocky young first year apprentices were able to even get close to copying what he had done, let alone in a couple of hours. It was a good lesson. :)

Sean Kirby

Chris- Do you clean with a card or steel wire brush your files often? I find I have to do that but it might be because my files do not have optimum teeth profiles for the metals I work...

Gregor Shapiro

So true Mike - there's nothing quite like the sweet cut of a brand new Swiss file :)

Clickspring

Thanks Chris, I alway enjoy and marvel at your persistence and steady hand when filing. Gives me encouragement to keep at the filing and finishing I do on my own projects. I would chime in on your comment to have good files. I recently got a new top quality #4 pillar file. My wife immediately noticed the finish of a of a part completed with it and it was simpler to make look good. Also, pillar files normally come with safe edges, For those that haven’t used one, I’d highly recommended giving one a try.

Mike Davey