{"id":3364,"date":"2023-10-10T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T04:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364"},"modified":"2023-10-09T20:21:46","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T00:21:46","slug":"file-this-one-under-tool-talk-the-file","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364","title":{"rendered":"File This One Under Tool Talk: The File"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Even though I have some fancy power tools for shaping metal, I still reach for files every time I’m in the shop. As I mentioned in the shop tour<\/a>, I have quite a large collection of files, in many shapes and sizes. Today I want to talk about them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

I’m not kidding about the “large collection” part. Two whole drawers of my workbench are devoted to files and file accessories.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A
This drawer holds flat and half-round files of various types. There’s also some jeweler’s files and rifflers, along with chalk and some tools to clean the teeth of the files.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Here’s the second drawer:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"The
This drawer holds everything else: triangular, round, knife-edged, special shapes and files for special materials. Along with more needle files, chalk and cleaning tools.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The boards in each drawer keep the files from banging into one another. Such contact would quickly dull them. As it is, files are a consumable tool, like a drill bit. Eventually they go dull, and you have to buy a new one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chalk helps keep the file’s teeth from getting clogged up with metal shavings. You “file” the chalk first, filling the teeth with chalk powder. Then as you file the metal, the shavings can’t get lodged in the teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s important because if a bit of metal gets stuck in the file it will leave scratches on everything you file until you clean it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Do You Need So Many Files?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Files come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes. Here’s just a sample:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>
\"\"<\/figure>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Some of the files have teeth all around. Others are smooth on one or more sides, so that you can rest those sides against a part and not cut on it. That’s an incredibly handy feature sometimes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can see, there’s quite a variety of sizes too, to match any size of job. Tiny files can reach into tight spaces, while bigger files remove metal much faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Different shapes can help you cut the metal just where you want, and not where you don’t want. Some files, called rifflers, are curved along their length to help you reach into awkward places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then too, files come in various degrees of coarseness. Just like sandpaper, a coarse file will remove material faster, but will leave a rougher finish. A fine cut file leaves a smoother finish but works more slowly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Closeup<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As if that weren’t enough, you can get different tooth configurations. The file on the left is called a “double cut”, with teeth cut in a crisscross pattern. On the right is a “single cut”, with teeth cut in one direction only. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, you might find yourself filing something besides iron, steel and brass. Normal files work well for some hard alloys of aluminum, but pure aluminum clogs up the file terribly. Tin and lead alloys are also very difficult to file with a normal file. But file manufacturers have solutions for these problems, and others besides.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Closeup
From left, a half-round file for aluminum, a mill (flat) file for aluminum, and a mill file for lead, tin, pewter, and other soft metals<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A Handy Reference<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"Cover
I found this old pamphlet (by a file manufacturer, naturally) in a used book store. It’s from 1950, but it’s all still relevant. Files haven’t changed much. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I got my copy cheap, as you can see, but that was a long time ago. Vintage book sellers seem to be charging $15-30 now. Luckily, you can download the 1954 edition from the Internet Archive<\/a>. I really did find much of the information useful. I thought it was interesting too, but that’s a matter of taste, I suppose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today was just a quick dip into the world of files. Thanks for reading!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even though I have some fancy power tools for shaping metal, I still reach for files every time I’m in the shop. As I mentioned in the shop tour, I have quite a large collection of files, in many shapes and sizes. Today I want to talk about them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":false,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[37,42,49,27],"class_list":["post-3364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shop-projects","tag-metalworking","tag-shop-org","tag-shop-projects","tag-tool-talk"],"yoast_head":"\nFile This One Under Tool Talk: The File - Down the Rabbit Hoel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The file is a pretty basic tool, but it's absolutely essential to the metalworker. Today we'll talk about why there's so many kinds.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"File This One Under Tool Talk: The File - Down the Rabbit Hoel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The file is a pretty basic tool, but it's absolutely essential to the metalworker. Today we'll talk about why there's so many kinds.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Down the Rabbit Hoel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-10T04:01:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/file-drawer-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Walt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Walt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=3364#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=3364\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Walt\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7f4c20be65423f2dc7cebca54407cdf\"},\"headline\":\"File This One Under Tool Talk: The File\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-10T04:01:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=3364\"},\"wordCount\":643,\"commentCount\":2,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=3364#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/file-drawer-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"metalworking\",\"shop organization\",\"shop projects\",\"tool talk\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Shop Projects\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=3364#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=3364\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=3364\",\"name\":\"File This One Under Tool Talk: The File - Down the Rabbit Hoel\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=3364#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=3364#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/file-drawer-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-10T04:01:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7f4c20be65423f2dc7cebca54407cdf\"},\"description\":\"The file is a pretty basic tool, but it's absolutely essential to the metalworker. Today we'll talk about why there's so many kinds.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=3364#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=3364\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=3364#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/file-drawer-1.jpg?fit=800%2C900&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/file-drawer-1.jpg?fit=800%2C900&ssl=1\",\"width\":800,\"height\":900},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=3364#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"File This One Under Tool Talk: The File\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Down the Rabbit Hoel\",\"description\":\"Stories of family, creativity, and diverse distractions.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7f4c20be65423f2dc7cebca54407cdf\",\"name\":\"Walt\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ad51ded7cc10c649d921513d8c528af44f1481f71f6d72d81d235c912e0999aa?s=96&d=monsterid&r=pg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ad51ded7cc10c649d921513d8c528af44f1481f71f6d72d81d235c912e0999aa?s=96&d=monsterid&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ad51ded7cc10c649d921513d8c528af44f1481f71f6d72d81d235c912e0999aa?s=96&d=monsterid&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Walt\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"File This One Under Tool Talk: The File - Down the Rabbit Hoel","description":"The file is a pretty basic tool, but it's absolutely essential to the metalworker. Today we'll talk about why there's so many kinds.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"File This One Under Tool Talk: The File - Down the Rabbit Hoel","og_description":"The file is a pretty basic tool, but it's absolutely essential to the metalworker. Today we'll talk about why there's so many kinds.","og_url":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364","og_site_name":"Down the Rabbit Hoel","article_published_time":"2023-10-10T04:01:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/file-drawer-1.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Walt","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Walt","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364"},"author":{"name":"Walt","@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f4c20be65423f2dc7cebca54407cdf"},"headline":"File This One Under Tool Talk: The File","datePublished":"2023-10-10T04:01:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364"},"wordCount":643,"commentCount":2,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/file-drawer-1.jpg","keywords":["metalworking","shop organization","shop projects","tool talk"],"articleSection":["Shop Projects"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364","url":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364","name":"File This One Under Tool Talk: The File - Down the Rabbit Hoel","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/file-drawer-1.jpg","datePublished":"2023-10-10T04:01:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f4c20be65423f2dc7cebca54407cdf"},"description":"The file is a pretty basic tool, but it's absolutely essential to the metalworker. Today we'll talk about why there's so many kinds.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/therabbithoel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/file-drawer-1.jpg?fit=800%2C900&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/therabbithoel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/file-drawer-1.jpg?fit=800%2C900&ssl=1","width":800,"height":900},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3364#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"File This One Under Tool Talk: The File"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/","name":"Down the Rabbit Hoel","description":"Stories of family, creativity, and diverse distractions.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f4c20be65423f2dc7cebca54407cdf","name":"Walt","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad51ded7cc10c649d921513d8c528af44f1481f71f6d72d81d235c912e0999aa?s=96&d=monsterid&r=pg","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad51ded7cc10c649d921513d8c528af44f1481f71f6d72d81d235c912e0999aa?s=96&d=monsterid&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad51ded7cc10c649d921513d8c528af44f1481f71f6d72d81d235c912e0999aa?s=96&d=monsterid&r=pg","caption":"Walt"},"url":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?author=1"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3364"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3379,"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3364\/revisions\/3379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}