How to tell the difference between wood and metal files.
Any do-it-yourselfer's tool kit should include files for smoothing and shaping metal and wood.The files are categorized by an obscure terminology that makes choosing one difficult.
The file names describe size, shape, teeth and coarseness.There are two broad categories for files.Mill files are used on metal.The files for cutting wood are called wood-, cabinet- or pattern-maker's files.Mill files can be used to shape wood, but metal files won't hold up.
The point is the length from the end of the file to the heel.Large files can be used for large surfaces and small files for small surfaces.
The file's cross section is the shape of the blade viewed from the end.
Flat files are files rectangular in cross section.These are used to smooth flat surfaces.Half round files have one semicircular surface and one flat.They can be used to shape curved and flat work.
There are more file shapes than can be listed here, so all of them may be categorized as four-sided, three-side or round.
The raised edges of grooves cut parallel to one another across the width of the blade are called file teeth.Single-cut files are files with a single set of parallel teeth.The files on which two sets of teeth are cut are called double-cut.
The files are cut more quickly if they are double-cut.The surface produced with the double-cut file is rougher than the single cut surface.
For filing soft metals such as aluminum and brass and also for filing plastic, files are made with semicircular rows of teeth.These are files with curved teeth.Special files called rasps, for use on wood only, feature individually raised, rough teeth.Excellent tools for shaping wood are rasps.They produce a rough surface, which must be smoothed with a double- or single-cut file.
When choosing files, it's important to know the relative coarseness of the teeth.These are coarse, bastard, second-cut, smooth and dead smooth.
Some files are manufactured in different grades.Even though the teeth of both files have the same rating, longer files will produce sharper cuts.
Most homeowners will find an 8- or 10-inch mill bastard flat file, double cut on one surface and single-cut on the other, the most useful, for general-purpose metal filing.Purchase a smooth file for final finishing.A four-in-hand file is half-round in cross-section and features both rasp- and file-cut teeth.
You should always purchase a handle for a file.One size fits all handles are inexpensive.To install a handle, hold the file upright and strike the bottom of the handle on a solid surface, such as a workbench.Don't use a hammer to seat a file.
It's easy to use a file.The surface to be filed should be as close to the vise jaws or edge of the bench as possible.The work won't vibrating as the file is drawn across it.
The file should be held with both hands.Lay the tool across the surface so that the handle is closest to you, then push the file forward, bearing down heavily on both ends for coarse, rapid cutting, or lightly for smoothing cuts.
As you push the file forward, slide it from one end to the other so that the entire blade is used.To avoid filing the surface unevenly, be careful to keep the file level high.
The file should be lifted at the end of each stroke.The files are cut in one direction.Pulling them back over a hard surface dulls them.
Pull the file toward you along the entire length of the work if you hold it at right angles across the surface.This process is called drawing.