Hi there
I use files quite a bit in my shop.
I grab one & feel it's coarseness w/ my thumb & look @
it's shape to decide whether to use it or another. I've never
known what I was actually using. I've decided
to buy a few USA made different lengths & cuts all @ once.
After looking @ some catalogs, I've come up against the same
question I've been wondering about for years:
How do I find out what the coarseness of 1 length file of
a given cut is compared to a different length of a different cut.
For example: Is a 6” ******* courser than a 14” 2nd cut?
Or, is a 14” smooth cut smoother that a 6” 2nd cut? If so how can
I find out what it is & by how much.
I've read Machinery's 28th pages 962 through 965. Nothing.
Nothing that gives me definitive quantitative answer.
I've Googled, I've looked in Wikipedia.
The only thing I found is a photo of 3 files that says something to
the effect of “a ******* has ~ 25 teeth /in; 2nd cut has ~35th /in;
& a smooth cut has ~ 60th/ in”. (These # aren't accurate, I'm not
looking @ the site, they are from memory, but in the ball park)

Also I don't remember having ever used a file that the handle would
stay on. I probably have but just don't remember it. The files I buy
will probably not have handles. Who makes an after market handle
that stays on. Maybe I should buy the cheapest wooden ones &
epoxy them in place. I assume that would work. No?

Thanks for any info, JD