On Fri, 01 Mar 2013 11:33:51 -0600, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh"
lloydspinsidemindspring.com wrote:

Ed Huntress fired this volley in
:

An oiled file won't skate on aluminum.

No, but it will get oil on the work. Sometimes you don't want that.

That's true, but we get oil on work all the time in many types of
metalworking. I've never considered it to be a hardship with filing,
but then again...

I'll oil if I'm roughing, but chalk when I'm working with clean, nearly
finished stuff -- even aluminum.

I, too, keep separate files for separate work... but sometimes the roles
and treatments blend a little.
Lloyd

Sure. Most of my files are kept dry, and I chalk them if I'm getting
any pinning. But I'll oil them when I'm just working on aluminum or
brass.

The file cuts cleaner and easier, too.

--
Ed Huntress