A lady friend of mine is taking the basic machinist course at the local
NTMA in Ontario, California and as part of her course work, has to make
the obligitory drill gage etc etc, using files. They didnt issue her
any as part of her tool package (cheap crap btw..for big money) so I
thought Id make her up a "first aid" kit of decent tools of various
sorts as she progressed through the course.

So I dug out my files today..of which Ive been collecting for years...a
rather goodly sized pile...cringe...I didnt know I had that
many....sheeeze...and while all were of good guality, Nicholson, Johnson
etc etc...many of them are fairly dull. I have my standard rack of
files...which NOBODY touches G..but I figure I can make her up a
decent set of the 6 basic styles. But Id like to give her sharp ones.

Anyone had any luck sharpening their own files with acid? What type,
how long, etc etc.

I could box up a set and send em off to Boggs, but the turn around time
sometimes can be up to 6 weeks or longer.

Any suggestions?

Gunner, who just finished grinding one side of a 3 cornered file to
"safe" on the surface grinder




"Not so old as to need virgins to excite him,
nor old enough to have the patience to teach one."

Gunner Asch fired this volley in
:

Anyone had any luck sharpening their own files with acid? What
type,
how long, etc etc.

Gunner, I've tried it, with several variant "resist" methods. Muratic
acid likes iron.

The results go from "not at all" to "Gosh! That worked!" to "DAMN! It
took ALL the teeth off!".

The only resist method that I've found that ever worked for me was to
firmly draw the file backwards over a hard, rounded-profile with a
single thickness of bed-sheet cotton damp (but not WET) with oil.

This is NOT a trick that works very well for that emergency shipment
of files to a new machinist. You might frustrate hell out of her.

The one thing I have found about this method, and why I stopped doing
it, is that the new edge you get has no backup metal, and dulls very
(very!) fast.

LLoyd

I skipped the meeting, but the Memos showed that Gunner Asch
wrote on Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:12:36 -0800
in rec.crafts.metalworking :
A lady friend of mine is taking the basic machinist course at the local
NTMA in Ontario, California and as part of her course work, has to make
the obligitory drill gage etc etc, using files. They didnt issue her
any as part of her tool package (cheap crap btw..for big money) so I
thought Id make her up a "first aid" kit of decent tools of various
sorts as she progressed through the course.

So I dug out my files today..of which Ive been collecting for years...a
rather goodly sized pile...cringe...I didnt know I had that
many....sheeeze...and while all were of good guality, Nicholson, Johnson
etc etc...many of them are fairly dull. I have my standard rack of
files...which NOBODY touches G..but I figure I can make her up a
decent set of the 6 basic styles. But Id like to give her sharp ones.

Anyone had any luck sharpening their own files with acid? What type,
how long, etc etc.

I could box up a set and send em off to Boggs, but the turn around time
sometimes can be up to 6 weeks or longer.

Any suggestions?

Gunner, who just finished grinding one side of a 3 cornered file to
"safe" on the surface grinder

Complete speculation on my part, but could that be something done
on a shaper? The "old fashioned" back and forth plow? Not being a
mechanical genius type, It has taken me a lot of "I wonder how that's
done?" time to figure out it might require a shaper. But I have no
idea.
--
pyotr filipivich
We will drink no whiskey before its nine.
It's eight fifty eight. Close enough!

"pyotr filipivich" wrote in message
...
I skipped the meeting, but the Memos showed that Gunner Asch
wrote on Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:12:36 -0800
in rec.crafts.metalworking :
A lady friend of mine is taking the basic machinist course at the local
NTMA in Ontario, California and as part of her course work, has to make
the obligitory drill gage etc etc, using files. They didnt issue her
any as part of her tool package (cheap crap btw..for big money) so I
thought Id make her up a "first aid" kit of decent tools of various
sorts as she progressed through the course.

So I dug out my files today..of which Ive been collecting for years...a
rather goodly sized pile...cringe...I didnt know I had that
many....sheeeze...and while all were of good guality, Nicholson, Johnson
etc etc...many of them are fairly dull. I have my standard rack of
files...which NOBODY touches G..but I figure I can make her up a
decent set of the 6 basic styles. But Id like to give her sharp ones.

Anyone had any luck sharpening their own files with acid? What type,
how long, etc etc.

I could box up a set and send em off to Boggs, but the turn around time
sometimes can be up to 6 weeks or longer.

Any suggestions?

Gunner, who just finished grinding one side of a 3 cornered file to
"safe" on the surface grinder

Complete speculation on my part, but could that be something done
on a shaper? The "old fashioned" back and forth plow? Not being a
mechanical genius type, It has taken me a lot of "I wonder how that's
done?" time to figure out it might require a shaper. But I have no
idea.

The traditional method, and the origin of the standard file configurations,
is to cut into a flat piece of annealed steel on an angle with a chisel and
hammer. They were made that way into the mid-19th century. But a machine to
do the job had been invented in the early 1800s and took over the market
sometime around the Civil War.

It had a reciprocating hammer and a sliding bed on which the file blank
travelled. The spacing of teeth was controlled by the travel rate of the
bed. The file blank laid flat on a sheet of lead on the table, to protect
the file teeth on the back side.

I don't know how it's done today but it's probably some advanced version of
the original machine.

--
Ed Huntress

Anyone had any luck sharpening their own files with acid? What type,
how long, etc etc.


Battery acid. Don't leave them in over night. DAMHIK ;-)
Beyond that, I think it's trial and error. Start with 1 hour and see
how it works.


RWL

On Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:12:36 -0800, Gunner Asch
wrote:

Anyone had any luck sharpening their own files with acid? What type,
how long, etc etc.

I've had reasonable luck using hydrochloric acid (sold as swimming pool
acid). If the files are not completely thrashed, many can be made almost
as sharp as new, although they do not stay sharp nearly as long as a new
file. If you are lucky, they will stay sharp 60% as long or a little more,
most seem to last 40% to 50% as long.

I found that the files must be clean, with no oil, grease or packed in
dirt. Clean them up as much as you can with a file card or a wire brush,
then wash in solvent or detergent to get any oil or grease off.

Put only one file in each container of acid, I used PVC pipe of an
appropriate size and length with a cap glued on one end for each file.
Fill the tube near the top with straight pool acid, do not dilute. I know
you have enough sense to take the right precautions using acid. I set a
group of the tubes full of acid in a 5 gallon plastic bucket to keep them
upright and catch the worst of the spills and drips.

If at all possible do this operation outside and away from any iron or
steel that you do not want to rust, as the acid fumes will rust any iron
or steel that is at all close.

Put the files in the tubes with the acid, and start checking them in about
1/2 hour. There seem to be big differences in the time it takes to work
for different files. The metal will start to look sort of matte gray as
they near completion. Most seemed to take from one to four hours, but
check the first ones fairly frequently until you are comfortable with the
process.

When you think a file is done, remove it from the acid, wash it in lots of
running water and then dip it in a baking soda solution to neutralize the
last of the acid and rinse in clear water again. Dry the file with
compressed air, then give it a LIGHT coat of WD40 or whatever your choice
of a LIGHT rust inhibiting coating may be.

You can re-use the acid in each tube several times before it becomes too
slow to work well. At this point the tube will have a mixture of
hydrochloric acid, ferric chloride and other assorted gunk in it. If you
have no other way to dispose of it, you can neutralize it with lye which
turns it into the equivlent of rusty salt water with a little additional
crud in it. Baking soda will also neutralize it.

WayneJ

WayneJ wrote:
On Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:12:36 -0800, Gunner Asch
wrote:

Anyone had any luck sharpening their own files with acid? What type,
how long, etc etc.

I've had reasonable luck using hydrochloric acid (sold as swimming pool
acid). If the files are not completely thrashed, many can be made almost
as sharp as new, although they do not stay sharp nearly as long as a new
file. If you are lucky, they will stay sharp 60% as long or a little
more, most seem to last 40% to 50% as long.

I found that the files must be clean, with no oil, grease or packed in
dirt. Clean them up as much as you can with a file card or a wire brush,
then wash in solvent or detergent to get any oil or grease off.

Put only one file in each container of acid, I used PVC pipe of an
appropriate size and length with a cap glued on one end for each file.
Fill the tube near the top with straight pool acid, do not dilute. I
know you have enough sense to take the right precautions using acid. I
set a group of the tubes full of acid in a 5 gallon plastic bucket to
keep them upright and catch the worst of the spills and drips.

If at all possible do this operation outside and away from any iron or
steel that you do not want to rust, as the acid fumes will rust any iron
or steel that is at all close.

Put the files in the tubes with the acid, and start checking them in
about 1/2 hour. There seem to be big differences in the time it takes to
work for different files. The metal will start to look sort of matte
gray as they near completion. Most seemed to take from one to four
hours, but check the first ones fairly frequently until you are
comfortable with the process.

When you think a file is done, remove it from the acid, wash it in lots
of running water and then dip it in a baking soda solution to neutralize
the last of the acid and rinse in clear water again. Dry the file with
compressed air, then give it a LIGHT coat of WD40 or whatever your
choice of a LIGHT rust inhibiting coating may be.

You can re-use the acid in each tube several times before it becomes too
slow to work well. At this point the tube will have a mixture of
hydrochloric acid, ferric chloride and other assorted gunk in it. If you
have no other way to dispose of it, you can neutralize it with lye which
turns it into the equivlent of rusty salt water with a little additional
crud in it. Baking soda will also neutralize it.

WayneJ


Ive used battery acid successfully,
Follow the pre acid preperation as above.
I put the files in the acid on their edges at an angle so that the
cutting edges on the face sides are vertical.
This is because the gasses from the acid reaction causes an acid
circulation up the file surface .
It works best if they are orientated this way.
I find you need to check threm catrefully every half hour or so. If you
leave them in too long all the teeth will have gone!!.
Ted
in Dorset UK

On Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:48:07 -0800, WayneJ wrote:

On Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:12:36 -0800, Gunner Asch
wrote:

Anyone had any luck sharpening their own files with acid? What type,
how long, etc etc.

I've had reasonable luck using hydrochloric acid (sold as swimming pool
acid). If the files are not completely thrashed, many can be made almost
as sharp as new, although they do not stay sharp nearly as long as a new
file. If you are lucky, they will stay sharp 60% as long or a little more,
most seem to last 40% to 50% as long.

I found that the files must be clean, with no oil, grease or packed in
dirt. Clean them up as much as you can with a file card or a wire brush,
then wash in solvent or detergent to get any oil or grease off.

Put only one file in each container of acid, I used PVC pipe of an
appropriate size and length with a cap glued on one end for each file.
Fill the tube near the top with straight pool acid, do not dilute. I know
you have enough sense to take the right precautions using acid. I set a
group of the tubes full of acid in a 5 gallon plastic bucket to keep them
upright and catch the worst of the spills and drips.

If at all possible do this operation outside and away from any iron or
steel that you do not want to rust, as the acid fumes will rust any iron
or steel that is at all close.

Put the files in the tubes with the acid, and start checking them in about
1/2 hour. There seem to be big differences in the time it takes to work
for different files. The metal will start to look sort of matte gray as
they near completion. Most seemed to take from one to four hours, but
check the first ones fairly frequently until you are comfortable with the
process.

When you think a file is done, remove it from the acid, wash it in lots of
running water and then dip it in a baking soda solution to neutralize the
last of the acid and rinse in clear water again. Dry the file with
compressed air, then give it a LIGHT coat of WD40 or whatever your choice
of a LIGHT rust inhibiting coating may be.

You can re-use the acid in each tube several times before it becomes too
slow to work well. At this point the tube will have a mixture of
hydrochloric acid, ferric chloride and other assorted gunk in it. If you
have no other way to dispose of it, you can neutralize it with lye which
turns it into the equivlent of rusty salt water with a little additional
crud in it. Baking soda will also neutralize it.

WayneJ

Excellent! Thanks Wayne. Well presented.

Gunner

"Not so old as to need virgins to excite him,
nor old enough to have the patience to teach one."

On Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:39:40 +0000, Ted Frater
wrote:

WayneJ wrote:
On Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:12:36 -0800, Gunner Asch
wrote:

Anyone had any luck sharpening their own files with acid? What type,
how long, etc etc.

I've had reasonable luck using hydrochloric acid (sold as swimming pool
acid). If the files are not completely thrashed, many can be made almost
as sharp as new, although they do not stay sharp nearly as long as a new
file. If you are lucky, they will stay sharp 60% as long or a little
more, most seem to last 40% to 50% as long.

I found that the files must be clean, with no oil, grease or packed in
dirt. Clean them up as much as you can with a file card or a wire brush,
then wash in solvent or detergent to get any oil or grease off.

Put only one file in each container of acid, I used PVC pipe of an
appropriate size and length with a cap glued on one end for each file.
Fill the tube near the top with straight pool acid, do not dilute. I
know you have enough sense to take the right precautions using acid. I
set a group of the tubes full of acid in a 5 gallon plastic bucket to
keep them upright and catch the worst of the spills and drips.

If at all possible do this operation outside and away from any iron or
steel that you do not want to rust, as the acid fumes will rust any iron
or steel that is at all close.

Put the files in the tubes with the acid, and start checking them in
about 1/2 hour. There seem to be big differences in the time it takes to
work for different files. The metal will start to look sort of matte
gray as they near completion. Most seemed to take from one to four
hours, but check the first ones fairly frequently until you are
comfortable with the process.

When you think a file is done, remove it from the acid, wash it in lots
of running water and then dip it in a baking soda solution to neutralize
the last of the acid and rinse in clear water again. Dry the file with
compressed air, then give it a LIGHT coat of WD40 or whatever your
choice of a LIGHT rust inhibiting coating may be.

You can re-use the acid in each tube several times before it becomes too
slow to work well. At this point the tube will have a mixture of
hydrochloric acid, ferric chloride and other assorted gunk in it. If you
have no other way to dispose of it, you can neutralize it with lye which
turns it into the equivlent of rusty salt water with a little additional
crud in it. Baking soda will also neutralize it.

WayneJ


Ive used battery acid successfully,
Follow the pre acid preperation as above.
I put the files in the acid on their edges at an angle so that the
cutting edges on the face sides are vertical.
This is because the gasses from the acid reaction causes an acid
circulation up the file surface .
It works best if they are orientated this way.
I find you need to check threm catrefully every half hour or so. If you
leave them in too long all the teeth will have gone!!.
Ted
in Dorset UK


Thanks Ted.

Gunner

"Not so old as to need virgins to excite him,
nor old enough to have the patience to teach one."

On Feb 8, 8:12*pm, Gunner Asch wrote:
A lady friend of mine is taking the basic machinist course at the local
NTMA in Ontario, California and as part of her course work, has to make
the obligitory drill gage etc etc, using files......
Any suggestions?
Gunner, who just finished grinding one side of a 3 cornered file to
"safe" on the surface grinder

Cheap files have generally worked pretty well for me, except for lathe
filing. The "Globemaster" mill file I bought in ~1965 has finally
dulled in the middle but the ends are good. The Nicholson from a 1978
motorcycle journey still cuts like new. Those are the two I always
grab for deburring, to keep the more specialized ones sharp longer.

Heatshrink sleeving protects them well in a toolbox.

jw

On Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:12:36 -0800, the infamous Gunner Asch
scrawled the following:

A lady friend of mine is taking the basic machinist course at the local
NTMA in Ontario, California and as part of her course work, has to make
the obligitory drill gage etc etc, using files. They didnt issue her
any as part of her tool package (cheap crap btw..for big money) so I
thought Id make her up a "first aid" kit of decent tools of various
sorts as she progressed through the course.

So I dug out my files today..of which Ive been collecting for years...a
rather goodly sized pile...cringe...I didnt know I had that
many....sheeeze...and while all were of good guality, Nicholson, Johnson
etc etc...many of them are fairly dull. I have my standard rack of
files...which NOBODY touches G..but I figure I can make her up a
decent set of the 6 basic styles. But Id like to give her sharp ones.

Anyone had any luck sharpening their own files with acid? What type,
how long, etc etc.

I could box up a set and send em off to Boggs, but the turn around time
sometimes can be up to 6 weeks or longer.

Any suggestions?

Guys on the Wreck used to talk about that, but most went to Boggs,
including Steve Knight, the planemaker who goes through files like we
do potato chips. The Weygers way was via battery acid.

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_bas...ing_Files.html


Gunner, who just finished grinding one side of a 3 cornered file to
"safe" on the surface grinder

You makin' scrapers, boy?

--
If we all did the things we are capable of doing,
we would literally astound ourselves.
-- Thomas A. Edison

On Mon, 09 Feb 2009 05:25:58 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:12:36 -0800, the infamous Gunner Asch
scrawled the following:

A lady friend of mine is taking the basic machinist course at the local
NTMA in Ontario, California and as part of her course work, has to make
the obligitory drill gage etc etc, using files. They didnt issue her
any as part of her tool package (cheap crap btw..for big money) so I
thought Id make her up a "first aid" kit of decent tools of various
sorts as she progressed through the course.

So I dug out my files today..of which Ive been collecting for years...a
rather goodly sized pile...cringe...I didnt know I had that
many....sheeeze...and while all were of good guality, Nicholson, Johnson
etc etc...many of them are fairly dull. I have my standard rack of
files...which NOBODY touches G..but I figure I can make her up a
decent set of the 6 basic styles. But Id like to give her sharp ones.

Anyone had any luck sharpening their own files with acid? What type,
how long, etc etc.

I could box up a set and send em off to Boggs, but the turn around time
sometimes can be up to 6 weeks or longer.

Any suggestions?

Guys on the Wreck used to talk about that, but most went to Boggs,
including Steve Knight, the planemaker who goes through files like we
do potato chips. The Weygers way was via battery acid.

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_bas...ing_Files.html


Gunner, who just finished grinding one side of a 3 cornered file to
"safe" on the surface grinder

You makin' scrapers, boy?


Dovetail files for fitting sights into firearms dovetails.


Gunner

"Not so old as to need virgins to excite him,
nor old enough to have the patience to teach one."

"Gunner Asch" wrote in message
...
A lady friend of mine is taking the basic machinist course at the local
NTMA in Ontario, California and as part of her course work, has to make
the obligitory drill gage etc etc, using files. They didnt issue her
any as part of her tool package (cheap crap btw..for big money) so I
thought Id make her up a "first aid" kit of decent tools of various
sorts as she progressed through the course.

So I dug out my files today..of which Ive been collecting for years...a
rather goodly sized pile...cringe...I didnt know I had that
many....sheeeze...and while all were of good guality, Nicholson, Johnson
etc etc...many of them are fairly dull. I have my standard rack of
files...which NOBODY touches G..but I figure I can make her up a
decent set of the 6 basic styles. But Id like to give her sharp ones.

Anyone had any luck sharpening their own files with acid? What type,
how long, etc etc.

I could box up a set and send em off to Boggs, but the turn around time
sometimes can be up to 6 weeks or longer.

Any suggestions?

Gunner, who just finished grinding one side of a 3 cornered file to
"safe" on the surface grinder




"Not so old as to need virgins to excite him,
nor old enough to have the patience to teach one."

After years of working under my uncles' tutelage imagine my surprise when I
found out that there were companies in existence that actually made NEW
files! I was used to using files that were so smooth they wouldn't actually
leave a mark on mild steel. When I started buying files I went for good
ones and took care of them. I remember finding out about chalk! Over the
years, I've made a number of tools from those old files from my youth.

On Feb 9, 12:12 pm, Gunner Asch wrote:
many of them are fairly dull. I have my standard rack of
files...which NOBODY touches G..but I figure I can make her up a
decent set of the 6 basic styles. But Id like to give her sharp ones.

They are dull because their worn out, Gunner. Buy her new files as she
needs them - for making a drill gauge, a *******, 2nd cut, and
smoothing will do it. And you only need the small sizes for this job.
Buy them as needed....

DON'T give her crap, worn out tools - she wont know the difference
between good and bad as she has no experience, and will forever think
that files are useless except for opening paint tins.

Andrew VK3BFA.

On Feb 10, 7:17 am, "Buerste" wrote:

After years of working under my uncles' tutelage imagine my surprise when I
found out that there were companies in existence that actually made NEW
files! I was used to using files that were so smooth they wouldn't actually
leave a mark on mild steel. When I started buying files I went for good
ones and took care of them. I remember finding out about chalk! Over the
years, I've made a number of tools from those old files from my youth


Yep, thats the way it is - glad someone has used a new file and knows
the difference.....

Andrew VK3BFA

On Feb 8, 3:12*pm, Gunner Asch wrote:
A lady friend of mine is taking the basic machinist course at the local
NTMA in Ontario, California and as part of her course work, has to make
the obligitory drill gage etc etc, using files. * They didnt issue her
any as part of her tool package (cheap crap btw..for big money) so I
thought Id make her up a "first aid" kit of decent tools of various
sorts as she progressed through the course.

So I dug out my files today..of which Ive been collecting for years...a
rather goodly sized pile...cringe...I didnt know I had that
many....sheeeze...and while all were of good guality, Nicholson, Johnson
etc etc...many of them are fairly dull. *I have my standard rack of
files...which NOBODY touches G..but I figure I can make her up a
decent set of the 6 basic styles. * But Id like to give her sharp ones.

Anyone had any luck sharpening their own files with acid? *What type,
how long, etc etc.

I could box up a set and send em off to Boggs, but the turn around time
sometimes can be up to 6 weeks or longer.

Any suggestions?

Gunner, who just finished grinding one side of a 3 cornered file to
"safe" on the surface grinder

"Not so old as to need virgins to excite him,
*nor old enough to have the patience to teach one."

Aren't many modern files case hardened? Would the acid etch through?
Karl

On Sun, 8 Feb 2009 22:48:49 -0500 in rec.crafts.metalworking, "Ed
Huntress" wrote,
The traditional method, and the origin of the standard file configurations,
is to cut into a flat piece of annealed steel on an angle with a chisel and
hammer. They were made that way into the mid-19th century. But a machine to
do the job had been invented in the early 1800s and took over the market
sometime around the Civil War.

It had a reciprocating hammer and a sliding bed on which the file blank
travelled. The spacing of teeth was controlled by the travel rate of the
bed. The file blank laid flat on a sheet of lead on the table, to protect
the file teeth on the back side.

There is a drawing of it in Leonardo da Vinci's notes.

If you want to keep her as a lady friend, get her new ones. Boggs has
worked well for me, but others tell me that you can only do it once.
So, if you already know about Boggs, how do you know that some or all of
the dull files you have haven't already been there? A friend of mine
who goes through a lot of files does use Boggs, but he files a mark on
the tang to tell him that it has already been through their process.

Pete Stanaitis
-----------------

Gunner Asch wrote:
A lady friend of mine is taking the basic machinist course at the local
NTMA in Ontario, California and as part of her course work, has to make
the obligitory drill gage etc etc, using files. They didnt issue her
any as part of her tool package (cheap crap btw..for big money) so I
thought Id make her up a "first aid" kit of decent tools of various
sorts as she progressed through the course.

So I dug out my files today..of which Ive been collecting for years...a
rather goodly sized pile...cringe...I didnt know I had that
many....sheeeze...and while all were of good guality, Nicholson, Johnson
etc etc...many of them are fairly dull. I have my standard rack of
files...which NOBODY touches G..but I figure I can make her up a
decent set of the 6 basic styles. But Id like to give her sharp ones.

Anyone had any luck sharpening their own files with acid? What type,
how long, etc etc.

I could box up a set and send em off to Boggs, but the turn around time
sometimes can be up to 6 weeks or longer.

Any suggestions?

Gunner, who just finished grinding one side of a 3 cornered file to
"safe" on the surface grinder




"Not so old as to need virgins to excite him,
nor old enough to have the patience to teach one."

On Thu, 12 Feb 2009 07:56:21 -0600, spaco
wrote:

If you want to keep her as a lady friend, get her new ones. Boggs has
worked well for me, but others tell me that you can only do it once.
So, if you already know about Boggs, how do you know that some or all of
the dull files you have haven't already been there? A friend of mine
who goes through a lot of files does use Boggs, but he files a mark on
the tang to tell him that it has already been through their process.

Pete Stanaitis

Excellent point.

At one time, I had even more files, the vast majority being new, or near
new. Id been collecting them from swap meets/auctions etc to make
knives out of. Then a buddy brought over his brother in law, who wanted
'a few files" and I told him to take what he wanted. He snagged damned
near all of the new ones..about 20ish, while my buddy and I were
chatting about an ongoing project.

And I didnt have any Chinese ones....sigh


-----------------

Gunner Asch wrote:
A lady friend of mine is taking the basic machinist course at the local
NTMA in Ontario, California and as part of her course work, has to make
the obligitory drill gage etc etc, using files. They didnt issue her
any as part of her tool package (cheap crap btw..for big money) so I
thought Id make her up a "first aid" kit of decent tools of various
sorts as she progressed through the course.

So I dug out my files today..of which Ive been collecting for years...a
rather goodly sized pile...cringe...I didnt know I had that
many....sheeeze...and while all were of good guality, Nicholson, Johnson
etc etc...many of them are fairly dull. I have my standard rack of
files...which NOBODY touches G..but I figure I can make her up a
decent set of the 6 basic styles. But Id like to give her sharp ones.

Anyone had any luck sharpening their own files with acid? What type,
how long, etc etc.

I could box up a set and send em off to Boggs, but the turn around time
sometimes can be up to 6 weeks or longer.

Any suggestions?

Gunner, who just finished grinding one side of a 3 cornered file to
"safe" on the surface grinder




"Not so old as to need virgins to excite him,
nor old enough to have the patience to teach one."

"If the personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution inhibit the government's ability to govern the people,
we should look to limit those guarantees."

Bill Clinton 1993-08-12