Filing a metal block to true squareness

[Koi]

I use a 6 inch long piece of 1/2 inch soft copper pipe, because I had no chopsticks. I smashed one end flat for the file, cobbled up a broomstick handle for my end. In no time at all, the copper is cut to fit the grooves between the file teeth, (running parallel to the teeth), and will push stuff out of there that will amaze you. Follow with the chalk, and you are ready to go. ( Good tip on chalk and humidity. Glad I DON'T have humidity, sometimes)

Heard that before using a copper pipe but the guy was doing it prior renewing his file with acid.

 

[Koi]

I've been filing for a little while now, although I've never been an apprentice before. Before I had a lathe and mill, I had files and hacksaws and made do. I learned a few things early on:

• A good solid vise is important. It is also important that it be mounted on a bench at the right height for the work you're doing. I have 7 vises in my shop, 3 of which are used for filing. The biggest and lowest one (a nice Charles Parker vise) is below my elbow height so I can lock my arms to my body and use my legs and body weight to lean into a roughing cut; this one is for when I need to remove a lot of material. My Prentiss vise is mounted at about elbow height so I can use my arms in a natural stroke without tiring too much. My Wilton bullet vise is mounted high and is used for fine, light work. It is mounted high so I can see where my file is touching the work.
• It is important that you know how your body and arms move. Each of us has a stroke, a natural angle when we move along our own lines of movement. You have to figure out what yours is and use it. You also have an effective stroke where you can control the angle of the file; go beyond it and the file will tip. Know what your effective stroke is.
• Related to the above, I tend to level the top of the work on my big vise because I use my body to move. On my mid sized vise and smaller vise, I tend to put the top of the work with the farthest end tipped slightly down because my stroke makes me dip at the end of the stroke. I'm sure other folks do it different but this lets me file flatter.
• You have to see what you're filing in order to file it. More specifically, you have to know where you want the file to cut. Sometimes you want to hit the whole surface, sometimes only in one spot, and sometimes you want to hit one spot at an angle. Learn to see where you want the file to cut and then learn to put the file there.
• The way you hold a file matters. Grabbing a handful of handle and nose works for rough work when you're removing a lot of material but it doesn't work when doing fine work. Learn to grip with the last three fingers of your hand and then learn to guide the angle of the file with your thumb and forefinger; this is how you make the file cut at the angle you need it to cut. The lighter the work, the lighter the touch at the front of the file.
• I tend to stroke at right angles to the cut of the file's teeth. This seems to cut better for me than using a lot of downward pressure. The harder I bear down, the less flat the surface gets so I try to avoid excessive pressure and I let the file cut. Pretty sure this has to do with bending the file with pressure but I admit that sometimes pressure is what's needed, especially when roughing ugly.
• Listen to NortonDommi and learn to drawfile and learn which file to drawfile with. This is important because it allows you to sight along the top of the work and the file at the same time. There are times when you have to get the work flat and drawfiling will help you do that quickly. A single cut bastard file and a clear idea of what needs to be taken down will get the work flat really fast when drawfiled. A double cut file, used with a fine touch, will help you fine tune a surface and produce a nice finish.
• Practice, practice, practice. And understand that perfection is not going to happen but tolerances will allow you to get really close. I'm guessing that nobody produced a 1" square, +/- 0.0000", apprentice or journeyman, but within 0.005 - 0.010", yeah, that can be done.

I made a knurling tool with zero clearance between the side plates and the arms. In order to get the arms to move freely but with no discernible side play, I drawfiled the inside of both plates. Got her done in a few minutes ... because of the 40 years of filing that went before.

Stick with it and it will come. This is a skill that is all but dead nowadays but in a hobby shop, yeah, we filing!

Im not achieving space age precision just somewhere at 0.02 to 0.005mm precision

 

[Downunder Bob]

I never even thought to try to make a square with a file. I bought machines so that I did not have to file anymore.
To me filing falls into the realm of artistic ability. ALL of my artistic ability can be poured into a thimble with a LOT of room left over. I spent all of my adult life as an engineer / draftsman. I still can not draw even a semi straight line to save my life without the help of a straight edge.
I do not try to make much of anything that requires it to be pretty, Pretty is not in my tool box.

I know what you're saying, pretty is not in my toolbox either. I can, when I need to make it fairly good looking but In my years at sea pretty was not even an option, it had to work and that was the criterion, and it always had to be fixed yesterday, so there was never time for the finer finishing touches.

 

[Tozguy]

Whether it is with a file or other type of hand tool I have seen craftsmen do amazing work with amazing speed. Their workmanship was a beauty to behold.
I admire those who keep up the tradition of using the original 'cordless' tools of yesteryear.

 

[Downunder Bob]

Whether it is with a file or other type of hand tool I have seen craftsmen do amazing work with amazing speed. Their workmanship was a beauty to behold.
I admire those who keep up the tradition of using the original 'cordless' tools of yesteryear.

Yes there are some who can, and enjoy doing it , I can, well sort of, but I never have enough time to finish it.

 

[C-Bag]

I've always thought of filing as one of the many stages of hand work, and not the final stage. Of course this depends on the size of the piece etc. And you can't have too many different kinds of files. I can't count how many times my little set of Xacto files have saved my bacon. Most times it's because I'm working on some piece a machine tool can't get into or can't set up in a machine. Like taking a ding out of a lead screw like I had to do on my old shaper.

In estate/garage sales I'm always on the lookout for odd files because they used to make so many profiles that aren't made anymore. I also find round files used to sharpen chain saws really useful. I have several different sizes of those and fine and coarse rat tail files. I'm pretty much driven to "pretty" because I've already spent so much time on this thing it's offensive to my eye if it still looks like hammered dog doo.

I'm not sure but my impression is folks think filing is some kind of Spartan affair with some brawny wizard doing amazing things with one file. I don't subscribe to that, I'm firmly in the right tool for the job and you can't have too many tools club. Also filing isn't done by Braille. Good light, good vise or way to hold it, sturdy table and good metrology tools to check what you're doing. I REALLY like the tip of blueing with a felt pen or Dykem, wish I'd a thought of that! Also jewelers goggles even if you aren't old. Being able to really see is part of the whole.

 

[Bob Korves]

When machinists (and others) speak about perfection, it reminds me of the Persian rug makers, who allegedly place deliberate mistakes into their rugs, to honor their belief that only Allah is perfect. I do not know if that is actually done, but there are enough stitches in a Persian rug that nobody is going to make a "perfect" one:

Deliberate mistakes in handmade Persian rugs and carpets | Oriental Rug Experts

Deliberate mistakes in handmade rugs and carpets can be found in most Persian rugs and oriental carpets.

www.orientalrugexperts.com

When I am working in the shop and make an accidental mistake on a very nice piece of work up to that point, I often exclaim "Thanks to Allah!" with a smile instead of using other crass language in the moment...

 

[ThinWoodsman]

And you can't have too many different kinds of files.

An excellent fileosophy, sir.

I have now spent a sufficient number of hours filing that the motion is natural and the results are appealing, and I consider it time well spent. A half-hour of filing will save you an hour of setup time for what amounts to a simple change on a complex part. A few passes in the vise will provide a surface finish in less time than setting up the shaper, choosing and honing the tool, and so forth. Two days ago, I made a part in the basement (V-notched 1/4" aluminum plate) with hand tools in less time than it would have taken me to walk to the shop - at night, in twenty-degree temperatures, over a couple inches of ice.

So yeah, count me in on files!

 

[C-Bag]

When machinists (and others) speak about perfection, it reminds me of the Persian rug makers, who allegedly place deliberate mistakes into their rugs, to honor their belief that only Allah is perfect. I do not know if that is actually done, but there are enough stitches in a Persian rug that nobody is going to make a "perfect" one:

Deliberate mistakes in handmade Persian rugs and carpets | Oriental Rug Experts

Deliberate mistakes in handmade rugs and carpets can be found in most Persian rugs and oriental carpets.

www.orientalrugexperts.com

When I am working in the shop and make an accidental mistake on a very nice piece of work up to that point, I often exclaim "Thanks to Allah!" with a smile instead of using other crass language in the moment...

+1, amen brutha. Perfection is not my goal, but as good as needed in the job at hand. It's why I would have had a really tough time with doing the "cube" as opposed to like my buddy's brother who was an apprentice instructor. He had them make useful things like squares etc. I think I posted these in another thread Koi started on doing machining by hand. These are some the apprentice projects the instructor kept and gave to his brother. They could use only files, hacksaws, taps and drill press.

 

[C-Bag]

An excellent fileosophy, sir.

I have now spent a sufficient number of hours filing that the motion is natural and the results are appealing, and I consider it time well spent. A half-hour of filing will save you an hour of setup time for what amounts to a simple change on a complex part. A few passes in the vise will provide a surface finish in less time than setting up the shaper, choosing and honing the tool, and so forth. Two days ago, I made a part in the basement (V-notched 1/4" aluminum plate) with hand tools in less time than it would have taken me to walk to the shop - at night, in twenty-degree temperatures, over a couple inches of ice.

So yeah, count me in on files!

LOL, never thought of myself as fileosopher.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. We get so myopic about machines when it's often less time consuming to just get 'er done with a file. And yeah, it takes practice as anything does. But once you've got the basics like an even stroke it's like riding a bike.