# Die Filer project



## rdean (Oct 23, 2022)

This is what started this project.



I bought these at a flee market a few months back for $5 and thought they may come in handy some day.  The other day I was looking for something else and ran across them again so I decided it was time to make a powered filer for them.

I wanted to try to use materials I had on hand so this is what I started with.



Some of that turned into this.



And that mounted to the and cap on to the main housing.



I also caped up the other end.



Her I am milling an opening for the piston support.



The main body and the piston support.



This shows the shaft housing, the piston, and the connecting rod.






Time for a pulley cut from this 4" round piece.  This took almost an hour to cut through.



Made some supports and installed the pulley.



Time to start thinking about a motor and looking around to see what I had.  I didn't have one that I really wanted to use as they were either too small, too fast, or too big.  Then I remembered this that I got from a garage sale I went to 6 months back and gave $10 for.
I cleaned it up and painted it.



Now that is really too large for a die filer not in HP 1/4 but in physical size.  That is when I hit me to mount the filer above the motor and not beside it.
I made supports off the motor frame to attach the filer and the top table. (repurposed aluminum serving tray)



I made a pulley guard and added four rubber feet.







Total project took a couple of weeks and the only thing extra I had to buy were the rubber feet.

Thanks for looking

Ray


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## Chris Hamel (Oct 23, 2022)

Looks good


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## Winegrower (Oct 23, 2022)

Nice.  I find lots more uses for my die filer than I anticipated, since the blade mounting scheme accommodates round, rectangular, square, thin flat, hex, you name it.    It can hold a short length of hacksaw blade, for an example, works a bit like a mini band saw, or a saw that does interior cuts easily.


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## TorontoBuilder (Oct 23, 2022)

very nice. Is this your own design or one that can be purchased? 
I've looked at two casting sets for a die grinder but need one before I can save enough to buy castings


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## rdean (Oct 23, 2022)

I had an idea of what I wanted to end up with so I built it around what materials I had.
You can do the same just make one part at a time.
Thanks
Ray


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## rwm (Oct 23, 2022)

That is really nice! It looks factory. I see you went with a con rod type setup (rather than a yoke like mine has.)
How does the piston track inside the piston support? What prevents rotation?
Great work!


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## Dhal22 (Oct 23, 2022)

Oh man I want a die filer.   Would be very handy for my model airplane building.


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## rdean (Oct 24, 2022)

rwm said:


> How does the piston track inside the piston support? What prevents rotation?


I made the piston fit a little loose in the bore because it is aluminum on aluminum and I was afraid of the parts galling. The piston can't turn as it is held in place by the piston pin.
I do have a small amount of oil in the housing sump and I was hoping that a film of oil would migrate up the piston for lubrication.  That is what is happening so only time will tell how effective that will be.  If it becomes a problem I can replace the piston with a brass or cast iron one later.

Thanks
Ray


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## Racer57 (Oct 24, 2022)

Looks great.  Every time I see one of your projects it reminds me of how much I need to learn


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## rdean (Oct 24, 2022)

Racer you are too kind
thank you

I learn something new every day

Ray


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## rdean (Oct 25, 2022)

Just a quick update
I was underwhelmed by the speed of material removal using these files.  They are rather fine toothed but do make for a nice finish.
I remembered these from Harbor Freight that I had stored away some time ago as they are not of very top quality.



So with nothing to lose I cut them up and chucked them in the lathe.  I probably could have cut down the file ends for the shank using insert tooling but why not grind them instead.  My DIY grinder doesn't see much use but each time I do use it comes in handy and I am glad I made it.



The files and some of the cutoff pieces are shown below.



They made a tremendous increase to material removal.
Now I can do both course and fine filing.

Thanks for looking
Ray


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