# File and rasp storage.



## finsruskw

where and how do you guys store your files to keep them from banging around in the drawers?
Looking for some ideas/suggestions.
Anything has to be better than just tossing them in a drawer!.
I have this nice set of files I picked up recently and want to keep them that way.
Thanks!!


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## MontanaLon

I have used the plastic tubes but they take up a lot of space. Nice thing is you can see what each one is. Also used cloth baggies and they take up less space but you can't see what is in them. Of course a sharpie can take care of that.


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## FOMOGO

You could get some large, cheap plastic cutting boards and mill spaces for your files. Drill a thru hole at the front of each one so the are easy to get out with your finger. Mike


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## francist

Scraps of PVC pipe hot-glued together and stuck onto a scrap of MDF for a stand. Dense yet portable, just like me sometimes.... 




-frank


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## brino

I cut a piece of 3/4" plywood that fits perfectly into a tool box drawer.
Then cut a bunch of dadoes of thicknesses to match the files/rasps.....some wide some narrow.
Some were cut left to right and some back to front based on file lengths.
I can then store the files with one edge in these slots.
It makes it easy to see the  difference and to grab the one you want.
I will try to get some photos.

-brino


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## eugene13

I've always wanted to build something like a kitchen knife block, oh well, one of these days.


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## darkzero

Grabbing me some popcorn. I'm interested in ideas too. I keep a few of my most used files out but my less used files I have thrown in a drawer with the cardboard sleeves they came in. Because they are in the drawer many times I'm too lazy to grab one to use. I'd like to change that.


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## royesses

I use manila folders cut and formed into sheaths to fit the file for protection. Just a few of the many files I have made sheaths for



Roy


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## brino

Okay, here's the promised pictures.......

drawer front: 
I have since stopped using sharpies on my cabinets (too hard to change without removing paint)
I do have some magnetic labels coming from amazon



full drawer contents:
the loooong rasps up front are almost as long as the drawer width



back-left:
these dadoes were cut on the table saw and the ends are radiused so I can push the end of a file and the tang will rise above the surface for retrieval



back-right:



front:



Full disclosure; I removed a couple things from the top of the drawer for these photos: a sleeve of small detail files, a sleeve of diamond files, and a few lengths of bicycle inner tube that I use for protective sleeves when I throw some in a tool-box for remote work.

-brino


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## ACHiPo

brino said:


> Okay, here's the promised pictures.......
> 
> drawer front:
> I have since stopped using sharpies on my cabinets (too hard to change without removing paint)
> I do have some magnetic labels coming from amazon
> View attachment 314117
> 
> 
> full drawer contents:
> the loooong rasps up front are almost as long as the drawer width
> View attachment 314118
> 
> 
> back-left:
> these dadoes were cut on the table saw and the ends are radiused so I can push the end of a file and the tang will rise above the surface for retrieval
> View attachment 314119
> 
> 
> back-right:
> View attachment 314120
> 
> 
> front:
> View attachment 314121
> 
> 
> Full disclosure; I removed a couple things from the top of the drawer for these photos: a sleeve of small detail files, a sleeve of diamond files, and a few lengths of bicycle inner tube that I use for protective sleeves when I throw some in a tool-box for remote work.
> 
> -brino


At the risk of hijacking this thread, Brino your photos showing loose handles remind me how crappy all of the handles I've purchased.  They all seem imprecise--either too loose or too tight.  What's the secret to finding Goldilocks handles that fit just right?


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## brino

ACHiPo said:


> At the risk of hijacking this thread, Brino your photos showing loose handles remind me how crappy all of the handles I've purchased. They all seem imprecise--either too loose or too tight. What's the secret to finding Goldilocks handles that fit just right?



I like the wooden ones with the hardened threaded insert.
They screw on to the file soft shank, stay put during use, but are still removable/swap-able.
Also, they come in numbered sizes, so you need different ones for different size file tangs.

-brino


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## pontiac428

ACHiPo said:


> At the risk of hijacking this thread, Brino your photos showing loose handles remind me how crappy all of the handles I've purchased.  They all seem imprecise--either too loose or too tight.  What's the secret to finding Goldilocks handles that fit just right?


I recently bought a bunch of file handles, and the instructions said to heat the tang of the file with a torch and drive it in with a mallet.  I'd never done the part with the torch, maybe that's the trick...?


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## ACHiPo

brino said:


> I like the wooden ones with the hardened threaded insert.
> They screw on to the file soft shank, stay put during use, but are still removable/swap-able.
> Also, they come in numbered sizes, so you need different ones for different size file tangs.
> 
> -brino


Brino,
Thanks.  I've seen those, but balked at the price.  Do they go on straight? (Another pet peeve of mine is crooked file handles).

Pontiac,
I have not burned handles on.  It should work--it's how a lot of Japanese knives are handled--maybe I'll give it a shot.

Evan


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## TRX

File handle prices seem to go from "higher and I expected" to "you gotta be kidding!"  Somewhere I saw a picture of some files with golf balls for handles.  I bought a box of "recycled" golf balls from eBay.  It took a bit to get used to the spherical handles, but after that I like them.


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## hman

I go to the dollar store and buy putty knives.  Pull out the blades. Then use a center drill to give a start point in the middle of the "smile" on the putty knife handle.  Heat the file tang with a torch and push it on.

As for storage ... no brilliant solutions that I've been able to come up with


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## finsruskw

Well, Gentlemen, here's what I came up with thanks to the ideas offered here and a suggestion from the DW.
They pretty much fill up the drawer.
Now it's on to the punch, chisel & pry bar drawer!


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## pontiac428

You're job's not done.  Where do the riffler files go?  No file drawer is complete without those.

Edit:  No thread files, either.  You'll need them eventually on farm equipment.


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## finsruskw

I give up, what is a riffler file??


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## pontiac428

Ah, not knowing is a valid explanation as to why they're not accompanying your needle file set.  They're the diemaker's file for doing slow, precise detail work.  They can be a lifesaver, or they can gather dust.  Mostly I'm just teasing you about bells and whistles you don't need... or do you?


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## brino

finsruskw said:


> here's what I came up with



Nice and clean.
Good solution!
-brino


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## wlburton

The cheap magnetic tool holders from Harbor Freight work great for holding files.  Easy to see and easy to grab.


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## pdentrem

Brino 
I would need 3-4 drawers for all mine!


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## pdentrem

francist said:


> Scraps of PVC pipe hot-glued together and stuck onto a scrap of MDF for a stand. Dense yet portable, just like me sometimes....
> 
> View attachment 314093
> 
> 
> -frank



Dad and I made similar holders for pens and pencils, that tend to use the most. I now have both of ours. Made of hardwood and poly finish back in the late 70s.
Pierre


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## brino

wlburton said:


> The cheap magnetic tool holders from Harbor Freight work great for holding files. Easy to see and easy to grab.



Do you see any hint of the files getting magnetized?
I'd hate for the fine cuttings to start sticking to the files......
-brino


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## mikey

pontiac428 said:


> Ah, not knowing is a valid explanation as to why they're not accompanying your needle file set.  They're the diemaker's file for doing slow, precise detail work.  They can be a lifesaver, or they can gather dust.  Mostly I'm just teasing you about bells and whistles you don't need... or do you?



Hey pontiac, you blew it, man! We could have filled this thread with descriptions of rifflers, as in gear rifflers and spindle rifflers and riffler adapters for boring heads and such. Each riffler would require a different profile to file it, which is why these files come in sets. We have to take these things on when opportunity knocks, right?   

Just kidding around, finsruskw ...


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## extropic

I have cut slots in wood for custom file storage (no pictures, I'm about 1000 miles away from there). I sized the length of the wood to the length of the files (all 8" files in one holder, all 10" files in another holder, ect). I attached a piece of sheet aluminum to the bottom of the wood. The aluminum is bent up at 90° at both ends with the wood placed equidistant from the bent ends. The distance between the wood and the bent end is sufficient for the file handles to fit. I load files into the slotted wooden block alternating handle at the left, handle at the right, to increase the volumetric efficiency. In summary, the aluminum base make the whole thing portable, the bent (up) ends keep the files from sliding out of their slots and the wooden block is inexpensive and easy to customize with a table saw. This is a classic example of a picture would save 1000 words. Sorry folks.

My current preferred method is to use aluminum heatsink extrusions to organize files. The extrusions are available in a wide range of pitch and height dimensions. I have cut 1" strips of the extrusion for larger sizes (2 x 1" strips for 10" files rather than 10" of extrusion). If the pitch is too small to fit a file, just cut out one fin. I use a base made from aluminum sheet, similar to that described above.


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## wlburton

brino said:


> Do you see any hint of the files getting magnetized?
> I'd hate for the fine cuttings to start sticking to the files......
> -brino


That is a valid concern, which is why I quit using magnets very much around my machines, but I haven't noticed any filings sticking to the files.


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## finsruskw

Wow!!
And here I thought it had something to do with a rifle!


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## brino

pdentrem said:


> Brino
> I would need 3-4 drawers for all mine!



Wouldn't that make it a filing cabinet, not a tool chest? 
-brino


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## Boswell

I just lay my larger files out in a tool drawer side by side and on top of a "yoga mat" liner. For my needle files, I use a metal cigar holder


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## 2volts

royesses said:


> I use manila folders cut and formed into sheaths to fit the file for protection. Just a few of the many files I have made sheaths for
> View attachment 314107
> 
> 
> Roy



My immediate thought on seeing this picture was “_metric file?_”

Pete


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## royesses

2volts said:


> My immediate thought on seeing this picture was “_metric file?_”
> 
> Pete


They are Thread files.

Roy


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