Is a die filing machine usefull in the home shop?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ome
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Denton,
Thanks for the pics! I hope the manual was helpful.
Does the arm fix to the support shaft via a hole and set screw or a slit and clamp.
Yours looks cast. My shopmade arm will not be.
I'm guessing a slit and clamp would be lest traumatic to the post than a hole and set screw.

Daryl
MN
 
Daryl, remember I was toying with a new scroll saw I had for 20yrs. come to find out it has a speed control, I stuck a chain saw file in it
and tried it on a HSS bit that the grinder is to big to get in there. It works. All those yrs and I had it thanks to these posts.
I never thought of a die grinder, one more good addition. tilting table too.
sam
 
Uglydog said:
Denton,
Thanks for the pics! I hope the manual was helpful.
Does the arm fix to the support shaft via a hole and set screw or a slit and clamp.
Yours looks cast. My shopmade arm will not be.
I'm guessing a slit and clamp would be lest traumatic to the post than a hole and set screw.

Daryl
MN
Click to expand...

I put some pics of that area of the arms. They are split on one side with a locking lever and have another split piece under the arm that locks with a bolt tightening the split around the shaft. Each arm rests on one of these split pieces. These would allow the arm to rotate on the shaft but not allow the arm to slide down the shaft.


There is an adjustable stop nut to adjust the position of the arms rotation. Not a great explanation so I got more pics2013-11-28 02.16.56.jpg2013-11-28 02.15.48.jpg2013-11-28 02.16.32.jpgDenton

2013-11-28 02.15.48.jpg 2013-11-28 02.16.32.jpg 2013-11-28 02.16.56.jpg
 
I was looking for a die filer several years ago. I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, so I decided to buy an old Delta 40-440 scroll saw and see if I could convert it. Much to my surprise I found the scroll saw also came with a die filer option. It uses 5" files that now days are hard to come by. However as mentioned other files can be modified to fit it. I've used it a few times over the years and it does an excellent job. In reality it gets used more as a scroll saw than it does a die filer. The nice thing is that it's simple to change from one function to the other, so when the need arises it only takes a few minutes to go from a saw to a filer.

Since this is a multi function machine it probably isn't as robust as a machine made strictly for filing. It certainly fits my needs and since it's over 75 years old and still going strong it must have been built to work.
 
OK, folks ... here's my dumb question about die filers. Whenever I see any kind of instruction about using files, they're always sure to point out that you should lift the file off the work when returning it to the starting point. Dragging a file backwards is supposed to have various negative consequences, including dulling the teeth.

Do die filers have a mechanism for backing the file away from the work during the backward stroke (something like a power hacksaw, perhaps?), or do they run the file straight up-and-down? If the latter, doesn't this shorten the life of the file?
 
no not really, A good set of sharp files in various shapes and a vise are more usefull. I've had a die filler for about 5 years and used it twice. By the time I got all the junk off it, cleaned it off and installed the file best suited for the job, I could have been done with the job useing files and the vise. But if you have everything else go for it. Id trade it and cash in a heart beat for a shaper or surface grinder
 
I ended up with two. Sold one. Glad I kept one.

Some tools don't get used as much as others. Depends on the work you are doing.

Would a hand file work just as well?
Please, understand that you can replace a mill with a hacksaw.

Daryl
MN

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J727A using Tapatalk
 
Old thread but Daryl's post brought it back to the top of the list. I have an Oliver Die Filer and use it from time to time. Some of my projects involve cutting sheet metal with an inside acute angle. I find the die filer with a diamond shaped file MUCH easier and quicker than a hand needle file.

Below is a post where I used my Oliver to work a punch to a scribed line. This is probably (I'm self-taught so don't know the history of die filer usage) how they were originally used. Nice thing with my Oliver is the table angle can be set relative to the file so an undercut can be done. Plus the file moves dead straight up/down on the stroke. I'd have been hard pressed to maintain a perfectly flat surface on the 3/8" thick O-1 steel in the post below. I'd have probably rounded the punch surface a touch doing it by hand in a vise.

The parallel or machine files are pretty pricey if you can find them. They go for around $10 - $20 each. ARTCO in CA and Falcon Tool in Traverse City, MI sell NOS. They cut on the down or back stroke so the work is pulled to the table instead of pushed up. I've heard of guys grinding the tip of a conventional file so it can be mounted in a die filer. Or, silver solder a post to the tip of the file and flip it in the die filer.

Bruce


www.hobby-machinist.com

Erector set part number 'NU' parachute men punch and die

I’m a long time member of the A. C. Gilbert Heritage Society which is primarily a club of Erector set collectors. The ACGHS (www.ACGHS.org) hosts an annual National meeting which this year will be in Huntsville, Alabama. The club is a fairly tight-knit group and most members are known for...
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