Metal Working Files...Which?

David S said:
Around these parts "chalk" is not all that popular, so I have been using "welders chalk sticks". They are about 5" long and have a rectangular cross section.

Any comments on whether this stuff works as well as railroad chalk?

David
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Dave, I thought that welder's chalk was soapstone and not chalk (calcium carbonate). I may be wrong but I don't think they're the same. Chalk is made from ground up limestone mixed with clay and colorant and its dirt cheap. As for how well it works, I'll leave that to those who actually know what they're talking about.
 
mikey said:
Dave, I thought that welder's chalk was soapstone and not chalk (calcium carbonate). I may be wrong but I don't think they're the same. Chalk is made from ground up limestone mixed with clay and colorant and its dirt cheap. As for how well it works, I'll leave that to those who actually know what they're talking about.
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Yes I understand that it is soapstone as well. Just curious regarding the effectiveness difference...if anyone knows.

I do a lot of filing of aluminum, so I have special aluminum specific files that avoid pinning without chalk.

David
 
darkzero said:
Around here we have 99 cents stores. Yrs ago I bought a pack of sidewalk chalk the kind that kids use. Works for me. They're really fat in diameter, will probably last me a lifetime.
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Yeah, you don't have to buy a boat load of it neither!
 
Soapstone works pretty well. That's what I use if it's handier than the chalk. I can't say I've ever tried it on jewelers files, so can't comment on any comparison in that application, but for general shop filing soapstone seems to work equally well.
 
The RR chalk on Amazon is $50/box. I like that the pieces are very big. I'll use my blackboard chalk until I find a smaller package of RR chalk.
The kid stuff seems very soft to me, kind of waxy. I just want to preserve my expensive and vintage Nicholson USA files as long as possible.
The USA vintage Nicholson files are expensive, especially the Brass flat files. I'm making my own Emory stick files for Brass. ClickSpring has a video
on how to make them cheap.
 
EmilioG said:
The RR chalk on Amazon is $50/box. I like that the pieces are very big. I'll use my blackboard chalk until I find a smaller package of RR chalk.
The kid stuff seems very soft to me, kind of waxy. I just want to preserve my expensive and vintage Nicholson USA files as long as possible.
The USA vintage Nicholson files are expensive, especially the Brass flat files. I'm making my own Emory stick files for Brass. ClickSpring has a video
on how to make them cheap.
Click to expand...

See the link I posted on ebay - 20 bucks for several lifetime supplies for several people.
 
David S said:
Yes I understand that it is soapstone as well. Just curious regarding the effectiveness difference...if anyone knows.

I do a lot of filing of aluminum, so I have special aluminum specific files that avoid pinning without chalk.

David
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Soapstone is magnesium/talc created with heat and pressure, and chalk is limestone, a sediment rock. Soapstone would work but if your buying choose the chalk, it's less expensive and works better.
 
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EmilioG said:
The RR chalk on Amazon is $50/box. I like that the pieces are very big. I'll use my blackboard chalk until I find a smaller package of RR chalk.
The kid stuff seems very soft to me, kind of waxy. I just want to preserve my expensive and vintage Nicholson USA files as long as possible.
The USA vintage Nicholson files are expensive, especially the Brass flat files. I'm making my own Emory stick files for Brass. ClickSpring has a video
on how to make them cheap.
Click to expand...
You can always sharpen them when they get dull or chipped. Edit;Actually there's not much you can do with a chip.
 
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