sharpening files

[brightspark]

just been having a roundup of old blunt good quality files best way to rejuvenate them is wire brush the dirt of them clean any oil and grease off . i have a bucket of old battery acid . sulphuric . dip them in for 24 hours then take out and wash them off . they will be sharp and nearly good as new

 

[Shox Dr]

Beat me to it

 

[Shedendman]

Another way if you dont have acid wire brush as before,then nip down to tescos get a few bottles of coke(the proper brand mind you) leave em soak for 24hrs,then see the difference

 

[Pete.]

I don't understand how acid sharpens files. To my thinking the acid would erode the sharpest edges quickest.

 

[hareng]

With Pete on this one?
When a file wears it flats spots the tops otherwise known as the sharp cutting edges.
Normal practice at work is to file and we go through many. Went through a stage of having 3 square 12" recut but false economy £2 more bought a new one or thereabouts. Of them go through 1 a week each.

Plenty of sulphuric 19% i will try it for 16hrs.

Must say even the quality makes such as Vallorbe are not as good as they used to be even 6 years ago.

 

[brightspark]

try it as long as there not absolutely knacked .it works a treat dont just take my word for it

 

[scott0031]

Not totally following this thread either! If a file is knackered then its knackered. Being knackered and being clogged are two different things. A file is not knackered if its clogged its precisely that ' clogged'. I'm 99.9% sure all you are doing is removing the softer filed material that is/was clogging the file. This is where good old fashioned engineering techniques come in!

No1) french chalk applied to file before filing softer materials that are prone to clogging a file like ally. It fills the voids and prevents to swarf clogging the file.

No2) A file card, A special type of wire brush directly designed to keep files clean. It's a very short bristled wire brush about 4mm long wires in an even pattern. They are actually very good at keeping files clean! If i can be arsed and remember i will take a piccy of one and post.



Kind regards,



Scott


(ward eng)

 

[Flathead_Dave]

+1 for the file card.

A wire brush is too soft and will,in fact,blunt the file.

 

[Richm]

Agree with Scott0031 on this one, all the acid is doing is unclogging as far as I understand.

 

[brightspark]

Agree with Scott0031 on this one, all the acid is doing is unclogging as far as I understand.

unles u have done it u wont know and just sumise try it then criticise IT WORKS

 

[Shox Dr]

Never tried it, but have known about it for yrs. As others have said a card file* and chalk, is the best way to stop a file from clogging up. But acid is supposed to give them a new lease of life.



*I haven't seen a card file use use, let alone one to buy, since I was in College

 

[brightspark]

just for those that dont believe ive i dipped half the file in acid .after 24 hours removed and washed it then took a mesurment with a caliper . the acid wore 17 thousandth of an inch of the file. so do u still say it just cleans the crap off i will post a picture showing the file with the caliper on both surfaces giving the measurments backing up my statement

 

[brightspark]

[No2) A file card, A special type of wire brush directly designed to keep files clean. It's a very short bristled wire brush about 4mm long wires in an even pattern. They are actually very good at keeping files clean! If i can be arsed and remember i will take a piccy of one and post.

Kind regards,



Scott


(ward eng)[/QUOTE]

heres mine ive been using them for 40 years

 

[Shedendman]

My post wasn't so much on making em sharp again,more the cleaning side,try my tip with the coke though,it does work

 

[mr migwire]

right then guys, ive got maybe a dozen files that could use this treatment,

what i suggest is we post pics of before and afters, im going to try and scrounge up some old batteries today and get the acid out of them.

is there anywhere else i can get mt mitts on acid?

 

[Windy Miller]

I still have my file card that I was issued with as an apprentice in 1978 and I use it regularly, but its got a bit moth eaten now. When I was in the motor trade, I discovered that it was very handy to clean spark plugs with, so it has a bit of a 'bald' patch in the middle now!

I just looked on FleaBay and the only ones I could see are Silverline, whom I have always thought of as a hobby supplier, and not real professional quality. Anyone know where I could get a 'proper' one from?

 

[Shox Dr]

right then guys, ive got maybe a dozen files that could use this treatment,

what i suggest is we post pics of before and afters, im going to try and scrounge up some old batteries today and get the acid out of them.

is there anywhere else i can get mt mitts on acid?

Kwik fit, etc

 

[philpullan]

is there anywhere else i can get mt mitts on acid?

wicks / b and q

look for brick cleaner the stuff builders use to clean mortar off bricks when they have bulid a wall should be around 15%-20%

dont get it on you

phil

 

[mr migwire]

wicks / b and q

look for brick cleaner the stuff builders use to clean mortar off bricks when they have bulid a wall should be around 15%-20%

dont get it on you

phil

i will post some pics up today of all my files and will post some during and after pics too,

 

[pidgeon chit welder]

To clean my files I use to bung my files in the paraffin bath overnight and file card them clean the next morning then compress air them dry and slip them back in the canvass protector roll .
Once a files teeth got shiny it was time for a new one for using a worn file to remove metal would take three or four times that of a brand new file to remove the sanme amount of metal , bunging on any chalk helps stop the file digging in deep and allows a polishing type cut.

The acid thing
For example if the acid takes 17 microns off it will do it all over except for places where it has to dissolve oil first , so in effect you could get an etched surface that looks like a sponge , knowing that a worn smooth file is not really smooth but full of thousands of tiny scratches from abrasion and it has high spots of the teeth missing I agree that the acid etch will make the file grip better and give some sort of gentler file but it will not recut the teeth to that of a new files profile nor will it remove metal at the same rate as a new file.

So summing up I'd go with Brighsparks first post and say they would indeed work and cut nearly as good as a new one and I suspect you could acid clean a file several times before having to buy another .