My Father gave me some of Grandads tools, what file is this?

[lentuk]

I told my Father I was going to build a rifle and was digging around for some hand tools, files, rasps and the like when he said he had some of Granddads old tools out in the shed, we went out there and he dug out an old tool box, treasure!
What is the strange shaped file for, does it have a particular purpose or??
Also, is there an easy way to get aluminum out of the teeth of a steel file?

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Cut the head off a modern rifle cartridge brass casing, and install a wooden handle into the hole.  Use the mouth of the case to chase the debris out of the teeth of your file.  After about two passes, the file will cut teeth into the brass which will go right to the bottom of the teeth, and clean them out perfectly.  One such case will last you for years, and they are easy to replace for nothing.

I have several files like yours...they don't get much use.

[FDR]

Boggs Tool will re-sharpen then and they come back looking new.

www.Boggstool.com

[snapper]

a file card will help clean them out as well.

Fleener

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Burnishing the teeth of a file with hardened steel wire pins doesn't make a lot of sense to me...that's why I use brass.

[Ky-Flinter]

I second the brass cartridge case file cleaner.  Works great.

Lentuk,
It's really cool that you will get to use your grandfather's tools.  I'm the current caretaker of my great-grandfather's tool-box and tools.  Some of them I can actually use for gun work.

-Ron

[KNeilson]

Lentuk, lucky you. I get a real charge out of using my old "family" tools, of which there is a few files like yours. IIRC for sharpening old small carbon steel circular saw blades. I also agree in NOT using a file card, I was taught to use a block of hard wood. I sure like the case and dowel idea, have to give that a try...

[JCKelly]

Please do not take this personally, but -

It is a Mortal Sin to let two files touch each other.

Those fine teeth are as hard as steel can be, used it left the quench tank without any temper or stress relief.

Touching another file tends to dull them, chip off the fine edge.

[Kermit]

It is a Mortal Sin to let two files touch each other.

In the most recent issue of FineWoodworking they published an idea by a reader. Nail an old shoe to the wall and stuff all your files into it to keep them handy. Apparently they didn't have the benefit of my dad and grandpa correcting such stupidity. If two files even accidentially come into contact, I say an appology to both of them.

[James Tenaglia]

My wife says I own every file known to mankind, but I really don't.
From your photo the file looks like a Cantsaw file, but I am not sure of that.
I have a Cooper Hand Tools catalog that is about ten years old. It lists many Nicholson files and rasps.  It says a Cantsaw file is used for sharpening  crosscut saws with "M" teeth and circular saws and saw teeth with less than a 60 degree angle.
Harry Boggs at Boggs Tool, mentioned in a previous reply,  would be able to ID your file. And when you send files to him for sharpening they come back SHARP.
Jim

[kutter]

I use cartridge cases to clean files of debris. I just flatten the mouth of any handy rifle case I have, usually a 30-06 or the like. I don't cut the head off or install a handle,,just use it as-is.
The flattened mouth conforms to the files teeth in a few strokes as others have commented and cleans the junk out of the file in quick order.

I generally have a few of these 'cleaners' lying around the benches so I don't have to go searching for one every time.
A piece of scrap brass 1/2" wide or so and filed to a dull chisel edge will do the same job for you. Put a handle on it if you want to bother to take the time I guess.

Brass works the best. A flattened piece of copper tubeing can do but most being softer than  brass, it can leave behind the same type of shards of metal stuck in the teeth like the aluminum you are trying to remove.

Process won't dull the file.
 I don't like using a file card,,they never gave me good results anyway regardless of any dulling effect they have on the file.
If your file(s) are dull, send them to a place like Boggs for resharpening. Very inexpensive and first rate results.

...I've got the same set of MillersFalls carving tools. Don't recall where mine came from but they've been with me for a long time. They get a lot of use.

[Eric Krewson]

I use a cheap brass BBQ brush from the dollar store to clean my files, works great. If you ever clog up the teeth in a rasp with a wood like hickory that won't brush out, soak the file in water for a few minutes, this will swell the wood and it will brush out easily. Drying and oiling the file after a water cleaning is a good idea.

[JCKelly]

The miniature arms makers use a square stick of bamboo to clean out their very small, fine tooth files

Or so I learned from Bob McGinnis at Wyandotte

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Great advise, Mr. Kelly.

[James Tenaglia]

I never use files designed for steel on aluminum. There is a specific design for aluminum that does not clog the teeth and produces a nice finish on aluminum. I have one - made in Mexico by Nicholson- but it still works very well. Maybe I got lucky.

[doug]

Lye will dissolve aluminum very quickly and 10 or 15 minutes in it should not harm the file as long as you wash the file off afterwards.  If you can't find any lye, use Drano; the dark stuff in Drano is aluminum chips

cheers Doug