Draw filing

[Mauser06]

Curious how "common practice" draw filing is.

Do you draw file every barrel?  (Octagon barrels for the guy that is about to say "not the round ones..)

I have 2 from Bobby Hoyt, 1 from Rice and 1 from Colerain...Im not sure any of them will benefit from being draw filed...

I can see sanding through the grits...

Just curious...maybe I'm missing something.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I draw file all barrels, octagon and round.  Then I polish with abrasive cloth and  paper down to 320 for a coarse brown, or to 600  for a rust blue or a polished brown.  It takes too long to polish through machining marks without drawfiling first.
Hold the file handle in your left hand if you PULL (draw) the file toward you for the4 cut, and the opposite if you prefer to cut with a push.  The file only cuts in one of  those directions.

[Pukka Bundook]

As Taylor says, ...Takes too long removing milling marks with grit paper.

For homemade barrels, they Need draw-filing as well.  All exposed flats anyway!
I use a reaper-file usually.

[Mauser06]

Thanx Taylor.

I can see some of the machine marks being too much to polish out by hand.

Didn't know for sure if it was worth the time and effort to chase out those somewhat minor imperfections or not..none of my barrels have any major flaws.

[smallpatch]

It also cleans off all the residual "gunk" before you go to paper.  Paper lasts longer as well.
If a barrel is to be left brown, or sanded off to "age" the barrel, I don't go any lower than 220.  Browning bites a little better.

[Mike Brooks]

I draw file all barrels , octagon and round and oct/rnd. No polishing after that, for me anyway.

[Mauser06]

Thanx guys! 


Pukka, what is a reaper file?  I tried searching and found stuff that is completely not what I was looking for....lol


I figured certain files are better for the task than others...

What do you guys recommend for a file?

Still collecting important tools. 

[SingleMalt]

I draw file ramrod pipes I make, lock parts, trigger guards, and butt plates, just about any part I can get a long enough stroke so the file will cut.  Adding to what Taylor said, clean your file every few strokes.  This will prevent "pinning" and deep scratches on the part which have to be filed out.

[SingleMalt]

I use a bastard cut mill file for barrels, about 8" to 10".

[Pukka Bundook]

Mauser,

A reaper file is likely more common on farms, for sharpening reaper blades.
Has a fine side and finer on the other. Only cut teeth in 1 direction. handle integral with rest.  Sorry no photo.

Chalk helps if pinning a problem.  some soft material V bad for that!

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Here's the file I use for drawfiling barrels.  It is a Nicholson single cut mill bastard overall length 20"  This file has been used for the past forty years and has polished some 250 barrels, and it shows no signs of aging... (unlike it's owner).  It takes about an hour to drawfile an octagonal barrel, and when I'm finished, I have a pile of what looks like super fine steel wool on the floor under the vise.  I do all flats, not just the visible ones, although it is probably counterproductive.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I just checked out the last image I posted, and the light and the digital stuff going on there has given the teeth of the file a strange look.  The teeth are diagonal and parallel to each other which the photo doesn't indicate.

[Bob Roller]

On octagon barrels I used a 10"long angle lathe file and a bit of threading fluid
and it leaves a nice finish without the emery paper or cloth.Less work also.

Bob Roller

[Flint62Smoothie]

 Chalk & clean the file often too.

But it is not as bad as performing ultra-finish wet sanding, where the paper should be in the rinse more than it is on the work, haha!

[Mark Elliott]

I draw file the flats that show so that they are clean and smooth, and that is my final finish.   I keep my file clean and use chalk.   That way, I have what amounts to a scraped finish on the barrel.    It is smooth and bright.  Based on what I have observed on original barrels,  that should be good enough.   If you look at the bottom three flats of original barrels,  it looks like they took a rasp to those.    The standards of finish on 18th and early 19th century long rifles is not any place close to 21st century standards.   

[Marcruger]

I like the shop photo Taylor.  Now I can see where the magic takes place.  Two thumbs up.   God Bless,   Marc

[Elnathan]

Anyone ever use a finer file, like a smooth cut, in lieu of sandpaper on barrels? I've tried drawfiling using needle files on small metal parts and found that they largely do away with the need for 100 and 150 grit, IIRC. Been awhile....Since drawfiling is more fun than sanding metal, it seems like a big single-cut smooth file would be useful for finishing up barrels.

[WadePatton]

Now I've only filed out a few bbls, but I have to mention that I don't find a benefit to chalking. Matter o' fact, I tried it some and got worse pinning that without. I keep the file clean enough and just don't have a problem that chalking helps.  It does help with soft metals, but I don't use it on steel.

Different (file) strokes I guess.  Also, I push the file.  I learned on a surplus Swedish gun of later mfg. BP bbls are longer but easier and I really like Bob's implications of shorter file= tighter cut.  Any time you can use less sanding paper, the better in my book.

Draw filing metal is a bit like planing wood.  Enjoy, I do.

[Pukka Bundook]

Wade,
But you Push a plane,  and can't push Draw-filing  :-)

[PPatch]

I begin the draw filing using a file similar to Taylor's, the US made Nicholson single cut mill bastard I purchased off of eBay. I do all the flats that will show. If I want a more refined surface I go to finer toothed mill cut Gorbet brand files, #'s 2 and 3, and go over the flats again. I always brush a flat after each stroke to remove the pinnings - if you score the barrel by trapping pinnings beneath your file you create a lot more work. When placing the file on the flat be careful to not mar the surface, and at the end of the stroke lift the file gently off the flat, typically I do about six to eight inches at a stroke. The resulting finish is generally all I need, but I will go to 320 then 400 grit wet/dry emery paper to achieve a higher finish if I feel the need. I lube the paper with mineral oil and began by cross hatching the flats. The paper is wrapped around a steel block. With paper is is very slow going to remove metal.

Living in the south I avoid chalk because it will rapidly absorb water out of our humid air and create the conditions for rust, instead I coat all my files with WD40 which totally prevents rust. In the pix below you can see the large file on the far left, those shorter Gorbet files are toward the left middle.



dave

[WadePatton]

Wade,
But you Push a plane,  and can't push Draw-filing  :-)

You push a Western plane.  Check out the Japanese wood-working techniques and tools. Those planes are pulled (drawn?).

Some of the techniques employed by experienced craftsmen (and Masters) are not necessarily the ones generally taught first. But they are no less effective in removing the material.

I often "flip" the direction of the tool in order to avoid re-securing the work. Especially file work. 

Hey, I nearly always draw a draw-knife.  nearly... 

[Pukka Bundook]

Wade,
Yes.  LOL!
I too have been know to flip things like draw-knives and spokeshaves.  Cantankerous grain makes you do things like that!  :-)
Even pulling  a plane at times......

[Nordnecker]

My introduction to draw filing came at a blacksmithing demonstration held by the blacksmith guild of the Potomac. The demonstrator was Ken Schwartz of Colonial Williamsburg. He showed using the file perpendicular to the workpiece and dragged it back and forth over it. He did not mention whether it was being pulled or pushed. His tongue in cheek remark was something like, "You can tell if it's working by rubbing your finger along the edge as you work."
I've been doing it that way ever since. Push or pull doesn't seem to matter. I end up with the tell-tale pile of steel wool and get results or I change technique. Pinning is rarely a problem but some material is more prone to it than others.
I draw-file almost everything unless it's too curvy to allow it. I use it with all sizes and shapes of files from large to small.