By files, I don’t mean those stored on the PC or documents stored in a filing cabinet. No, I mean those woodworking and metalworking files & rasps that you end up accumulating over a period of time. My collection includes what I’ve bought over 40 odd years, but also what I inherited from my father.
Up until now, I had never really done anything to look after my files, and storage meant throwing them into a drawer in my workbench. So I decided I needed to do better.
1st Step: I went through my collection and threw out those that didn’t seem worth keeping – in most cases these were cheap files that had lost their edge.
2nd Step: The files needed cleaning so I quickly wire brushed them then left them to soak overnight in a bucket of citric acid (made my mixing powdered citric acid obtained from the supermarket into a bucket of water). Then when I pulled them out of the citric acid I washed them thoroughly with clean water, gave them a good brushing with a file cleaning brush and sprayed them liberally with WD40. It is amazing how much sharper most of the files felt after this process.
3rd Step: Many of the files didn’t have handles or had handles that were split or loose. Thanks to the cheapness of the Chinese online marketplace TEMU, I was able to purchase 25 11cm long wooden handles for less than $1 per handle (you can see some of them in the photo above). I then fitted these handles by heating the file tang to red hot and forcing it into the handle giving a nice secure fit.
4th Step: It wasn’t going to do me much good if I just threw all the files back into the drawer, so I made a file holder to give me easy access to 19 of the more commonly used ones. (Unfortunately the remainder had to go back in the drawer). I used 32mm and 25mm PVC pipe to create a separate holder for each file, boxed these into a single container and then mounted on the side of my disc & belt sander.
