Files ???
- Thread starter bratwurst
- Start date
We always bought Nicholson files at work. When we started getting the Mexican files, we started to have issues with heavy gouging. Also every flat file had a slight arc to it. We file mostly aluminum parts. Really screwed some of them up. We are about to order again, guess we will see what the second batch to us is like. Luckily everybody had their older files and have been using them.
jimmyin3D
Banned
If looking to buy new the Bahco Portugal made files have been great for me. Also have a Hazet brake file that’s super beefy and thin enough to fit into those nooks. Super handy as mentioned by many others when working with metal shaping, rust removal, you name it. It’s like sandpaper when working with wood, you need it for about every job.
four.cycle
Well-known member
Nicholson USA NOS:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8278524#post8278524
( * lots more to choose from. I just posted the ones at the bottom of the price range *)
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8278524#post8278524
( * lots more to choose from. I just posted the ones at the bottom of the price range *)
One thing they excel at with practice is letting you feel a high spot. Say some doofus bashed the end of a shaft with a hammer and peened both the end of the shaft and the keyway. With files you can feel the high spots and work them back to match the rest of the profile. Same deal if you took the ball end of your ball peen hammer and smacked a steel plate with it, the dimple would have an eruption around it. With a file you can feel that high area and work it down.If the file is not flat it will not work as well 
.
They come single cut and double cut, single cut is used for finish work. They come in many shapes, a "mill file" "******* cut" is a really common file. The other files I use are round and half round for deburring the edges of round holes and where a hole was drilled into another hole.
any oil on the file or work will cause problems. Some steel alloys like D2 you almost cannot file it if you wipe skin oil onto it first.
When they were used by a lot more people in a far larger quantity shops actually sent them out to be recut. These days they are a throw away. Some folks have said you can get a bit more use out of a worn one by sandblasting it, never tried it myself.
Back to the OP IMHO "sets" of files will give you a bunch of stuff you might never use. I'd get a good quality mill *******, a round (also called rat tail) and a half round. You want to keep them from just bouncing around inside a drawer with other stuff, and you do not want them magnetized.
I did buy some of the Lowes Kobalt files a few years back and they were not bad for the $$, and came with handles, maybe Nickolson.
Bill
.They come single cut and double cut, single cut is used for finish work. They come in many shapes, a "mill file" "******* cut" is a really common file. The other files I use are round and half round for deburring the edges of round holes and where a hole was drilled into another hole.
any oil on the file or work will cause problems. Some steel alloys like D2 you almost cannot file it if you wipe skin oil onto it first
.When they were used by a lot more people in a far larger quantity shops actually sent them out to be recut. These days they are a throw away. Some folks have said you can get a bit more use out of a worn one by sandblasting it, never tried it myself.
Back to the OP IMHO "sets" of files will give you a bunch of stuff you might never use. I'd get a good quality mill *******, a round (also called rat tail) and a half round. You want to keep them from just bouncing around inside a drawer with other stuff, and you do not want them magnetized.
I did buy some of the Lowes Kobalt files a few years back and they were not bad for the $$, and came with handles, maybe Nickolson.
Bill
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RTM
Well-known member
I didn't take individual pictures of before except bundled for shipping, but can do some after pix.
I have good ones, and red tanged ones, which is their ID for "don't send them back again". Those were determined to be not decent enough for resharpening. Previously (5+ years ago), they didn't charge for those, but now there is a slight charge.
The total was $285. I sent them down in a large flat rate Board Game box, so it cost me $20. They returned them in 2 UPS packages for $45.
The pile on the left is 128 files, sharpened for about $210. The right pile is 121 files, sharpened for about $30.
Average cost for just the good files was @2.25, completed stuff ranges from 16" half round down to 5" triangle, and some rifflers and swiss needle files
Here is their price list. Not sure how accurate their new prices are anymore.
A broken version for those who don't want to click through.
Size Type New File(s) Resharpen
14" Half Rnd ******* $ 15.00 $ 3.08
14" Flat Smooth or Lathe $ 15.50 $ 3.08
14" Flat ******* $ 12.00 $ 3.08
14" Mill ******* $ 13.50 $ 3.08
12" Round ******* $ 9.00 $ 2.64
12" Half Rnd ******* $ 12.50 $ 2.64
12" Flat ******* $ 9.50 $ 2.64
12" Mill ******* $ 10.50 $ 2.64
10" Mill ******* $ 6.00 $ 2.20
10" Half Rnd ******* $ 10.00 $ 2.20
10" Flat ******* $ 7.50 $ 2.20
10" Multi-Kut or All-Purpose $ 10.50 $ 2.20
8" Mill Smooth $ 6.75 $ 1.76
8" Flat ******* $ 6.00 $ 1.76
8" Half Rnd ******* $ 8.35 $ 1.76
6" Mill ******* $ 4.00 $ 1.32
6" Flat ******* $ 4.50 $ 1.32
4" Mill Smooth $ 5.50 $ 0.88
4" Flat Smooth $ 5.50 $ 0.88
14" Horse Rasp - Standard $ 25.00 $ 6.00
12" Flat Vixen $ 25.00 $ 6.00
6 1/4" Needle File $ 10.50 $ 2.00
10" Pillar Swiss $ 25.00 $ 5.00
#49 Nicholson Cabinet Rasp $ 45.00 $ 8.50
#50 Nicholson Cabinet Rasp $ 55.50 $ 8.50
jeffmoss26
Well-known member
Locksmith here. I have 3 dedicated files at work that are only used for keys. A fine round, a fine pippin (teardrop) and a warding file. A medium flat file gets used on steel or aluminum.
PelicanPines
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Today I used a chainsaw file to widen a hole in a chunk of brass I was fabricating to hold my swing arm desk lamp. Needed 61/128 ... ain't got that drill bit. Going up would wiggle... Going down... Needed a file and 15 minutes.
Never heard of chalking files. Strange no one has mention file cards.
RTM
Well-known member
I have a couple, don't expect most people to be able to find them, so didn't mention them.
I have heard of it, never had a cause to do it so far. File cards work well but I'll admit I do not know where to lay hands on mine right now
.HenryAZ
MEMBER EMERITUS
I use file cards as well, but they are for removing metal bits from the file's teeth after the fact. Chalking prevents the metal bits from sticking in the teeth to begin with, keeping the file clean. You can buy file chalk pretty cheaply (Brownells). It is just bigger sticks of blackboard chalk (bigger diameter and longer). Give it a try. It might surprise you.
RTM
Well-known member
The important note is they did sharpen them, at a reduced price, but don't want them to come back again.
Their bar is pretty high. I think they want to deliver an "as good as new" file when they charge full price.
I've shared some of the files they've sharpened and red tagged with friends, and they felt they were as good as anything they currently had in their shop. The few I've looked at had probably been rusty previously, and lost a few teeth, or had a chip out of somewhere.
I won't get to pics tonight, but by the weekend. Check back Monday
RTM
Well-known member
Here are some pics of good and not good files after Boggs sharpened them.
Red tips are the NG ones
Red tips are the NG ones
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