I bought a lot of used double bevel files. Some were still useable but most are not. Does anyone sharpen files or know of a way to diy?
I've read about using acid on files to give them new life but not sure the same would apply here. These files are much more expensive then round files so Someone had to find a way to reuse/recycle them. Round files at a $1 a piece get thrown out.
There is an acid etching process used to restore files to a usable degree, played around with it many years ago- Look up same on web plenty of hits under sharpening files.
Klye, yes! definitive dave can give you the info on where to get them sharpened. And BTW, you may very well get a bunch of guys askin' to buy some of them from ya. The straight across double bevels are very sough after ($$$$). The ones labeled Oberg = big dollars. Great find, I'd love to try one out myself!
Company I worked for back in the '80s, sold Nicholson some machines to clean & sharpen files. About the size of a small house. Files are hardened by immersion in molten salt, then quenching in water. Some salt stays in the tiny gulleys, and some of that is gotten out with acid. The rest of the cleaning & sharpening is done with wet-blast (fine alumina slurry). First shot, directly into the gulleys to clean them, second more than 90 deg away, at the backside of the edges, cutting the relief angle. Room where gulleys were hammered into annealed file blanks was like something out of Dante's Inferno. Maybe 50 machines banging away. They used different machine for round files; didn't get to see it.
So I will tell you what I did. I took 6 Nicholson files, cleaned them with soap and hot water then with carb cleaner and wiped them off with a rag. Then I soaked them in apple cider vinegar for 3 days. Then I cleaned them off with soap and water and then sprayed with WD40. It actually worked pretty well. I will definetly do some more. The file cut well and had good bite without being too grabby. I got a lot of my info from 1 post in this thread. Very good info. How to restore old files? I filed this 84dl chain with one of the files that was soaked.
When using pretty much any file, I almost go overboard in keeping it clean. And by that I mean keeping the fresh metal particle swept out. I use a small brass brush like this. Never got a dedicated file brush but used to use them at my old job, just liked these. Doesn't look like definitive dave ever visited here yet. Under Construction Looks like their website is under construction, but there is an email address for them. It'd be worth it to get them refreshed.
I do use my file card pretty religiously. I also keep my air hose close by to blow off the file and the chain once in a while when I'm filing square or round. The Wood Wolverine you should check out this thread and place your bet.A teaser.......
Awesome....Xcept for the WD-40 part. Any file being used should be OIL FREE ! Period. Anything that can cause a file to "skate" ie. slip without cutting is as bad as dragging it backwards. Normal light oxidation "rust" actually sharpens files.... Just like your acid soak did.
The best way to clean a file is to keep it cleaner in the first place. The easiest way is to fill a CLEAN and DEGREASED file with chalk. The hard kind like kids write on sidewalks with. This will greatly reduce "pinning" (the cramming and jamming of particles in the gullet) and allows swarf to fall free. It also absorbs oil from whatever you are gnawing away at. Seems to be a secret amongst us musheennutz.
Thanks for the tips! I will absolutely try some chalk on the files to see how it works. I just tried the wd40 cause the tread said it was a good idea but in the back of my mind I was thinking I was doing more harm then good.
