Full Product Manual

12
13
The use of stainless steel and
alloy steels has created other
filing techniques. These steels
with hard chromium and nickel
content are tough and dense. This
causes them to be abrasive, which
shortens the life of the normal file.
To overcome these problems, files
have been developed with good
wearing qualities. These files, when
used with a light pressure and a
slow, steady Stroke, will remove
metal and provide a good finish.
Filing aluminum
Aluminum is soft and is difficult
to file, file teeth clog even under
moderate pressure. Filing
aluminum is divided into:
1) Filing roughness from aluminum
castings,
2) Filing sheet and bar aluminum,
3) Filing aluminum alloys.
To produce a good finish, the
Aluminum Type A file has been
developed. The file upcut is deep
with an open throat, the overcut
fine which produces small scallops
on the upcut. This breaks up the
filings and allows the file to clear.
This also overcomes chatter and
prevents too large a bite. By using
a shearing stroke toward the left, a
good finish can be obtained.
Filing brass
Brass is difficult to file because it
is softer than steel, but tough. This
demands teeth that are sharp,
sturdy and cut to prevent grooving
and running the file off the work.
The Brass file has a short upcut
angle and a fine long angle overcut
which produces small scallops to
break up filings and enable the file
to clear. With pressure, the sharp
high-cut teeth bite deep, with less
pressure, the short upcut angle
smoothes.
Filing stainless steel
Bronze is similar in nature to
brass in some aspects, but varies
according to the percentages of
alloying elements.
Average sharpness of the file is
satisfactory for some bronzes,
while for others, a file that can
maintain its sharpness for longer
periods is required. Thus, for the
harder bronzes, a file with a more
acute angle at the top of the tooth
is desirable. This is known as a
thin topped tooth.
The direction of stroke of the file
should be crossed frequently to
avoid grooving with bronze and
brass.
Filing Wrought Iron
Wrought iron is relatively simple to
file. It is soft but only moderately
ductile so it is not necessary for a
file to be very sharp to obtain good
results.
Filing plastics
Hard plastics are dense and brittle,
and material is removed as light
powder. The abrasiveness of hard
plastics requires files with high
sharp teeth. Soft plastics are filed
in shreds so Shear Tooth files
should be used for this
application.
Depending on the density of the
material, Apex Tool Group has
the file that will meet the required
application. Suggested files
are found in the "job by job" file
selector of this book, or you may
contact your Apex Tool Group
Customer Service Representative.
Filing Bronze (Copper, tin or other alloying elements)