Filing Guides

[niall Y]

In the Metal Working rooms at school, more years ago than I care to mention, I vaguely remember using some form of filing guide. As I remember, every vice was equipped with some, They were L- shaped like jaw protectors but they had a hardened surface to the top. And, having aligned the line to be filed on the workpiece, to the top of these guides, you could happily file away until you reached the hardened surface. It was a very convenient way to accurately dimension metal.

Looking back, they were probably, made in-house, but I don't seem to have come across them since. I can't find anything similar on the internet, except for a rather expensive, over engineered, all singing, all dancing, version, with a carbide surface, used for knife making.

If I need something of this sort, it looks like I'm going to have to make it myself. The most convenient way to do this looks to be to use some angle iron, and then screw some smooth, replacement, vice-jaws to the top. There will be the curved fillet on the internal angle to grind away, to make them seat properly, but, hopefully, other than a bit of drilling and thread tapping, that should be it

Unless, of course, anyone can suggest an alternative. At the back of my mind, I also remember some form of sprung clip - a bit like a flat profile, split pin- that was held in a vice, and might have been used for sheet metal work.

 

[Spectric]

but I don't seem to have come across them since

No I have never seen them but filing and component fitting was something the apprentices spent hours doing and so became very good at precise filing.

What I have found odd is that files in metalwork have a safe edge but in woodworking no such luxury, I suppose you could smooth off one side !

 

[niall Y]

I suppose that on a fairly new, metal working, vice, the jaws themselves , act as a filing guide. Providing, of course, that their tops line up with each other
The guides I remember were replaceable and protected the original jaws, at the same time as providing a gripping, surface less likely to damage non-ferrous metals

 

[Spectric]

Let's not forget the good old engineers blue.

 

[niall Y]

Not to be confused with marking blue

 

[ChaiLatte]

There will be the curved fillet on the internal angle to grind away, to make them seat properly...

Why remove the fillet?

As you are attaching the hardened jaws on top of the angle iron, attach another thin piece of material to the underside of the same surface, such that its thickness equals or exceeds the fillet radius of the angle. Keep it 1mm from the vertical face of the angle to provide corner relief.

That is a better engineered solution anyway: any dross building up in a sharp internal corner (one with no corner relief) will do exactly the same thing as the existing corner radius on the angle, albeit at a smaller scale.

 

[Amplidyne]

It's fair enough wanting a guide, but why not teach yourself to file properly anyway?
It's not that difficult, just practice. You need good files, not too much pressure, and go steady keeping things flat and square, and checking regularly.
I was one of those apprentices 50 odd years ago.
Never took metalwork at school.

 

[Katomi woodsmith]

You could use old files as your guide. Grind off teeth first

 

[Hugh M.]

I made and use these to ensure everything is square and the bolster fits nicely:

Hardened O1.