I use a small metal files to smooth out the sprue remnants on pieces of styrene plastic when building kits.
How do you clean out the ridges on the files to restore the sharp metal edges?
Rich
I use a small wire brush (from MicroMark) to clean out larger files, and have used an old toothbrush with some success with smaller files. Brush with the direction of the grooves.
73
get yourself a file card. it is a special stiff wire brush type of gadget made just for cleaning files. also try the tip of a number 11 hobby knife blade for stubborn crud stuck in the grooves. chalking the file first helps prevent material from sticking so tight. just use any stick chalk you have handy.
charlie
As Ray says, a wire brush will clean the material out of the grooves. If the filing edges are dull, there really isn’t anything you can do to restore the file unless someone in the vicinity has a file grinding machine. I would think a new file is the way to go.
For many years I have used a common file card. They are made specifically for cleaning files. I doubt any model railroaders would ever wear out a steel file.
Rich
What usually happens is the grooves are filled which makes people thing the file is worn.
There may be really cheap files being sold. No idea.
The file card is essentially a wire brush with very short bristles.
Rich
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If you want more info, search for file card brush.
Rich
You can pick up one at Harbor Freight in your area or online, but most home centers should have something similar. I also use an “eraser” that is used to clean sandpaper for reuse. It is a rectangular eraser made of material like some art erasers but is made of harder and more resilient material. It will also help to clean files. Cedarwoodron
Ace hardware (and I would guess most hardware stores) have File Cards.
Thanks for all of the valuable info, guys.
I have to chuckle at the thought of a file card. I have had one for years, had no idea what it was used for, and no idea what is what properly called. I have always referred to it as a “wire brush” which I have used on occasion to remove paint chips from wood surfaces around the house.
In fact, i have no idea where it came from, when I got it, or who might have given it to me. I suspect that it came from my father years ago who often brought over a tool in my early years of home ownership.
That said, I will give it a try to restore my metal files to their original condition.
Rich
Mini files may not wear out using them on just plastic or wood, but if they’re used on any metal, most of them will wear out pretty quickly, as most of the $5-$15 sets are not high grade tool steel, but they are cheap enough to buy new sets as they wear out.
Rich, you may be confusing a wire brush with a file card. A wire brush has “bristles” about 1 inch long and a file cards bristles are only about 1/8" long and stick out of a flat piece of wood about 1/4" thick.
Bruce,
You are right. I did confuse the two. When I clicked on the link provided earlier in this thread, I saw the wire brush photos and assumed that they were file cards. It looks like some of those tools are combination wire brush / file card devices, the brush on one side and the “card” on the other side. I do, indeed, have a wire brush, not a file card.
Rich
The one thing that a file card doesn’t seem to help much with is when solder is stuck on the file’s surface. You can get the biggest part of it off, but its hard to get that last bit ouff with the file card. Anyone have a solution for this?
I have used a suede leather brush with fine brass bristles to clean the fine teeth of my hobby files. I’ve had this brush for years and don’t know if they’re still available. In any case, I would think that you’d want a brush with fairly fine bristles to clean the files that are used for hobby applications.
Would the fine tip of a hobby knife remove with solder in the teeth of a file?
Bob
Hi mlehmam
This sounds like a case for the right tool for the right job.
The normal metal files are not meant for soft metals in fact they will hopelessly clog it.
There is a file for soft metals like lead aluminum etc it looks very similar to a wood rasp in that it has curved wide spaced teeth, so the soft metal doesn’t’ hopelessly clog the teeth
These can be cleaned out with a bit of thin copper quite easy if the teeth do clog up
Hope this helps.
regards John
Hi charlie9
Would not use a hobby knife one slip could end with a few weeks unable to make models.
The kinfe blade is also hardend and tempered so could blunt the cutting edge on the file teeth
Thin copper is good for removing any pinning Opps sorry thats tech talk for stuborn crud caught in the file teeth.
Chalk is also good when draw filing something for a nice finish rather than roughing down to size.
regards John
I have used a wire brush in my Dremel tool, angling the brush parallel to the file grooves. Use speed step 1 or 2, any higher than this is too high an RPM for the rated speed of the wire brush and it will start flinging wire bristles everywhere. Use eye protection!
For my larger 6" files when I get softer metal stuck in them I use a sharp scratch awl to pick out the material. File cards work for most cleaning. Using chalk as mentioned also helps. and remember to only file in one direction.
Paul
Bob,
Good tip on the suede brush. May be hard to locate, but I’m sure they’re still out there.
Yeah, a knife tip would help with a small spot of solder, but I just finished building a brass loco and the issue is rather more extensive. I may just buy a new set of jeweler’s files, these have served me well.
I suspect that the solder I’m still seeing after a good brushing is merely surface and not really a buildup. It’s shiny so catches the eye, but may not really interfere much with the action of the files.