Product Brochure

Filing Bronze (Copper, Tin, or
Other Alloying Elements)
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.
For almost every density material, there is a Crescent Nicholson
®
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 Crescent Nicholson
®
Tools customer service
representative.
Filing Soft Materials
For soft materials such as
aluminum, brass, copper, plastics,
hard rubber, and wood, a Shear
Tooth file provides fast material
removal with good smoothing qualities. The combination of the
single cut and the long angle helps the shear tooth file to clear.
Because of the long angle the file has a tendency to run to the
left on narrow surfaces. This can be overcome by filing with a
diagonal stroke to the right.
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The Wood Rasp is a coarser cut than
the cabinet rasp and is made primarily
for the rapid removal of stock. For finer
woodwork, the Cabinet Rasp provides a
means of bringing mortise-and-tenon
joints to a proper fit. The Horse Rasp is
used for shoeing horses. The Plater’s
Rasp is available for light hooves such as racehorses.
Woodchuck
Woodchuck Rasp is a Chisel/
Rasp combination tool used for
a variety of wood working tasks. Each tool features a flat Wood
Rasp on one side and a Half-Round Wood Rasp on the other.
There are edge teeth for those hard to get spots. The chisel point
features an extremely sharp, polished and ground blade.
Care of the File
The teeth of the file should be
protected when the file is not in use
by hanging it in a rack or keeping it
in a drawer with wooden divisions.
Files should always be kept clear of
water or grease, since this impairs
the filing action. It is advisable to
wrap the file in a cloth for protection
when it is carried in a toolbox.
The file teeth should be kept clean
at all times by using a file card, or a
wire file brush, to clear the grooves
between the teeth.
Safety
For safety reasons, a file should never be used without a tight
fitting handle. Serious accidents can result if the handle becomes
detached exposing the sharp point of the tang.
Crescent Nicholson
®
offers a variety of different size
file handles produced in traditional wood, or from
modern plastics. If you need help in selecting which
handle is right for your file, contact your Crescent
Nicholson
®
customer service representative today.
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