Do modern golf balls not explode in a mess of rubber bands like the old ones did? Why do I feel like I'm being pranked with that suggestion...

Firestarter, Three-piece balls have a core center, a rubber covering of the core and a final coating. The rubber covering may be rubber string wrapped around the core. I don't know that they will explode when drilled, perhaps if you remove the final coating.

It was the ones with a liquid center that I found did not make a good file handle.  I haven't run across any of them in years though.  Sort of like being careful not to forge sodium filled valve stems---bad when it happens but not that common.

On 30/04/2016 at 1:11 AM, coldironkilz said:

I am not a big fella but I do have large hands and really prefer a used 10 pin bowling ball for my file handles, plus the finger holes give me the extra control I find necessary when I am working on finer projects like pendants.

Just laughed so much I think I wet myself.  I now have this picture in my head of you filing a pendant with a bowling ball in your hand.  LOL

On Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at 0:02 PM, David Edgar said:

Just laughed so much I think I wet myself.  I now have this picture in my head of you filing a pendant with a bowling ball in your hand.  LOL

David, I had the same image in my head moments before I made the post. :0

 

Like the old joke about glueing your martini glass to a bowling ball---it may not cut down on your drinking; but it does cut down on the bar fights you lose...

all these posts and not one.

On 30/04/2016 at 10:11 AM, coldironkilz said:

I am not a big fella but I do have large hands and really prefer a used 10 pin bowling ball for my file handles, plus the finger holes give me the extra control I find necessary when I am working on finer projects like pendants.

Sounds like one would need to counts ones fingers after shaking your hand!

 

I've also use a small length of rubber fuel hose as a file handle, but mostly they come with a turned wooden handle that does the job.

I'm a big fan of using champagne corks as file handles. The only problem is that they need to be replaced frequently.

If you need reasons to break out the bubbly, what's the problem? 

On 9/21/2016 at 8:05 PM, SReynolds said:

all these posts and not one.

Useless not these are

Someone at Quad State was selling old wooden bobbins to use as file handles.  Thought it was an elegant solution myself, but for some reason didn't buy any.  They looked just like these:

As stated a few times already by you fine gentlemen, I use dowel, or another cylindrical piece of wood. However I have never needed to use epoxy, I just drill the holes slightly smaller and drive them on, mind you, I use softwood dowel so I don't usually have to worry about them splitting. 5/8-3/4" work great for chainsaw files. 

Lilac branches are great for this application as well because of their pithy core, you don't even need to drill, just push them on. But word of warning with using Lilac; if you bark it, there is a 90% chance it will split so I suggest leaving the bark on.

Viking 

I found a place that buys/sells estates.  Mostly its furniture and similar house hold goods from the estates they buy.  In their junk room I found a big box of old rusty files for like $2 each.  Bought a bunch of them.  Most went in the scrap bin to be used for knives or similar projects but all the handles got pulled off and put on my good files that did not have handles yet.

Resurrecting this thread!!!

I like the idea of hanging my files, but as people have already stated, don’t they come loose from the handle? And then wouldn’t they drop and break?

If the file handle were loose then they could fall. Most likely would not break but could chip if they fell on a hard surface like concrete. 

A good tight fitted handle shouldn't come loose easily just from hanging it from the handle. If you were worried you could add a dab of epoxy to secure the handle to the file better.  

 

If you've ever wondered why people bump a file on the handle end it's done for two main reasons first is to keep the handle tight and second is to bump filings out of the teeth. Bump your file on the bench or better yet the vise before hanging and it'll be hanging there next time you want it even if it's years later. Thomas's trick of using garage sale rake heads is as good a file rack as there is.

Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks for the replies guys! I look forward to implementing them!