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I Forge Iron

Cold filing VS hot filing


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Hot filing is usually done with a very coarse file or a farrier's rasp. It has to be done fast while the steel is hot enough - yellow to orange. The result is much coarser than cold filing but like woody says, it hogs a lot of material. If you are good enough, cold filing can produce surfaces accurate to a machinist prescision. A common use of hot filing is to remove the rag left by a chisel cut. Finally if you do cold file a forged piece, its best to remove some of the scale first because the scale is very abrasive and wears the file.

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Don't forget to run in your new files on some soft material first (brass)to prolong its life,

Just cleared an old blacksmiths garage for his family, and found a couple of boxes with some new Tyzacks Files made in the 1940's and wrapped in their original waterproof brown paper, now being found good working homes.

They were also wrapped in a newspaper dated 1945, with a couple of interesting pictures and articles, one stating Eva Braun made Hitler wear pyjamas, and another with a picture of a Mr Joyse,aka "Lord HAW HAW" famous or rather infamous for his radio propaganda broadcasts during the war, he was pictured between guards as he was recovering from a hip wound, sustained when he was apprehended. Fascinating stuff

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A hotfile will save the day sometimes. I keep round and flat. A good sharp file for cold work will also be just the thing sometimes. Keep them in a wooden box or drawer. Wrap them in paper. Buy a good file card with a pick. You want handles on these files. Even a cob will work but they sell handles.

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A hotfile will save the day sometimes. I keep round and flat. A good sharp file for cold work will also be just the thing sometimes. Keep them in a wooden box or drawer. Wrap them in paper. Buy a good file card with a pick. You want handles on these files. Even a cob will work but they sell handles.


Tractor supply sells discharge hose by the foot it wooks really well to protect your file from banging around...
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