Files

Hand tools
Boring tools
Chisels
Files
Gouges
Grinding tools
Hammering tools
Holding tools (other)
Knives
Layout tools
Micrometer calipers
Planes
Pliers
Saws
Screwdrivers
Sloyd knives
Steel scale
Vernier calipers
Vises
Wire gages

Metalworking
Cutting threads
Drilling
Filing
Hacksawing
Layout metalworking
Nuts & bolts
Riveting

Woodworking
Bolting woodwork
Cutting woodwork
Finishing woodwork
Glueing woodwork
Jointing woodwork
Layout & testing
Layout, using paterns
Lumber & lumbering
Measuring with rule
Nails for woodwork
Painting wood
Screws woodwork
Shaping woodwork
Structure of wood
Try square usage

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The file is a cutting tool made of steel, with teeth cut into the metal. It is used to shape wood or metal. Files are made in various lengths, shapes, and teeth sizes. The length of a file is measured from the point to the heel. The most common shapes are flat, round, half-round, square, and triangular.

• The flat file is made in lengths ranging from 4" to 18"; it is rectangular in cross section, tapering both in length and in width.
• The round file is made in lengths from 4" to 18", tapering throughout its length.
• The half-round file comes in lengths from 4" to 18", having one flat side and one curved side; the edges and the convex side are tapered.
• The square file is square in cross section and its sides are tapered; it can be obtained in lengths ranging from 4" to 18".
• The triangular file is made in lengths ranging from 3" to 12"; it is triangular in cross section, tapering on all sides from the point to the heel.

	The cut of a file refers to the character of the teeth. The teeth are formed by a series of parallel cuts at an angle oblique to the length. They may be single- or double-cut. The size of the teeth varies the degree of coarseness or fineness of the cut. The rougher the cut of a file, and the larger the teeth, the greater the space between them.
	Three cuts are commonly used: bastard, second, and smooth. These are terms which describe the character of the teeth. Bastard has the coarsest teeth; smooth has the finest. A bastard-cut file is used for rough or heavy cutting; it produces a relatively rough surface on the material filed. A smooth-cut file is used for finishing; it produces a relatively smooth surface.

A file should be chosen to match the shape of the surface that is to be filed. The tang should be fitted with a handle and secured in place by holding the point of the file up and tapping the handle on the bench.

The work that is to be filed should be held securely in the vise in such a manner that the file, when placed on the surface of the wood, will be horizontal. The point of the file is grasped in one hand and the handle in the other. The file should cut on the forward stroke. Slow, even strokes must be taken, with the file held steady. A lateral movement of the file should accompany the forward motion.

When a file is clogged with filings it can be cleaned with a file card. A few strokes across the file, following the direction of the cut, will loosen any dust that may be lodged in the gullets of the teeth. The wire side of the file card is used when filings in the gullets cannot be removed by the brush.

The rasp

The rasp is used for rough work when there is a great deal of wood to be removed but not enough to require the use of a saw. A rasp differs from a file in that the teeth are not cut in parallel rows across the metal, but are formed separately. The half-round cabinet rasp which the woodworker uses can be obtained in lengths ranging from 6" to 16". The degree of coarseness may be second-cut or smooth. The rasp is used in the same manner as the file.