Files as steel for scrapers?

[Richard Dooling]

I have, in my motley collection of tools, some scrapers made from old files. Is this acceptable? I’ve read that files are too hard and are therefore prone to snapping.
Are there other sources for tool steel that I might commonly find around the shop or am I thinking too simplistically? A common occurrence.

Thanks, Richard


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[Mike Minto]

i'm no metallurgist, but i'd think they would be too brittle, and prone to snapping/chipping.

[Brian Greb]

Richard,
Files are tempered and hardened to cut steel so they are brittle and very hard, thus can snap when extended over the tool rest to cut. Old timers used to use files but we now have grater access to better steel these days. A better more recommended source for common tool to turn in to scrapers are inexpensive chisels, HF has some good ones for around $7. You can also use drill bits (paddle bits make good scrapers) and screw drivers (a Philips head makes a nifty 3 point tool).

Just my 2 cents.
Brian

[Prashun Patel]

You're better off fashioning yr old files into bench or lathe chisels.

Commercial scrapers are so darn cheap, IMHO it's not worth the effort to make them yrself.

[Mark Hubl]

Here is an older post that may be helpful. To work with files they should be annealed first, to make the metal workable. There is some discussion of this in the thread.

http://70.169.135.35/showthread.php?p=112838

[Brian Greb]

You're better off fashioning yr old files into bench or lathe chisels.

Commercial scrapers are so darn cheap, IMHO it's not worth the effort to make them yrself.

I reiterate files are brittle... I don't think it is good practice to make a tool that is used in a prying or striking conditions. The metal can brake due to micro fractures or internal weak points. You can make files in to tools but you have to either re-work the metal( i.e. blacksmith work), or turn them in to simple tools that won't get much use(shop ornaments).

[Jim Underwood]

I reiterate files are brittle... I don't think it is good practice to make a tool that is used in a prying or striking conditions. The metal can brake due to micro fractures or internal weak points. You can make files in to tools but you have to either re-work the metal( i.e. blacksmith work), or turn them in to simple tools that won't get much use(shop ornaments).

Actually....

Some old, high quality Japanese bench chisels were quite prone to breaking if you used them for "prying".

It's actually not quite "cricket" to pry with a chisel is it?

[Richard Dooling]

Thanks everyone. I sure am glad I have a resource like this. I probably would have assumed these were fine to use and that would have exposed me to an unnecessary hazard. Looks like I have a little shopping to do.

"Of course I had to buy these honey - it's safety equipment!":rolleyes:

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[Prashun Patel]

Brian-
I defer to your experience, but I have a few chisels that I bought at a garage sale that were converted old files. They work fairly well. Granted, I ain't no craftsman...

[Bernie Weishapl]

Richard I can tell you from experience and 9 stitches later files should NOT be used as turning tools. They are to brittle and if you get a catch it will snap and the broken edges are like a razor blade.

[Frank Van Atta]

I have several files that I made into scrapers about 10 years ago, and I use them almost every day. These are 1" files about 3/8" thick, and I "annealed" them by heating them cherry red with a torch and then letting them air cool before shaping them. After I had the shape I wanted I heated them cherry red again and quenched them in water to "reharden" them. They work fine. I keep them very sharp and use them for outside shaping and hollowing - different shapes for each purpose, of course.

[Steve Mawson]

I just picked up a piece of HSS from Stubby in St. Charles, MO. It is 3/8 sq and 8" long. $12.00 shipped. Made a handle for it and have ground as a round nose scraper. Seems to work quite well. Probably other places to get tool steel.

[Ryan Baker]

I have several files that I made into scrapers about 10 years ago, and I use them almost every day. These are 1" files about 3/8" thick, and I "annealed" them by heating them cherry red with a torch and then letting them air cool before shaping them. After I had the shape I wanted I heated them cherry red again and quenched them in water to "reharden" them. They work fine. I keep them very sharp and use them for outside shaping and hollowing - different shapes for each purpose, of course.

What you are doing is even more dangerous than using the file directly, because you haven't tempered it. Straight hardening without tempering (assuming you got it hot enough and quenched it fast enough to really harden it) makes the metal very brittle and prone to developing stress cracks just sitting there. You may have been lucky using this tool for ten years, but it only takes one good catch to send shards flying. Using un-tempered tools for turning is simply a very dangerous practice and should not be recommended to anyone.