strange file for a quarter

[steven c newman]

at a yard sale today, picked up a file, with wooden handle. About 8" long not counting the handle. Seems to be a half-round fine wood file/rasp. Stamped near the tang is a picture of some bearded guy, and the words " grobet usa".

just $0.25 for it..... decent deal?

Spent a dollar at that sale. That file, a 1/4" drive breaker bar, a no-name (as of yet, still cleaning it) combo square, with the level in the handle part, and a pair of needle nose pliers, size 6" by Kraeuter-usa, diamond with a "K" inside it, and a number...1660-6.

Feeding frenzy at that sale, was afraid to reach across one table, some old broad was just a-digging through stuff. Looking like she'd have bit off me hand if'n I got in her way...

[steven c newman]

pictures or it didn't happen, right?269153269154269155Seems the group photo was a little too big,so try again269156remember, all this cost me a whopping dollar bill...

[george wilson]

It is just a half round file,no rasp. Can't see the bearded guy. Picture blurred. Half round files that are somewhat narrower,with a high crown are called ring files because they have a small enough width and a high enough arch on the curve side to file the inside of rings. It could be a ring file.

If a file has shiny teeth,it is dull.

[steven c newman]

Hey, it is just a quarter spent, if nothing else, Ican re-use the handle on others.

shiny parts are from wire brushing to remove all the rust.

Oh, bearded guy is there, just a cheap camera doing the pictures.

Any ideas on the combe square? Haven't found any names on it, there is a place for a scriber to go, though. Knurled knob is steel, just a bit rusty. Checked it for squareness, yep, when tightened down, it is square. Haven't checked the level yet, but don't think those size of level are much anyway.

Might get out the black vinyl tape and tape the handles on that pair of needle nose pliers. seem to be good shape otherwise.

Breaker bar might go in the set with all the 1/4" drive sockets and drivers. Ball seems to move ok to lock on the sockets with.

Spent more on a 2-ton floor jack to haul around in the van, by $2.

Did see a saw today, about 26" long, crosscut, and sharp. First time I have seen a plywoodie handle, and phillips bolts. Passed on that one...

Might try to get a better photo of the "Bearded Guy" for George's eyes to see with.....

[David Weaver]

no real need. Grobet usa are a line of indian made US pattern files that are decent quality. Save it in case you want to forge it into a chisel or something. It appears to have some rust on the teeth. No clue on the combo square, but the only thing that matters is that it is dead square. It's the kind of thing you'd find around here on an assorted tool desk for a buck or so.

[Tony Shea]

I wouldn't waste too much time trying to figure out who made the square. If it's square use it and if it's not throw it out. Other than that it isn't worth more than you paid for it, they are a dime a dozen.

Although I did pick up my Starrett 12" combo square at the Tool Barn in Bar Harbor a couple years back, which sells lots of antique tools. I'm not a big fan of buying something like that used but this square was obviously was rarely used. It seriously looked as though someone just unwrapped it. But I still ran the risk of it not being square when I got it home. It turned out to be typical Starrett precision and now is my go to square for larger pieces. I use a 6" Starrett for most my work but paid full price for that one. The 12" only set me back $10 so I thought it to be worth the gamble of it not being square. I was worried the perfect condition was a sign of something being wrong with it. Chalk it up to another score at my local Tool Barn.

http://www.jonesport-wood.com/Tool%20Barn%20Tour%20Nov%202004/Store%20Tour%2031.jpg http://www.jonesport-wood.com/Tool%20Barn%20Tour%20Nov%202004/Store%20Tour%2011.jpg http://www.jonesport-wood.com/Tool%20Barn%20Tour%20Nov%202004/Store%20Tour%209.jpg

http://www.jonesport-wood.com/Tool%20Barn%20Tour%20Nov%202004/Store%20Tour%2010.jpg http://www.jonesport-wood.com/Tool%20Barn%20Tour%20Nov%202004/Store%20Tour%203.jpg


P.S. For those of you with a pile of saws such as the ones in the picture, PLEASE DO NOT pile them like this. Any saw that has been sitting in this pile for a little while takes that bow on. I frequent the store enough that I can grab the newer ones he gets in before they sit there for too long. I am currently running out of room for the saws I've picked up. My girlfriend is a very tolerable girl as I have saws and spokeshaves hanging around everywhere. I also have a spokeshave collecting problem.

[george wilson]

Lucky if the combo square is square. It is a hardware quality pot metal square with a steel blade.They easily get out of square(so do the cast iron ones,but with much more sliding) from sliding the blade back and forth.

If you make a lathe chisel out of the file BE CAREFUL. They are brittle and can snap off right in your face when they snag on wood in the lathe. I had that happen to me in the early 60's. I made a real nice skew chisel out of a 2" wide file. Ground all the teeth off,and polished it up real nice. The first time I tried it,BLING,it went shooting right past my ear. And,it was VERY SHARP. Good thing it didn't hit me in the eye! Goggles would not have stopped that heavy slab of steel. It didn't even noticeably snag on the wood. There was no jerking up of the handle. It snagged real fast,and the speed just snapped the blade right off.

Even annealed,file steel is just too brittle. It has a lot of carbon in it.

[Bob Glenn]

As far as square goes, I didn't have a square square until I made one. All the others don't measure up.

[Bill White]

The Kraeuter find is a gem. I have some that have been used a bunch, and they're still solid tools.