What mini diamont and non-diamont files are you using ?

fourseas said:
I agree with most members on this issue. I would never spend a fortune on expensive files thinking they will last a life time. They are like sanding disks and drums, they wear out and plug up over time regardless of how often and whatever method you use to clean them.
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Just think about it...why do the same purpose tools have a different price tag? Obviously, to keep the price low they have to do magic/s. Have you ever seen the video on how those files are manufactured (a manual process), just for the sake of understanding what is involved?

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There is no brainer that good tooling steel will cost more, also the machinery involved must be precise for the final product to be competitive.

But, as I said earlier, there is no right or wrong, thanks to the availability, we can choose what we like.
 
Kurt Konrath said:
When thinking about the price of tools we buy, remember long term costs.

You may think lower cost is better but if you buy 2 or 3 over the years they end up costing the same as one higher cost set that lasts a lifetime.

And Paul, investments for the grandkids are always worth the cost!
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That depends on the tool. You won't have to buy 10 sets of $8 diamond files. . .
 
HI ALL MY 55 CENTS I TOTALLY AGREE WITH PAUL AND JIM GREAT SET USE FOR THE MOST SPECIAQL PROJECTS I HAVE BEEN USI9NG 0 TYPE AND THINKINGT MABOUT THE 00 TYPE IT WILL BE MY THIRD SET I HAVE A BAND SAW FROM MENARDS HAD IT FOR LIKE 4 YEARS GREAT, GREA ONE WHEN I BOUGHT ITM IT WAS LOE4SS THEN $100.00 TO EACH HIS OWN. GOD BLESS STAY SAFE ALL DON
 
Jimsky said:
Personally, I don't use diamond-coated files other than to shape PE brass parts. This is the set I use for daily modeling. It is cut #1, and good for both wood and metal.

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This set included all the common shapes you may need. It doesn't include, however, the barret stile file so I bought it separately. Here is my set (below)

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You can buy directly from the manufacturer, it should be less expensive than on Amazon.
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dockattner said:
That looks correct (cut 1 files) but let me double check at home tonight and I'll take a photo as well...
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Thank you both !!! I will look their site. What means cut #1 ?

Thank you !!!
Daniel
 
dockattner said:
Files like these come in various degrees of coarseness/smoothness just like sandpaper does. Cut 1 is a good choice for general usage. If you look at my current build I use cut 1 files a lot...
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Thank you Paul !!! I wasn't aware of that. I was reading at Amazon "Coarse or Fine".
 
I know I'm late to the party, but will add my vote for the Italians here. I DO expect these files to last a life time, especially if you're my age. ROTF One important note however. Find yourself some Camellia oil. After use, I wash with soapy water and tiny brass brush, rinse and they put in the oven to dry completely, then a very light coat of oil. If you wash and air dry they will rust. Like any high end tool maintenance is key to protecting your investment.

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Glardon Vallorbe Escapement Files.​

Not cheap but will last a lifetime. I prefer these because of their quality and small size.
 
DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
I bought a set of metal needle files also on Amazon for $8.00. The quality is good enough for wood work. A premium (expensive) set of files would be used on filing metal. This is because premium quality files are typically harder due to better steel and heat treatment. For wood, there is not much difference in how cheap files perform relative to expensive ones. For modeling, files are one of the least expensive tools in your toolbox. I find that an inexpensive ($190.00) Chinese bandsaw is of great use for making wooden more parts for added details or scratch building. I cut planking strips and all forms of small wooden parts using one. Good hand held sanding blocks and sanding sticks are also particularly useful, as is a good pair of Fiskars scissors shown below ($15 on Amazon) for rigging or even cutting the ends of thin deck planks to length. You get lots of use using all the tools previously mentioned. It goes to show you that the tools you use most are not the expensive ones.

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Thanks for the tip on the Fiskars. Something else I didn't know about and now can't imagine living without!
 
The gummy rubber sticks not only prolong the life of power sanding belts but work well for cleaning and prolonging the life of all other filing, sanding and rasping tools. So, hang on to the short ends of these useful objects for this purpose!
 
I still have most of my collection of all sizes of files dating back from the second half of the '60's, with additions throughout the next 40 years. Some did wear out & were scrapped, but they did have a fairly hard-working life in various engineering work.
 
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