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Needle File Set: Six Small Files Cut by Hand
Needle files are small files for fine work, where a good finish matters more than speed, sold in sets of shapes: pillar, half round, barrette, square, round and triangular. They are made like any file, only smaller and with finer teeth: forged, annealed, cut tooth by tooth with a chisel, and hardened in brine.
The picture: our diagram, six tapered needle files and their cross-sections.
Advanced
Three days
Instructions
1
1
Forge six blanks
Forge six blanks
Draw tool steel to six thin blanks, each with a tapered part for the teeth and a round handle part. Shape the sections in the swage block: pillar (narrow flat), half round, barrette, square, round and triangular.
Materials for this step:
Octagonal Tool Steel Bar0.15 kg
Charcoal2 as requiredTools needed:
Blacksmith Forge
Anvil
Cross Peen Hammer
Swage Block
Blacksmith Tongs
Welding Gloves
Safety Glasses2
2
Anneal and true
Anneal and true
Anneal the blanks: no hotter than blood red, cooled very slowly out of the air. Grind and file the faces true, or the teeth will not be even.
Tools needed:
Blacksmith Forge
Grindstone
Metal File3
3
Cut the teeth
Cut the teeth
Raise fine teeth with the file-cutting chisel, one blow and a small even step at a time, under a loupe. Turn each blank on the pewter plate to cut the next face. On the barrette cut only the flat face; leave the other sides smooth (safe).
Tools needed:
File-Cutting Chisel
Cross Peen Hammer
Anvil
Pewter Plate
Magnifying Loupe4
4
Harden, do not temper
Harden, do not temper
Heat each file evenly to its hardening heat and plunge it into cold brine. Then reheat the handle part alone so it is not glass-hard.
Materials for this step:
Salt0.5 kg
Water5 litersTools needed:
Blacksmith Forge
Bucket
Blacksmith Tongs
Welding Gloves
Safety Glasses5
5
Steel for a set of six
Steel for a set of six
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Materials
4- 0.15 kgPlaceholder
- 2 as requiredPlaceholder
- 0.5 kgPlaceholder
- 5 litersPlaceholder
Tools Required
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