Rusty saw files

[Clay Parrish]

I recently won a small lot of NOS saw files. They ended up being a little more rusty than I expected - it's mostly surface rust. Will that affect their performance? I didn't pay much, so I am not bothered, just mostly curious.

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[george wilson]

I don't think that the rust will make too much difference,especially the bottom 2. But,I'd certainly get all the rust off before using them as rust is abrasive. You might soak them in vinegar for a while before using a wire brush type file cleaner,or use some Evaporust,which is a great product sold in auto parts stores. I've never heard anything but praise for it. I'm sure you could re use it too,for that little rust. It does cost a little.

Don't leave the files too long in vinegar. Experiment to see how long it takes for the rust to be loosened. Oil after the treatment.

[Clay Parrish]

I have an electrolysis setup already. That should work.

I think I recall Peter Ross saying to never touch the cutting part of a file to avoid getting even finger oil on it, much less oiling it. He said it would make the file skate over the work. I understand why a derusted part might need to be oiled, but how does that jive with Ross's teachings?

Edited to add: Ross tells St. Roy not to touch the workpiece he is draw filing at about 10m30s into the Woodwright's Shop episode 'File Philosophy'.

[george wilson]

I don't oil my files,but many machinists DO recommend oiling them. Big discussion on a machinist's forum a while back. It does make sense. I oil my hacksaw while sawing and it does help. Certainly machinists use cutting oil on lathe and milling machine cuts. I certainly do. The files I use at my lathes tend to get oily from oil being used to turn the metal on the lathe. They cut fine. I have seen Peter's files with really shiny,dubbed over,worn teeth. Now,those files would be worse to skate!

So,ask yourself the question: A file has teeth to cut metal. Just like a milling machines cutters,or the single cutting tool edge in a lathe. They are oiled. My hacksaw cuts better when I oil it while cutting. So,what is the logical thing to do?

I didn't tell you to USE them oiled,but obviously if you DON'T oil them after exposure to an acid,they will rust worse! They can be washed in detergent after the acid is thoroughly killed if you want to use them dry.

I have just never done it to my other files. No sound reason,except they might retain the filings better and get clogged. So,I use them dry for the most part. Just what I have always been used to. I admit,no logic on my part!

I can tell you that no matter what I ever told Peter,he would not believe it,and took 20 years to figure it out for himself. Stubborn guy. Ask him about the years he spent making new plane irons that were badly dubbed over on their cutting edges. Old time workmen would do that to their plane irons to make them essentially make them plane at a higher angle. Wouldn't listen to me,and he is no woodworker. Peter finally found one that was not used,I guess. Possibly in the Seaton Chest. I wonder if he ever figured out for himself that the popping noise that taps make when you reverse them when threading a hole is from pressure welding at the tips of their teeth. This is very well known in machinist's circles too. Again,he wouldn't believe me.

[Paul Phillis]

Your files aren't that rusty. If you want to clean them only use electrolysis as acids will corrode the cutting edge and make them duller.

[Robert Engel]

I agree with Paul ^^.

I wouldn't touch them with anything just use them like they are.

[mark kosse]

I dunno bout that. I left some bolts in vinegar too long(a week) and the threads came out razor sharp. I've been meaning to experiment with some old files to see if it does that to them. I'm going try some this week and see.

[Patrick Chase]

FWIW I store my "inactive" saw files wrapped in polyethylene-backed VCI paper. I use the poly-backed stuff because some manufacturers leave a light coating of oil on their files and I don't bother to remove that, and the plasticized paper holds up better on contact with oil (though obviously the non-plasticized side must face the file no matter what).

[michael langman]

Clay, I run into the same kind of rust sometimes with my files. I have a drawer full of various files in my tool box, probably over 100 different files.
I will put a light coat of wd40 on a pretty rusty file, and brush it with a toothbrush. Clean up with paper towel.
The wd40 will evaporate and not effect the cutting action of the file.
If very rusty ,using vinegar as stated above, and then wd40 won't hurt.

[Peter Evans]

Citric Acid is probably better than vinegar, works quicker. As you are only removing SURFACE rust, leave them in a hot solution for 15 minutes, take them out and scrub with a stiff toothbrush or similar, and rinse in fresh water.

Then DRY the files thoroughly with a hair dryer to drive out all the moisture. Then wrap in paper and store back in the box they came from.

Minimum treatment is key.

Cheers

[Bob Glenn]

I maybe totally off my rocker, but, I remember reading something about sharpening files by letting them rust a little bit. Maybe soaking in urine? As I recall, the oxidation of the steel happens only on the flat surfaces and not the edges, which supposedly tends to crisp up the cutting edge. Anyone else heard of this? George?

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I considered sending files and rasps out for cleaning / sharpening

http://www.boggstool.com/ (located in California I am in Ohio)
http://www.saveedge.com/ (located in Ohio, about two hours away)



I inherited them from my Grandfather, but they have sat a long time.

[Clay Parrish]

I went ahead and put the worst file in my e-tank for an afternoon. When done, I scrubbed it and rinsed well, then dried it with paper towels. Then, I left it out to see whether it was going to rust up. So far, it looks fine to me.

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