Metal shop files, favorite brands and filing techniques

Totally awesome video! I love it when he makes these kind of videos totally thrashing the trolls. Loved his video on twisting tie-down straps. Instead of calling people idiots like I would do, he just makes a thorough testing jig and full experiment to prove they are idiots.

I'm also interested in what files I should buy. My takeaway from his video is that all my files are probably needing to be replaced, either from age or abuse.

That may have been you Torriem that had made a comment about his channel some time ago, I have not kept up with his video's but have seen a few of them including that strap test one. As to files I know all to well also that for years we had crap worn out files that dad would have bought long ago in his life and so as I grew up I am struggling with these worn out crap files and some of them had teeth knocked off in strips due to having tried to file some hard metal it was never intended to file. That was then though and for so for a long time since then I buy various files and have a drawer with new files only and then my draw of working flat files in various lengths and then a drawer of round files, unfortunately ran out of drawers to keep everything separate but that is the theme. That way when I am using certain sizes of flat file and decide its time to retire it I throw it into the garbage and pull out a fresh file of that size to go into the drawer with the rest of the files I use that are still in good shape. I got so tired of the crap we had around as it skated over the metal and a few filings would come off, what a waste of energy and time for no gain. As to quality, well that I may not have in my drawer with new files that sit there that I assume are going to be decent. It is amazing what one can do with new files to hog off metal with courser ones to doing finer work with fine files, an angle grinder just can't do everything. Having triangle files sure comes in handy sometimes for some things and that includes touching up a damaged spot on a large threaded bolt or even making a square hole for a carriage head bolt. Of course a selection of round files, straight round as well as aggressive tappered round, half round and even square files for that matter which I probably only have one very old small square file.

Nicholson and have always drug back, my father taught me that as a kid, have always done it, and never had anyone I ever worked with question it. But then I learned in the real world, not in school. Have often read about lifting on back stroke, that is absolutely how it is taught in the books and school.

Only time I lift on the back stroke is when doing something very precise, like say saving a crank journal or such, I do it so I can visually see each stroke exactly what is being accomplished.

I use a wire brush to clean files, as in a hand one, have seen some use wire wheel on grinder. Never have had one of them file cards.

If back dragging a file is going to ruin it you should buy better files. When I took a machining class they never mentioned anything about not back dragging a file.

I think Fireball Tools' video firmly puts the myth that back dragging dulls files to rest. And it makes sense too when you think about the hardness of the file vs the hardness of mild steel.