Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 May 1875 — Filing. [ARTICLE]

Filing.

This seems an easy matter to the uninitiated. A simple thing to run a file over a piece of metal. This is far from being the case; for a skillful workman will, in a given time, cut away a far greater quantity of metal with a file than one who is unskillful, for he makes every tooth spt into the work, instead of nibbing over it. To do this he must adapt the pressure and velocity of motion of the file to the coarseness of the teeth, and the hardness, brittleness and toughness ( Of the material he is working upon. To file flat requires much practice; that is, to avoid rounding the edges of a narrow piece of work. Many apprentices find this a most difficult thing to do. In tact there are some who Dever succeed in filing, smoothing and polishing without rounding the edges of their work. The power of filing squarely and well is one of the marks of a good watchmaker. In filing fiat surfaces it is quite an advantage to use a cork to rest the work upon when the form of it will admit of so doing—place the cork in the vise—use the file with one hand, the pressure on the file being communicated by the forefinger. It is mainly to aid the workman in filing flat that the roundfed or bellied form is given to files .—Exchange.