Home made needle file handle [1930x2048 - 605KB]

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Home made needle file handle [1930x2048 - 605KB] (pic8.co)

Got a set of nice Swiss needle files for Christmas. It just would just not do to use them withoug a decent handle, so I decided to make one.

Looking for a design, I found this video series where he makes a better copy of a cheap plastic file handle: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPcJ-Edk92DlkazoyqMCi2tQJv6m5Wvvc

From that I made up a quick design: https://pic8.co/sh/DrJM1Q.jpg

First thing to do was to make a copper ferrule. This was done, as I usually do, from 3/4" copper pipe. Thep pipe is hammered over a steel mandrel, occasionally annealing it in the forge. https://pic8.co/sh/b4ZXtr.jpg https://pic8.co/sh/cfj69a.jpg https://pic8.co/sh/XJa4pc.jpg

Next on the list was the knurlled nut. The shaft was turned down to 20.4mm (so the circumfrence would be close to a multiple of the knurl pitch) then knurled. https://pic8.co/sh/g5i8rI.jpg

The next step was to cut an M10x1.0 internal thread. As I don't have a tap for this thread, I would need to single point it. The lathe hard stop that I recently made came in very handy here for determining the depth that I was at. I cut the thread by turning the chuck by hand, as I was threading to a hard shoulder. First time doing a single point internal thread. Needless to say, mistakes were made... If you look closely, you might be able to see the moronic mistake I made in this picture. https://pic8.co/sh/GtBDPR.jpg

Yep, I set the angle of the compound to 29.5 degrees, but I set it from the lathe axis, rather than from the cross slide axis, so I effectively had a 60.5 degree angle. This resulted in shallow smooshed threads that were totally un-usable. Unfortunately, I didn't notice this until I was done, so I ended up having to do it all twice. https://pic8.co/sh/z5jRrB.jpg

https://pic8.co/sh/WE1UZt.jpg

The external thread was single point cut and fine tuned to fit the internal threads. Nothing was actually measured, so the end result might be something like an M9.85x1.0 or something, but all that really matters is that the two threads match well. I don't have any thread wires or anything to measure the thread with anyway.

With the thread cut, I used a center drill to form a 60degree taper in the nose. When I did the second one, I was a bit rushed... which resulted in the tip of the center drill breaking off and becoming stuck in the hole. This took a bit of getting out, but I did eventually get it out, saving the piece. https://pic8.co/sh/Ppp885.jpg https://pic8.co/sh/0AJUAQ.jpg https://pic8.co/sh/cVY5fn.jpg

The nose taper (~45 degrees) was cut, leaving a section to be parted off forming the flat nose tip. https://pic8.co/sh/EHqvq2.jpg

For the other end of the taper, a small spacer with an internal 60 degree taper (made using a center drill) was cut and parted off. This piece was a close sliding fit in the main barrel. It will later become apparent that the spacer was a little short, so I ended up making an additional 2mm thick spacer. https://pic8.co/sh/tdCo9Q.jpg

To make the clamping parts, I wanted to use something other than steel. I could have used aluminium, but that might be a bit soft and gummy. Instead, I found an old kitchen tap and scavanged the tap stem for some brass. https://pic8.co/sh/c7Aq3E.jpg

A ~25mm section was turned down to 6mm and a 60 degree taper put on each end and a 1/8" (3.2mm) hole was drilled through, starting at each end with a center drill to maximize the chances of at least the ends being concentric. https://pic8.co/sh/JftUrX.jpg

This small brass tube was then cut in half with a hacksaw. In hindsight, I should have left a small bridge in the middle, which would have held the halves apart when not clamping a file. But it works fine as two pieces. https://pic8.co/sh/Fq2dTH.jpg

The last piece was the wooden handle. A short section of plum wood was cut and roughly rounded until it would roughly center in the 3-jaw. This was turned down to 26mm (my largest 5C collet). Then the collar was turned to fit the ferrule (the ID of the ferrule is always a bit of a guess, this one turned out to be just under 18mm). The center was drilled out to 10mm to fit the shank of the clamp. https://pic8.co/sh/1u4wJ2.jpg

A taper was cut on the handle to an aesthetic and comfortable degree (leaving about 30mm of full diameter at the heel of the handle). The clamp shank and ferrule were then glued in with epoxy.

All parts were now complete. https://pic8.co/sh/8NaNXj.jpg

The handle has a nice weight and balance and has a strong grip on the files. It can be a bit finiky getting the files in/out as the two loose clammping parts can sometimes bind, but holding the handle the right direction makes this fairly easy. The knurlled nut end was sanded with 120grit then 400 grit sand paper to give a decent finish. The handle was sanded down to 1200 grit and finished with Danish Oil. With the copper ferrule already on, the sanding dirtied the handle a bit, but I don't mind. The industrial look (and not just for looks) is what I'm after. https://pic8.co/sh/qdZ2sq.jpg https://pic8.co/sh/Kqq1Ky.jpg

Got a set of nice Swiss needle files for Christmas. It just would just not do to use them withoug a decent handle, so I decided to make one. Looking for a design, I found this video series where he makes a better copy of a cheap plastic file handle: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPcJ-Edk92DlkazoyqMCi2tQJv6m5Wvvc From that I made up a quick design: https://pic8.co/sh/DrJM1Q.jpg First thing to do was to make a copper ferrule. This was done, as I usually do, from 3/4" copper pipe. Thep pipe is hammered over a steel mandrel, occasionally annealing it in the forge. https://pic8.co/sh/b4ZXtr.jpg https://pic8.co/sh/cfj69a.jpg https://pic8.co/sh/XJa4pc.jpg Next on the list was the knurlled nut. The shaft was turned down to 20.4mm (so the circumfrence would be close to a multiple of the knurl pitch) then knurled. https://pic8.co/sh/g5i8rI.jpg The next step was to cut an M10x1.0 internal thread. As I don't have a tap for this thread, I would need to single point it. The lathe hard stop that I recently made came in very handy here for determining the depth that I was at. I cut the thread by turning the chuck by hand, as I was threading to a hard shoulder. First time doing a single point internal thread. Needless to say, mistakes were made... If you look closely, you might be able to see the moronic mistake I made in this picture. https://pic8.co/sh/GtBDPR.jpg Yep, I set the angle of the compound to 29.5 degrees, but I set it from the lathe axis, rather than from the cross slide axis, so I effectively had a 60.5 degree angle. This resulted in shallow smooshed threads that were totally un-usable. Unfortunately, I didn't notice this until I was done, so I ended up having to do it all twice. https://pic8.co/sh/z5jRrB.jpg https://pic8.co/sh/WE1UZt.jpg The external thread was single point cut and fine tuned to fit the internal threads. Nothing was actually measured, so the end result might be something like an M9.85x1.0 or something, but all that really matters is that the two threads match well. I don't have any thread wires or anything to measure the thread with anyway. With the thread cut, I used a center drill to form a 60degree taper in the nose. When I did the second one, I was a bit rushed... which resulted in the tip of the center drill breaking off and becoming stuck in the hole. This took a bit of getting out, but I did eventually get it out, saving the piece. https://pic8.co/sh/Ppp885.jpg https://pic8.co/sh/0AJUAQ.jpg https://pic8.co/sh/cVY5fn.jpg The nose taper (~45 degrees) was cut, leaving a section to be parted off forming the flat nose tip. https://pic8.co/sh/EHqvq2.jpg For the other end of the taper, a small spacer with an internal 60 degree taper (made using a center drill) was cut and parted off. This piece was a close sliding fit in the main barrel. It will later become apparent that the spacer was a little short, so I ended up making an additional 2mm thick spacer. https://pic8.co/sh/tdCo9Q.jpg To make the clamping parts, I wanted to use something other than steel. I could have used aluminium, but that might be a bit soft and gummy. Instead, I found an old kitchen tap and scavanged the tap stem for some brass. https://pic8.co/sh/c7Aq3E.jpg A ~25mm section was turned down to 6mm and a 60 degree taper put on each end and a 1/8" (3.2mm) hole was drilled through, starting at each end with a center drill to maximize the chances of at least the ends being concentric. https://pic8.co/sh/JftUrX.jpg This small brass tube was then cut in half with a hacksaw. In hindsight, I should have left a small bridge in the middle, which would have held the halves apart when not clamping a file. But it works fine as two pieces. https://pic8.co/sh/Fq2dTH.jpg The last piece was the wooden handle. A short section of plum wood was cut and roughly rounded until it would roughly center in the 3-jaw. This was turned down to 26mm (my largest 5C collet). Then the collar was turned to fit the ferrule (the ID of the ferrule is always a bit of a guess, this one turned out to be just under 18mm). The center was drilled out to 10mm to fit the shank of the clamp. https://pic8.co/sh/1u4wJ2.jpg A taper was cut on the handle to an aesthetic and comfortable degree (leaving about 30mm of full diameter at the heel of the handle). The clamp shank and ferrule were then glued in with epoxy. All parts were now complete. https://pic8.co/sh/8NaNXj.jpg The handle has a nice weight and balance and has a strong grip on the files. It can be a bit finiky getting the files in/out as the two loose clammping parts can sometimes bind, but holding the handle the right direction makes this fairly easy. The knurlled nut end was sanded with 120grit then 400 grit sand paper to give a decent finish. The handle was sanded down to 1200 grit and finished with Danish Oil. With the copper ferrule already on, the sanding dirtied the handle a bit, but I don't mind. The industrial look (and not just for looks) is what I'm after. https://pic8.co/sh/qdZ2sq.jpg https://pic8.co/sh/Kqq1Ky.jpg

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