Finally made a decent file guide

John Wilson

John Wilson

Well-Known Member
I’ve been getting along for quite some time with a super basic file guide I made from 1084 or whatever it was I had laying around at the time. Then I started using it when I grind bevels, and it shows. Consequently, it’s no longer all that great for squaring shoulders on hidden tangs. Go figure...

I picked up a piece of 1/2” x 6”x 1/8” thickness carbide strip. For the structural piece I used 1/2” x 3/4” 304 stainless bar.

I’m very happy with how it turned out. It’s a little big for the kinds of knives I do, but I figured I’d make it to fit anything I’d ever want to make. Besides, the carbide strip was 6 inches long and I couldn’t see any reason not to use it all. So now I can do anything up to 3 inches wide.

The old one looks pretty bad but it’s still great for getting plunges even on the grinder.
 

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Your old one looks like my ol one although I had made mine from a file but like you it did for a while till I got one of Bruce Bumps units.
 
The old one served me very well for a long time. When it gets chewed up like this I just flatten it again on the platen. Not great for hidden tangs but well enough for grinding bevels. Using it as a guard to set plunges has sped up my grinding significantly.
 
Nice! I have one that I built that looks similar to your old one. I keep thinking I need to build me a new one too. Maybe I'll take that on as my next tool project. . .
 
Brandant, I was just going to make a new one exactly like my old one because it has served me perfectly well. But then I found affordable carbide on Amazon and figured why not go whole hog. It didn’t take any more effort to add the carbide.

I’m glad I did add the carbide. I just did the shoulders on a hidden tang and the difference between carbide and simple hardened steel was immediately obvious. My files glide across the carbide. It’s not just that the file doesn’t cut in, it literally feels slick when there’s no more shoulder being cut. Before it was a tiny bit of a judgment call, because you can make a sharp file cut into hardened steel if you put too much pressure into the stroke.
 
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John, you guys with the lathes and mills make me sick, ;) OK it is just jealousy!! :p

I don't have a mill to recess my carbide strips in So I put them on the surface and soldered them!!

My first set I made I used JB Weld like you did and after many trips of getting hot while grinding, hot, to cool in dunk bucket. I tossed it up on the bench one night and the jar popped one of them off! The other one did not want to let go. I had to heat it with a torch to get it too let go. I figure it was the right combination of heat and the jar that done the JB weld in!!
 
Hehe

Cliff, I did mill a slot for the carbide but in all honesty i’m not sure it will matter. I don’t ever plan to use this file guide at the grinder. This will only be used at the vise with files, and I don’t see how the epoxy will ever fail by doing that.

The only reason I milled a slot was to make sure the two carbide strips would sit level and square to each other, as well as be square when clamped to the blade.
 
Did you have a way to surface the carbide to make sure each side was dead flat with the other? Or did you just jb weld it on and it was close enough?
 
John, are you asking me or or Cliff?

As for me, I made the clamp part first. The stainless bar I got came surprisingly square to begin with. I cut two lengths and mated them and had a mate with no gaps. I drilled them together and inserted pins and from that point forward treated it as a monolithic part.

Then I was able to drill and tap for bolts. Once that was completed I milled the top surface for the carbide strips. I don’t think it was necessary. I could have epoxied the strips and laid it face down and I believe it would have been square enough, because I used G-flex which is very thin and would allow the assembly to be self-leveling. Granted, I did not do that so it’s only a guess that it would have worked without surfacing the blocks.

(JB Weld on the other hand may not have worked that way because it’s thick enough that it may not self-level.)

For mine, I let it cure face up with a 1-2-3 block sitting on the carbide strips with a weight on top of the block. (I coated all other surfaces with lube to make sure I didn’t glue it up into a paperweight. The 123 block kept the strips level and flat to one another.
 
I was asking you John. What did you mill the carbide tops with? I ask because I thought about doing this but wasn't sure I had a good way to surface the carbide.
 
Oh, I apologize. I misunderstood your original question.

You’re going to laugh. I used a sheet of 600 grit on my surface plate. I don’t imagine the surfaces are exactly perfect but they are better than the surfaces I’m going to make on the shoulders with a file. When the file guide is closed I can’t detect any ridge where the strips meet.
 
John Wilson said:
I’ve been getting along for quite some time with a super basic file guide I made from 1084 or whatever it was I had laying around at the time. Then I started using it when I grind bevels, and it shows. Consequently, it’s no longer all that great for squaring shoulders on hidden tangs. Go figure...

I picked up a piece of 1/2” x 6”x 1/8” thickness carbide strip. For the structural piece I used 1/2” x 3/4” 304 stainless bar.

I’m very happy with how it turned out. It’s a little big for the kinds of knives I do, but I figured I’d make it to fit anything I’d ever want to make. Besides, the carbide strip was 6 inches long and I couldn’t see any reason not to use it all. So now I can do anything up to 3 inches wide.

The old one looks pretty bad but it’s still great for getting plunges even on the grinder.
Click to expand...

I bought for £1 the pair used toolmakers clamps which are already hardened, they do me fine,

Good luck
 
I wish I had the machines to do the milling! I can think of a thousand things I could use a mill for. Been looking at a combo mill/lathe machine! I know it is a pipe dream. Even if I could afford it, I haven't the room for it. I think the wife might object to it being in the LR!! :p

On a related note. Did you know if you drop a carbide strip on to the concrete floor, and it hits wrong, it will shatter. Don't ask how I know that one!!!
John you done well on the file guide, my compliments!
 
Cliff, that little mini mill has been a godsend. Would I prefer a Bridgeport? Sure I would. But I am constantly amazed at how many things I use this little milling machine for. And you might laugh, but it is the greatest thing since sliced bread for flattening scales! When I cut scales from a block of wood it looks like beavers did it.
 
Up until few years ago I had an old belt driven Smart & Brown lathe, 19 inches between centres, a full set of collets and various chucks, I had access to so much buckshee tooling it was awkward to store it all.
A downsize of house occurred when the kids abandoned their nest and I sold it for peanuts.
2 years back we upsized again, who knows what I could get BUT the big thing with these lathes and milling machines is getting the tackle, accessories, tooling and being able to sharpen and set up safely.
My neighbour is 85 and has both in superb condition, he is competent in their use, I am keeping my eye on him, I may grease his stairs, lol, he is not easy to talk to although he is a decent chap, his wife likes me, maybe that will help, lol.

My point is - getting the lathe or milling machine is worthless without the tools and tackle.

You can mill on a lathe,
 
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