what filing tools?

[mouse]

hi guys,

what tools do you use for filing (please don\'t tell me a file... )? What i meant is the different manufacturers involved.

The current ones i used, the industrial kind, seem to cause certain details to be lost and it\'s quite frustrating when that happens.

Any advice and help greatly appreciated.

PS: Oops, and i don\'t name my files....lol

 

[Corvus]

Exell

I use a triangular Exell needle file. They have other shapes as well, but the triangle shape works really well, because it also has a reall fine tip.

 

[PStafAllen]

I use some standard industrial needle files, stolen from work: a circular-cross-section (rat-tail?) file which gets to about 2.5mm diam at it\'s thickest, a flat file and a half-round file (one flat face, one dished).

P.

 

[DELTADOG]

I`ve found a needlefilesset of my fathers apprenticeship (he made electronic and fine mechanics). this files are so fine that they dont leave these sratches on the surface. The set is my hole treasure

 

[supervike]

Originally posted by mouse
PS: Oops, and i don\'t name my files....lol

Now, that is funny!!

I pretty sure I have the \"excel\" needle files and I like the triangle one also.

But I find that I do almost all the \'filing\' of mold lines and such with just a plain old
Exact-0 knife. Who, by the way, is named Gwen.
lol

 

[No Such Agency]

I have a set of X-Acto brand jewelers\' files which are pretty small (max. 5mm across, about 10 cm long including handle). They work great! The set includes round, square, triangular, flat square-ended, and flat pointy-ended. Sadly, the half-round, the most useful shape IMO, broke I also use a curved dental pick to scrape away mold lines in tight spots where a file or knife blade can\'t reach.

A similar set:

 

[Panza]

To go with your files, buy a brass or suade brush from a shoe repairers, but choose a soft one.

A quick scrub will clean down plastic, remove filing marks and burrs, remove any release agent from the surface and \'tooth\' the surface ready for painting, and it\'s also great for giving vehicle armour an irregular or cast texture. :flip:

On metal, a harder brush will do the same job, but will also polish the surface. :bouncy:

Just don\'t use the same brush for both metal and plastic.

 

[Corvus]

???

I think this is a dangerous technique that can destroy small details on the mini...

And cleaning release agents with a brush?? I do this by washing my minis with soap first...

 

[Panza]

If done right, the brass brush bristles clean around areas of detail, but the hard edges of some detail can be lost if the plastic is soft and the brush is hard. This is actually usefull sometimes as the details on many plastic kits are a bit too sharp to be realistic.

Try it on a few bits and see what happens.

By the way, it\'s only \'dangerous\' if you slip and put the brass brush in your eye!lol

 

[Chrispy]

I only have about hree files: a triangular one a flat one and a round one. The last two are from a train store, similar to the ones No Such Agency posted above, but I haven\'t used a handle and don\'t see why, as the actual files themselves are only $0.50 but a set would be more.. I need to replace them soon, though, as I\'ve been using the tip of the round one to open my superglue...

 

[mouse]

thanx a million ...

thanx guys.

now all i need is to find these files. I will also try the brush (quick and effortless) but i\'ll try it out on some \"useless\" pieces first.

/*****************************************************/
\"Hey! What are you doing?!?\" exclaimed the ugly and stupid mini.

\"Don\'t worry...it will not hurt ...a lot\" the pinky nose hamster replied.

\"Er...I don\'t like the look of it....so much sharp pointy thingies....wait..wait....\" the useless and expendable mini lamented, cold sweat breaking on its brow.

Ignoring the pitiful plea, the evil hamster with the BIG nose scrubed the mini with its metallic brush in diabolical fevour.

Throughout the silent of the dark shelf, the rest of the minis heard a crazy laughter (MuHaHaHa!) followed by a long wailing scream that ended quite abruptly.

The hamster looked at the face of the mini and furrowed its eyebrow.

\"Oops....me think i lost your face.\" said the hamster innocently. \"Well, at least I will not hear its outrage\".

\"Hmmm...maybe i should scout around for a good file\".
/*****************************************************/

 

[airhead]

SEARS

Picked up a set (5 or 6) of needle files at sears (tool department). It has all of the shapes. Round, flat, triangle, etc.

I also have a larger file (about 1\" wide) for bases. Some of the reapers have a seam line on the bottom. This file make for a level base.

 

[freakinacage]

i bought a load of needle files from dremel. it has a good selection - cost about £6 but they are pretty fine

 

[finn17]

Congratulations...

Happy 100th to you...
Happy 100th to you....
Happy 100th dear freakinacage...
Happy 100th posting to yoooooooo!


:bouncy::bouncy::bouncy::bouncy:

 

[finn17]

Do you mean Dremel or Draper?

Originally posted by freakinacage
i bought a load of needle files from dremel. it has a good selection - cost about £6 but they are pretty fine

Forgive me if I am being \'picky\'. But everything I have with the \'Dremel\' label on needs to be plugged in, goes \'whiiiiirrr\' and can reduce a mini to dust in a few seconds. Do you, by any chance mean \'Draper\'? Cos if you do then these are the same files I use and have found them to be excellent.

 

[freakinacage]

awww shucks finn - thanks <-- supposed to be me blushing (not mad).

with reagrds to the files, my bad, saw the dr and just went on auto pilot. the files i use are DRAPER files. excellent indeed

 

[vincegamer]

I hate my files because they leave the surface to \"scratched\" looking. Do finer files to better? Should I get some sandpaper? I see the auto parts store sells 1600 grit and heavier sand paper. I think 600 looks good enough for me though.
What say ye?

 

[finn17]

Old files seem to do the trick...

Originally posted by vincegamer
I hate my files because they leave the surface to \"scratched\" looking. Do finer files to better? What say ye?

New files are very scratchy. I have found that I eventually favour a particular file and use it all the time. This has now lost all its scratchiness and works like a dream. I suppose I am saying that you need to break a file in, bit like a new car.