Filing Cast Iron

[Malcolm HarveyParticipant @malcolmharvey97633]

[Malcolm HarveyParticipant @malcolmharvey97633]

I am not particularly a beginner but I thought I would ask this question here as it is likely something that every beginner should know.

I have turned a set of wheels for my 3½G Titfield Thunderbolt but I have casting flash between the spokes (of course). I have tried filing this out with swiss files but they clog almost immediately. Does anyone have any suggestion as to what would be the best tool to use for this job?

TIA

Malcolm

[WearyParticipant @weary]

Dremel – or similar – with carbide burrs.

(Plus tight-fitting goggles as abraded cast-iron mini-granules get everywhere!)

Regards,

Phil

[Jim NicParticipant @jimnic]

+1 for a Dremel

Jim

[vintagengineerParticipant @vintagengineer]

Rub chalk on the file and use a file card to clean the file.

[BazParticipant @baz89810]

In my very humble opinion a much better way to clean a file is to use a piece of brass or a fine brass wire brush.

[roy entwistleParticipant @royentwistle24699]

Baz The chalk is not to clean the file it's to stop clogging. Definitely a bit brass or copper for cleaning

Roy

[Chris Evans 6Participant @chrisevans6]

What "Cut" is your file ? I use "O" cut for those sort of jobs.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

For small areas of 'casting flash' I have found that diamond 'needle files' work better than conventional ones.

A few years ago, this would have seemed an extravagance; but the availability of [cheap & cheerful] sets from the likes of Aldi and Lidl has changed my approach.

MichaelG.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Posted by Baz on 28/06/2018 08:35:29:

In my very humble opinion a much better way to clean a file is to use a piece of brass or a fine brass wire brush.

Only really works for single cut files.

[Malcolm HarveyParticipant @malcolmharvey97633]

Thanks for the input. Learnt a bit! Never heard of putting chalk on a file to stop it clogging, Never have thought of using a Dremel and I hadn't heard of diamond needle files. I have just looked in Boyes and they have pack of 5 for £4 or thereabouts.

Malcolm

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

+1 for the Dremel approach. I also use a rough 2nd cut to get under the meat of the flashing then titivate up with Dremel & carbide bit.

George.

Edited By mechman48 on 28/06/2018 15:21:37

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