Shop Made File Handles

The other day I was working on a project for my university students that would give them some experience working with our CNC mill and a dividing head. I developed this tapered octogonal handle with a color case hardened ferrule for a portion of the project. The final stage will be for them to forge and heat treat a chisel to go along with it, but in the meantime students have been having a lot of fun making replacmement handles for some of the tooling in the lab. It is a good use for a mountain of scrap maple and walnut we have stored in the back room and another opportunity for them to experiment with color case hardening. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of the process and the handles (students have experimented with different shapes and sizes). I admit the process isn't exactly 18th century, but it does help keep students interested in manufacturing and the end result looks a lot more authentic than the injection molded plastic handles on Stanley's finest.

The cylinder object is a jig that I made to center drill the handle after it has been cut from the blank. It slides over the end of the handle that has been turned to .517" and allows a 1/8" inch bit to be run into the handle on center. The jig was color case hardened to reduce wear.

Here is the Tormach mill we use with a duality lathe attachment that also serves as a dividing head. A similar setup could be used to swamp short barrels.

way cool

I want one of those machines!

Very nice. :thumbsup:

I know a few guys that are buying them for home shops and as far as CNC goes they are a good deal. A setup like we have would run about $13,000 not including the software and computer, but you can do a lot of neat things with it. I have a lathe and mill in my basement shop, but I have no plans to add any CNC equipment, I like to go back to simpler things when I leave the office for the day.

Neat!! Should I send you my files?

Great stuff Alex. Thanks for sharing.
Twice.

Like you I just cann't understand why anyone would want the problems of computerised machines in their home shop. I retired as a tool and die worker/ tool room machinist and truely enjoy my old fashioned machines. As a furniture builder I am amazed at all of the shops in our area that are going to computer controled routers and then having problems with the dust getting in the computers. When my oldest son came home from his first term at the General motors Institute he said he needed a newer computer because all of the other students were so far ahead of him in computers. I asked him, yes but how many could use micrometers, calipers, and indicators the way he could. He replied, " They all can ! They just poke the button and out comes the numbers, they don't have antiques like you do.!" :idunno: :idunno:

ohio, theres a reason your antiques are...well antiques! I am glad he knows how to use the real deals. I know some people that can't do simple math in their head. :idunno:

It takes a fair amount of training to become proficient with CNC machines and some people who buy them get in way over their heads when they realize all that goes along with them.

On the other hand they can be wonderfully useful machines. Even a small cabinet shop can greatly benefit from their use when used in conjunction with more traditional tools. Consider it a 21st century apprentice.

Also, micrometers, calipers, and indicators are still common even with cnc. I would not want to set a vise in a machine without an indicator or a variety of other setup issues for that matter. I also still find regular use for the caliper and micrometer in in process and post process inspections. I start all my students with manual machine tools and than move to CNC. There is a lot of correlation between the two. I also find that some operations are just easier to do with this equipment and if it doesn't sacrafice the final product in looks or function I wouldn't hesitate to use it for this task. I could swamp a barrel by hand or with simple power tools, but the cnc mill makes a much quicker, more precise job of it and you loose nothing in the final appearance.