Unpopular opinion: hand filing beats power filing for small metal parts

I spent 6 months using a bench grinder for small brass fittings and kept messing up the edges. Switched to a basic set of needle files last week and got cleaner results in half the time. Anyone else find hand tools work better for tiny precision stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamief6712d ago

Hand files give way better control for tiny edges, not even close.

gibson.morgan12d ago

Yeah I used to be all about power tools for anything small but @jamief67 you might be onto something here. I had this tiny brass fitting I was trying to shape with a dremel and just kept taking off too much material no matter how careful I was. Switched to a hand file and it was night and day, you can actually stop exactly where you want instead of overshooting every time. It takes a bit longer but the control is way better once you get the feel for it.

price.ben12d ago

Agree with you on the control but I gotta push back a little on the "not even close" part. A well set up dremel with a flex shaft and a steady rest can actually do some really delicate work too, @gibson.morgan it's more about having the right speed and the right burr than the tool itself. Like for that brass fitting, a little #1 cut round burr at low rpm wouldve let you shave off tiny bits without jumping around. Files are still king for certain shapes though, especially when you need a dead flat surface on something small.