Cleaning Files

You may hear me from time to time refer to Swiss Files.  This are small hand held files of various shapes.   Some are square,  some curved.  Each one designed to help get into that hard to reach spot.  I use these Swiss Files to sand down any imperfections in a cast including cast lines.  Now its more common for larger files to get clogged with bits of steel,  but if you are like me, your 'work' area isnt far from the 'casting' area.  And occasionally I will drop some resin on a file.  While a wire brush can work if you are stuck, the best way to clean a file is with a piece of brass or aluminum bronze (cheaper facsimile).  You run the brass over the file going with the grain.  With the brass being softer than the file, the brass pushes whatever is stuck in the file out.  Steel, dried resin, last nights dried remnants of a banana split...and it doesnt hurt the file.