Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1891-08-21


Notwithstanding About Files.
The file trade is peculiar in this way,
,atd prominent file dealer the other day
it depends on the other trades Although
IN nearly every business "A file is used, and
these tools are always in demand, when it
romes to such trades as carriage making,
where files are necessities the buster tho
carriage maker the moro files he needs and
the brsier the file business.
II tho machine shops are busy we are all
the buster for it, and they are not 50 much
the worse for US. Sometimes we are busy
all the year round, for when one trade is
dull the other has great deal to do. Some
ot these factories use an immense number
files, safe manufacturers generally buying
in quantities Of from twent y-fve to fifty
dozen, and | have in mind some well
known tool works where twenty to thirty
boxes, or 81, 900 worth, Of files are used ev-
cry season.
This is not exceptional, but merely gives
n slight idea Of how many files are in use.
The firm OF manufacturers from whom
we buy turns out from 5000 to G,0oO dozen
files week. Formerly, say about forty
years ego, all files were made by hand, bat
with the enormous demands of today ma
chimes are a necessity. BY hand a flo
maker can turn out about two dozen l4-incn
files daily.
This is far less than machines can do,
and the result is that hand made files are
twice rs dear rs machine made ones, which
compeusates any loss of dneness and dura-
bility in tho machine made file, because if
the latter were to wear out twice as fast as
the former use Of it would not cost any
more The fact is that the hand made files
do last longer than the others, but then the
machine made files are cut more accurately.
some hand cut files are still used, and
especially for very fine work, such rs
jewelers. and dentists work, and these in
btruments are made by the French swiss
girls. They take pieces of good quality
steel-all files must be made OF good steel
and with chisels and hammers run tho
cuts along the metal.
WHY GIRLS ARE PREFERRED.
The reason girls do this work is because
their hands are lighter and more accurate
than men's 5, and the work they do Is positive
~ beautiful. Some of it is so delicate that
you could run your hand over the file aud
not perceive any roughness and sometimes
a piece Of steel no thicker than a sheet Of
paper is cut for fle on both sides of it,
cut by hand with hammer and chisel and
unerrinEly, as you may know, for n single
miscut might spoil the whole thing.
1t IL not easy to imagine this, and ono
would also think that the work is too ar
dUous for girls but Il Is not. Almost every
hlemaker / ever saw was healthy, and
never knew one to wear glasses, though
plenty Of them are old men.
The only difficulty in tilenaknG is the
STOPPING position in which the worker
must sit all day The steel he works is
not as hard as the file on the market the
metal is made as soft as possible for the
worker in this wayi When the bar Of steel
enters the factory il j. forged into pieces of
metal the sizes aud shapes Of files.
Then about 100 Of these are put into an
alright furnace, when they are hearted 10
n dark red heat, which is the best for al
nePhng. Then the fire is turned of and
the files are left to cool, a process some-
times lasting two or three days, In fact,
the more slowly the cooling Is done the
softer the metal.
When TIE files are removed from there
they are taken to the various machines,
where they are 70 be cut, and years back
This wa, the stage of the process when they
We're given over 10 the men to be cut.
he men always cut the same sizes OF
files. because when a man was used to and
expert at cutting one sort Of file he could
not cut any other, II he were workman
on rough files and tried to cut fine one he
would always make 1t too coarse, even
while thinking he was making it too fine.
FACTS ABOUT FILES.
Each man had his set OF chisels, which
were OF one size, and with which he dld his
cutting. He first made one stroke, and the
pressure OF the chlsel against the part or
the metal raised by this lnc.slon gave him