You Can Never Have Too Many Files and Rasps
When I ordered my new surface vise from Lee Valley I also ordered one of their new Japanese mill-toothed files. Mine is the 10″ curved version. It is toothed only on the convex side and this makes it really comfortable in one’s hand.
I wasn’t sure what to expect but I guessed these would be less coarse than my rasps. I think I was right. I’ll be honest, I need to spend more time learning how to use this tool as it doesn’t act like a rasp and it doesn’t act like a file. Rather it seems to require a light touch while taking
off a lot of material. Like a rasp, it’s sensitive to grain direction (must be used with the grain) but like a file, it creates a fairly smooth surface. I’m fairly certain that I will grow to like this tool but I’m not sure what to call it as it’s more than a file – less than a rasp. Maybe it’s a ‘fasp’.
I spun a piece of cherry for a while on my lathe, used a bit of copper pipe as a ferrule, and created this handle for my ‘fasp.’ The result is a sweet tool for very little money. I like that combination.
Cheers — Larry
RSS
Nice! I got a chance to try one of these out at the Woodworking in American conference a couple weeks ago and I admit, I had the same reaction. I wasn’t sure what to think. It did feel fairly aggressive and “grabby”, and at first, it felt kind of difficult to use. I have heard (don’t remember where) that they require a slight break in period and get smoother to use after some initial use, though I question whether this is because the tool “breaks in” or because the user gets used to using it. Either way, do report back after you have used it for awhile. I would like to pick up a finer rasp than my #50 and would be interested in your opinion of this style after using it some.
You may be right about the need for break in. It doesn’t cut like a normal rasp so maybe it’s more like a saw and needs some work to operate smoothly. That said, you may also be right about the ‘used to it’ part of this.
Last night I played with a piece of maple and while what I did could have been done with a spokeshave very quickly, I used the ‘fasp’ to create a couple concave curves, rounded over to the wood faces. When used with a light hand (facilitated by having a handle, of course) I got good results. I did find that this ‘fasp’ is more sensitive to grain direction than any other rasp or file I’ve used, however. But, excepting the infrequent ‘grabs’ that caused tear out, I could get a surface that wasn’t too different from an 80-grit sandpaper surface.
I wish I could address your #50 comparison but, unfortunately, I don’t own one. I will say that this ‘fasp’ is less coarse than my #49. The only thing I could find in my shop that was “similar” and curved was the fine end of one of those “hard on the hands” 4-in-1 rasps. The later may be just a wee bit finer than this new ‘fasp.’
More experimentation is in order and I’ll keep an eye on that ‘break in’ idea.
Cheers — Larry
Great topic Larry. In my “how we do” survey I just got from Popular Woodworking on WIA I added this topic of file and rasp usage as a potential seminar topic for next year. These are great tools and come in so many variations as your above post demonstrates. Many people, me included, don’t understand those different varieties and how they can be used in your work. My rasp usage is relegated to my Nicholson 48 and very rough work. My file usage is only at my sharpening station. I am looking to integrate these tools into my work a lot more in the future but I need a few more to round out the arsenal. Maybe a “fasp” just made the list.
Shannon
Boy, ain’t that the truth. I use my rasps and files regularly, mostly because I came to rely upon my large set of rifflers and files in my miniatures work and learned their power. But, like you, I’m overwhelmed by the wide range of prices, tooth types and tooth arrangements. Whether this ‘fasp’ works out or not, it’s something to experiment with. Wish I could experiment with the truly expensive rasps as I’d like to see just how much better they work than the Nicholson rasps.
Cheers — Larry