A Sheetmetal Filing Button

[rgsparber]

Filing buttons are one of those old tools that are still of value today. They let you shape stock into a nice looking radius by hand. One problem with these buttons is that they need a hole in the stock to secure them.

Recently I wanted to form a round corner on sheet metal and not have that mounting hole. I also didn't have a filing button of the right size. Using an old steel washer and a little heat glue plus a torch, the problem was solved.

If you are interested, please see

https://rick.sparber.org/SheetMetalFilingButton.pdf

Your comments are welcome. All of us are smarter than any one of us.

Thanks,

Rick

[Okapi]

Thanks to publish it, I use this technique on various materials non metallic like mother of pearl which is hard to file without support.

[DIYer]

Thanks Rick! We've added your Filing Button to our Metalworking category, as well as to your builder page: Rick's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Filing Button by Rick Sparber

tags: sander, radius

[desbromilow]

just seeing the picture in the email this morning, my first thought was that you'd used a magnet as a filing button to avoid drilling the hole. a strong magnet would probably stay put for light finishing cuts, but would also hold the filings where they could gall or scratch the work.