<HTML>In a message dated 11/5/01 5:13:27 PM Eastern Standard Time, cdant1@msn.com writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">I was just curious how you sharpen a file or reamer? -Chris </BLOCKQUOTE> Dear Chris and list - It is not practical to sharpen files.  They are among the hardest things in your shop, only exceeded by carbide bits and most abrasives.  They are hardened by heat treating after their cutting surfaces are cut.  They are usually considered a replacement item when dull.  So, keep them clean and dry and away from things that are very hard - like other files, tool steel, hone stones, etc. Reamers can be sharpened.  This requires precision grinding equipment.  Sometimes the original manufacturer will resharpen reamers and other precision cutting tools.  The resharpened reamer will be a new (smaller) size, and there are limits to how much resharpening/resizing can be done.  (Sharpening reduces the depth of the gullets between the cutting edges.  It also affects clearances and other aspects of the designed geometry of the cutting tool.)  In general shop practice, it is common to simply replace small or inexpensive reamers - like the center pin reamers we've been discussing.  The cost of servicing them may equal or exceed cost of replacement.  Sharpening is more cost-effective in larger sizes especially in solid carbide tools.             -     Tom McNeil     - Vermont Piano Restorations "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.  Inside a dog it's too dark to read."   -   Groucho Marx</HTML>