"Old School Filing Machine" refurbish

[STRIPER LOU]

Been looking for one of these for a while and they went from being thrown away to quite expensive.

The brand is Harvey Manufacturing out of NY and is called the Butterfly Die Filing machine. In making a lot of 1 of one of a kind parts or more, and prototype work, this will come in handy at the shop.

Made the trip to Boston a few weeks back and picked it up. Was in quite good shape for being almost 70 yrs old. Built to last and it took 2 of us to get it into the car. They just don't make stuff like this anymore!

Did a complete strip down/cleaning and even though the bearings were decent, I had some Oilite material and machined all new ones. Also made a dual position toggle so I can change the stroke if so desired. Did the Machinery Gray and Blue paint job to kick it up a notch and match most of the other machinery in the shop.

A different project for a change and a bit of fun to boot, .... except for getting it home and into the basement!

A kind of an odd name but the reasoning behind the butterfly thing was its operation is as quiet as a Butterfly, and it is!

I have some prototype stars and handle arms in the works and this will save some time. For me, I don't make enough parts to take advantage of a Cutter so this will be a welcomed addition.

Done in the shop for the evening and its time for wine and a soak in the tub.

All have a great evening,  ..  Lou

[mhc]

That's a handy looking machine Lou, I don't think I've seen one before - if I have I didn't recognize it. Are the files readily available or does it use hand files without the handle?
Great job with the refurbishment - it looks brand new.

Mike

[Reel 224]

Lou: You finely got that down in your shop. Great! I know you had to get it ready to lower down the cellar steps. Did Gracie have to help?

Nice looking and it looks new! Use it in good health bud.

Joe

[handi2]

Very nice Lou. Those files are thick so they don't break.

[STRIPER LOU]

Mike,

its a REALLY old school machine! Back in the day we hand filed all our dies and used a thin blade square to make sure we were getting the edge straight.

When the die filers came out, it was like WOW! 1/2 the time, nice and straight and a sweet finish to boot!

The files are special and cut in reverse. A normal file is made to cut on the forward stroke. Filing machine files are made to cut on the down stroke. You'd be surprised how many guys that have used these don't realize that. A normal file would lift the work piece up off the table. Reverse cut pulls the work piece down to the table.

All is not lost though as its just a matter of cutting the tang off a normal file and turning it upside down.

Its a slow machine by todays standards but really quite useful for what I do here.

Joe, Gracie did help and it went pretty well. We used a rope and a wooden skid with carpet tacked on the bottom. It was a little stressful as there's always the element of surprise, should something go wrong!

Once we got it down and on a dolly, Gracie said, now what. We'll figure it out later, ha!

Keith, the files are HD and there's a support arm on the filer so you can really lean on it and seriously remove some material.

The gent included about 1/2 dozen virgin files and if you had seen the base that this thing was on, you would think they were trying to support the Empire State Building!

All in all I'm happy with it and there's no doubt in my mind it will get used a lot.

Have a great evening,  ..  Lou

[Ron Jones]

It looks like one of those upside down jigsaws that Rockler sells. I bet it works a treat.
Rebuild was nicely done.
Ron

[oldmanjoe]

   That is some sweet cast iron  you got there ...   I played with one some 40 years ago .  joe

[Keta]

WOW!!!

[Rivverrat]

You Freaking lucky Dog !   There is a lot a creative fella can accomplish with that machine. Just remember long sleeve shirts & baggy clothing EDIT: DONT go well with these. Don't ask how I know... Jeff

[xjchad]

 
That is a beautiful piece of equipment Lou!
Awesome job!

[Tiddlerbasher]

Lou - brilliant job on that beast - it looks like new. I've worked in a couple of workshops and never seen one like that.

[Robert Janssen]

Nice! Looks like a handy little thing. We used to use one for broaching keyways in parts. I'm sure you can teach it to do other tricks too.

[Dominick]

I never heard of a filing machine.  I had to go to Youtube to see one in action.  Cool tool.  Dominick

[STRIPER LOU]

Yes it is a beast and a heavy one at that.

Chris, there was a kit available from the UK. I had considered it but would have been quite expensive with the shipping. Its a simple machine and I considered building one but there's a fair amount of time involved and NOW is the time to go FISHING!!! It would have ended up on the back burner like lots of other projects here.

Thanks all for the comments and I'm very pleased with the way it came out. I have to take a pic of the stand this thing came on,  .....  its a monster and WAY overbuilt!

Doc, you read my mind! I took some 5/16 and 3/8 dia files, cut the tang off and ground the appropriate flats on each side. Now when I do the key for the handle arms, its a rough mill and a quick trip to the filing machine.
I've even seen them set up like a sabre saw.

The main post that holds the file back support should also have an adjustable arm to hold the workpiece down. Unfortunately its MIA. As soon as I get a little time I'll machine one up. Its a good thing to have and saves the fingers from getting pinched when you get a bit to aggressive.

All have a great day, ... its time to spread 3 loads of mulch!

......................Lou

[Rivverrat]

I had to edit my prior post. Yes Lou you have your self one very fine machine there... I'm kind of jealous... Jeff