rounding off lever ends

I have finally admitted defeat and given up trying to file a nice radius at the end of a drilled lever. Decided to try the milling method where you feed it gently by hand around the cutter. Made a simple pivot to try it out on a scrap piece and was quite pleased with result. Think i would like to make a more sophisticated jig that can easily be fitted with various size pins to suit hole diameter. Anyone know of suitable designs published anywhere?

Bill D.

Use a bolt and some close fitting washers assembled to the lever, to serve as a filing guide.

Martin.

Dunno about a design, but I made a "toolholder", rather like a boring-bar holder, for my lathe in which pins of different diameter could be fitted at centre height. The pins were actually stepped in diameter so they all fitted in the same holder. Worked well for reasonably small workpieces.

Is that not what they use filing buttons for ? Seem to recall seeing them mentioned many times over the years, and you dont even need a milling machine.

That's what I mostly use. I have used a rotary table for rounding ends, but I'm not a fan of the method. It's too darn easy to go a gnats whatsit too far leaving a slight indent in the straight edge. Once done it seems to need an inordinate amount of filing to get rid of the indent. With filing buttons it's much easier to blend the curve and straights, even if everything isn't quite perfectly aligned. I'm in the "filing buttons are unhardened and recycled after the job is complete" school.

Andrew

I've found if you leave the nut and bolt through unhardened filing buttons a bit loose so the buttons can spin they dont get chewed up by clumsy filing and can be used again and again.

Filing buttons made from silver steel and hardened. Hardened mainly because I like using a propane torch.

JA

If you have a belt linisher they are great for rounding ends etc, even the cheap ones work well, saves a lot of filing.

learned to file and hacksaw 60 years ago at the R.o.f Barnbow, and it taught me that a machine was much better sweating over the work than me.

Ian