Correct work procedure is very important for carrying out filing work appropriately. The key points of filing work are the following.

1.Posture during filing

When filing, first the posture should be correct. Otherwise, it will not be possible to do accurate and precision work.

(1)Adjust the height of the work to be at the height of your elbows and fix it firmly using a vice, etc.

(2)Stand in front of the work and place your body so that the tip of the file is at the center of the work.

(3)Place your right foot along the center line of the work, and tilt the right foot so that is at an angle of 70° to 80° to the center line.

(4)Open your left foot and step it forward in the direction of the work by half a step, and place the step so that the tip of the foot is about 200mm to 300mm distant from the work.

(5)Relax the arm muscles, and make fine adjustment of the body and legs so as to be in a position where the file can be moved forwards and backwards lightly with respect to the work.

2.Filing work

There are three types of filing work.

(1)Straight movement method
　This is the most common method of moving the file in the straight forward direction.
　The finished surface becomes clean and neat.

(2)Oblique movement method
　This is the method of moving the file in a direction that is inclined towards the left.
　This method is suitable for rough scraping because the amount cut is large.

(3)Combined movement method
　This method is suitable for long objects with small widths.

3.Removing the filing dust from the file

Since the cut dust gets clogged in the grooves of the file, frequently the grooves of the file must be cleaned during filing. Brush away the fining dust clogged in the grooves of the file using a wire brush or the dust can also be blown off using a compressed air blast. Another technique of preventing clogging of the file grooved by filing dust is to coat the file before working using charcoal or chalk.