I have made it a habit of digging through file drawers at woodshop
auctions looking for the incredible 49 and 50. They don't show up often
but once in a while choice on the files at $1 each puts a smile on my
face. Reminds me of the time I bought a whole shoebox full of brand new
swissmade Rifflers for $5. "Filed" that one away in the record books.
(Not to rain on your parade Randy. You made a good buy. Enjoy them
babies)   

John 

-----Original Message-----
From: Randy Roeder [mailto:roeder.randall@m...] 
Sent: Monday, September 16, 2002 10:07 PM
Subject: Files, Rasps and a Yelasijevich

GG's

I was at the M-WTCA meet in Cosgrove, Iowa, this weekend and walked past
a table with a quite a selection of brand new files. One was really
huge, so I started kidding the table holder along the lines of "What in
the heck, who would you ever use a monster file like that?
The reply was along the lines of 'You don't use files very much...but
I've got a really good deal for you."

Before I knew what was happening, the guy is trying to sell me two
Nicholson files for $76.00. Yeah, right--eight dollar files for five
times what they're worth...

"Here, go on try one... try one on the edge of this shelf."

"No, that's ok."

"Here, these are cabinet maker files, Nicholson nos. 49 and 50, the best
around." You never tried anything like this... You can't even get 'em
mail order for what I'm selling 'em for. Nobody here at this meeting
knows anything from files. Look, all the points on these are staggered
instead of in rows. You take off a lot of wood but it leaves a smooth
finish. You start with the the 49, go to the 50, and then finish off
with a scraper or paper."

So, I'm thinking, "What the hey, I'll rub the file on the shelf, say
some nice things, excuse myself and get on with looking for some good
tools." 

So I run the file on the edge of the edge of the shelf...

Can yo say epiphany? It was like nothing I ever touched a file to
before. Nice cut, smooth finish, a feeling of control. Still,
seventy-six bucks for a couple of files?

"Let me tell ya, when I was an apprentice in the cabinet shop, my boss
says to go out, buy a good file and bring it in the next day. So I went
to the hardware store, spent eight bucks on a file and brought it in the
next day. He says, you call that a file? And he throws my file against
the wall and says you go out and get a Nicholson cabinetmaker's file."
The were about thirty-five dollars each back then, that was a lot of
money. Now should buy one of each of these, they'll cost you 100 bucks
from Garret Wade. I'm only charging $76.00--I got a good source for
files."

I'm still not convinced that anyone in their right mind would pay that
kind of money for a rasp, but I'm already sure that they're the answer
to my prayers for flattening end grain on some white oak 4 x 4's I'm
working with. (I hand sawed them and don't want to overshoot the edges
with a plane when I true them and risk splitting the edges off).

"Yeah, you can use them for that, but they're really shaping tools."

I bought the files. I figured that the price was a bit high, but what
the heck, I learned so much about a quality rasp in five minutes that my
head was spinning. I appreciated the education so was willing to pay. I
went home, played with them a bit and they're better than I even
imagined. You don't know a rasp from a file from a horse's butt until
you've used a quality cabinetmaker's file.

So tonight I looked them up in the Woodcraft catalog... a hundred bucks,
plus shipping for the pair. Turns out I got a good deal! 

You can't even call that substandard crap you get in a hardware store a
rasp. They're nasty brutish tools fit for a slovenly knave of the lowest
sort. And regular files -- well if you have a lifetime, you might get
results on wood.  It was simply amazing--all because I asked a guy named
Slav Yelasijevich why he had so many files.

Randy Roeder    You need a Nicholson no. 49 and a 50-- and repaint your
house, not old tools.