I like to make lathe chisels from old files. Here I am grinding a file to make a skew chisel. For the skew end I ground the end to match the angle of the files original teeth. For the tang, I reduced the width to allow it to fit inside the handle. Files are very hard and can be brittle. It is best to anneal the steel first to soften it and make it easier to shape. Grinding all the teeth off, allows the file to be inspected for any small cracks which could cause a potentially dangerous situation while turning.I made two 16 inch x 1-1/2 inch blanks for each half. After tracing the tang outline, I drilled a 1/8 inch hole below the teeth to provide registration for the other half of the blank. Then a removed the waste where the tang would reside using a 1/4 inch carbide spiral bit in my my trim router.The registration hole is used to position the file on the other half, so it too can be traced. I added another 1/8 inch through below the tang to hold the halves together while turning the handle. Counter sink the each side so the head of the screw and the nut will be below the surface of the handle.Cut the screw to length, square up the ends of the halves with the screws in place, and then glue a block on tang the end for the lathe spur to engage.After turning to the desired profile, I poured marine epoxy into the tang opening after screewing the two halves together, to get a secure fit and let it dry upright overnight. Here are a skew, a parting tool, and two round nose scrapers made from files.
