Hand Tools, Vises and the Bench Grinder: Use, Care, and What Ruins Them

What the rule requires

Tool questions in this module are fault-spotting questions. You are shown four practices and asked which one is correct, or which one damages the tool. The trigger is almost never the tool's name — it is the condition attached to the practice: the file is new, the handle is insulated, the stroke is pulling, the switch is off before the plug goes in. Read for the condition and the distractors fall away.

Files carry most of the testable detail

A new file is broken in by using it first on brass, bronze, or smooth iron. Two jobs are barred while it is new: removing the fins or scales on cast iron, and filing a narrow surface such as sheet metal, because the narrow edge of the metal is likely to break the sharp points off the file teeth.

After a new file has been used the teeth clog with metal filings, and a clogged file scratches the work. That condition is pinning. Rubbing chalk between the teeth before filing is one way to help prevent it.

The best method of keeping a file clean is a file scorer and a file cleaner brush. The scorer is worked with a pulling motion, the scorer blade held parallel to the rows of teeth; cleaning is finished by brushing parallel to the rows of teeth with the file cleaner brush. Clean files often. Striking the file against a vise or any other object to knock the filings out is prohibited — the brush is the tool for that.

Never use a file without a securely attached handle. The one exception named is the Swiss pattern type.

Do not oil a file. Oil causes the file to slide across the work and prevents fast cutting. Do not use files for any purpose except filing.

Storage is examinable in its own right. Files are not thrown into a drawer or toolbox where they rub against each other or against other tools; they go in separate holders — clips, straps, or holes cut in a block of wood. For lay-up storage, no lubricant or rust-preventive compound is left on the file. Each file is wrapped in waterproofed barrier wrapping paper and placed in racks or boxes so that the faces and edges do not touch.

Your new 12-inch flat file has begun leaving scratches down the work after twenty minutes of filing mild steel. What has happened, and what do you do first?

The teeth have clogged with filings — pinning — and a clogged file scratches the work. Clean it with the file scorer, pulling the blade parallel to the rows of teeth, then finish with the file cleaner brush, also parallel to the rows. Chalk rubbed between the teeth before you resume helps prevent it recurring. You do not strike the file on the vise, and you do not oil it. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Care of Files

Pliers and tongs

Dirt and grease come off with a clean rag, and a light coat of oil goes on after each use. Store pliers in a tool box or hang them on racks when not in use. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Care of Pliers and Tongs

Do not remove the insulation on handles, and do not oil handles which are insulated. Pliers are not for prying, and not for removing nuts or bolts. Any pliers with broken jaws, broken handles or broken cutting edges are replaced, not nursed along.

Shears and nippers

Keep them clean, and lubricate the pivot screw or bolt with a drop of light oil. Rust comes off with a fine aluminum-oxide abrasive cloth. A thin film of oil on the tool prevents rust, and the tools hang on hooks or sit on a shelf when not in use. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Care of Shears and Nippers

Cutting tools are not thrown together in a box, where the cutting edges may be damaged. The shearing machine table is not a storage place for other tools and work. Do not attempt to cut material heavier than the tool or machine was designed to handle, and do not use shears or nippers as hammers or pry bars — they are easily damaged that way.

Dull shears can usually be sharpened on an oilstone or with a file.

The bench grinder: five parts and one adjustment

The bench grinder is used for reshaping and sharpening chisels, drills, hatchets, and other similar small hand tools. It consists of a clamp, a rest, an abrasive wheel, a handcrank, and an encased gearing assembly. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Bench Grinder

Three of those five carry the exam weight:

• Clamp — fastens the grinder to a working surface.
• Rest — supports the tool being ground. It is adjustable and may be moved from side to side.
• Abrasive wheel — changed depending on the type of metal being ground.

The wheel is selected for the metal. That is the sentence a question is built from, so read any grinder option that mentions the workpiece material with the wheel in mind.

Two special-purpose vises

Both are named for the job, and the job is the answer.

• Handsaw filing vise — holds handsaws while they are being sharpened. Jaws between 9-1/2 and 11 inches wide, with an attachment for holding a file at a constant angle. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Handsaw Filing Vise
• Machine table vise — may be bolted to a drill press, lathe, or table, and holds small pieces of wood or metal for machining or drilling operations. Two sizes: 3-1/2-inch jaw width with a 3-inch jaw opening, and 6-inch jaw width with a 6-inch jaw opening. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Machine Table Vise Piston Holding Vise

The constant-angle file attachment is the distinguishing feature of the handsaw vise. A question that mentions maintaining a uniform angle on saw teeth is pointing at that vise and nothing else.

Stowage, damaged tools, and power tool discipline

Do not place tools anywhere above machinery or electrical apparatus. Serious damage results if the tool falls into the machinery after the equipment is turned on or running. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Where They Cannot Fall On the Floor or

Never use damaged tools. Notify your supervisor of broken or damaged tools, and return broken tools to the section chief. A battered screwdriver may slip and spoil the screw slot or injure the user; a gage strained out of shape will give inaccurate measurements. Keep hand tools clean and free from dirt, grease, and foreign matter, return them promptly to their proper places in the tool box after use, and organize the box so the tools used most often come to hand without sorting through the whole of it.

The power tool rules that get asked are short and absolute:

1. Never operate any power equipment unless you are completely familiar with its controls and features.
2. Inspect all portable power tools before using them, and see that they are clean and in good condition.
3. Make sure there is plenty of light. Never work with power tools in dark areas where you cannot see clearly.
4. Before connecting a power tool to a power source, be sure the tool switch is in the OFF position.
5. Give the tool your full and undivided attention while operating it.

---

Telling it apart

The criterion that separates these tools in care questions is a single one: does oil go on this tool, and where.

• File — no oil, at any stage. Oil makes it slide and stops it cutting fast, and files in storage carry no lubricant or rust-preventive compound at all. Pinning is fought with chalk. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Care of Files
• Pliers and tongs — a light coat of oil after each use, with one exclusion: insulated handles are never oiled, and the insulation is never removed. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Care of Pliers and Tongs
• Shears and nippers — a drop of light oil at the pivot screw or bolt, plus a thin film of oil on the tool to prevent rust. Existing rust is taken off with a fine aluminum-oxide abrasive cloth. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Care of Shears and Nippers

The file is the odd one out of the three. Candidates who learn "clean it and oil it" as a single habit for hand tools lose the file question every time.

Which route restores the edge

• Chisels, drills, hatchets and similar small hand tools — the bench grinder, which exists for reshaping and sharpening them. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Bench Grinder
• Dull shears — an oilstone or a file.
• Handsaws — held in the handsaw filing vise and filed, the vise attachment holding the file at a constant angle. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Handsaw Filing Vise
• Pliers with a broken jaw, handle or cutting edge — no route. They are replaced.

Working a question

You have just been issued a new 10-inch flat file. The job is to dress the cast-iron mounting pads of a pump bedplate, which carry fins and scale from the foundry, and afterward to true the edge of a sheet-metal lagging patch.

1. Check the condition of the file before the condition of the work. The file is new, which switches on the break-in rules. Break it in on brass, bronze, or smooth iron first. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Care of Files
2. Reject the cast-iron fins and scale for a new file. A new file is never used to remove the fins or scales on cast iron. That part of the job waits for a broken-in file.
3. Reject the sheet metal for a new file too. A narrow surface such as sheet metal is likely to break the sharp points off the teeth on the narrow edge.
4. Fit the handle before the first stroke. No file is used without a securely attached handle unless it is the Swiss pattern type, and a 10-inch flat file is not.
5. Chalk the teeth before filing. Rubbing chalk between the teeth helps prevent pinning, which is the clogging that makes the file scratch instead of cut.
6. Clean during the job, not after it goes wrong. Scorer pulled parallel to the rows of teeth, then the file cleaner brush parallel to the same rows. Not the vise, and not the bench.
7. Stow it clean and dry, in its own holder. No oil, no rust-preventive compound, and no contact with other files or tools.

The decision that carries the question is step 1. Every wrong option in a set like this is a job that would be perfectly acceptable with a broken-in file.

Where candidates lose the point

Answering "wipe clean and apply a light coat of oil" for a file. It is the correct answer for pliers, tongs, shears and nippers, and it looks like good practice everywhere. Oiling a file makes it slide across the work and prevents fast cutting, and files are not even stored with rust-preventive compound on them.

Choosing "strike the file against the vise" to clear the teeth. It is what people do on the deckplates and it does dislodge filings. It is prohibited outright; the file cleaner brush is the specified means.

Reading the scorer stroke as a push. The scorer is used with a pulling motion, and the blade is held parallel to the rows of teeth. Options offering a push stroke, or a stroke across the teeth, are there for candidates who half-remember the sentence.

Treating the Swiss pattern exception as general. Only the Swiss pattern type may be used without a securely attached handle. A small file is not exempt because it is small.

Backing off a stubborn nut with pliers, or oiling insulated handles. Pliers are not used for prying or for removing nuts or bolts, and insulated handles are neither oiled nor stripped of their insulation.

Keeping a strained gage or a battered screwdriver in service for rough work. A gage strained out of shape gives inaccurate measurements and a battered screwdriver may slip, spoil the screw slot, or injure the user. Damaged tools are reported to the supervisor and broken tools go back to the section chief.

Plugging in the power tool and then checking the switch. The switch is in the OFF position before the tool is connected to the power source, which is the order the option will be reversed in.

Laying tools on top of a running or standby machine while you work. Tools are not placed above machinery or electrical apparatus at all, because of what happens when the equipment starts.

Check yourself

You are told to remove the foundry fins and scale from a cast-iron pump housing, and the only file in the box is new. What do you do?

Do not use the new file. A new file is never used to remove the fins or scales on cast iron. Break the file in on brass, bronze, or smooth iron first, or find a broken-in file for the job. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Care of Files

Which of these is correct care at the end of a watch: oil the file, oil the pliers, oil the insulated plier handles, oil nothing?

Oil the pliers. Dirt and grease come off with a clean rag and a light coat of oil goes on after each use — but not on insulated handles, which are never oiled and never stripped. Files are not oiled at all, because oil makes them slide instead of cut. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Care of Pliers and Tongs

Your file is scratching the work. What is the condition called, and what prevents it?

Pinning — the teeth clogged with metal filings, which scratches the work. Rubbing chalk between the teeth before filing helps prevent it; the file scorer and file cleaner brush are the best method of clearing it.

You need to sharpen a handsaw and get a uniform angle across every tooth. What holds the work?

The handsaw filing vise, which holds handsaws while they are being sharpened and has an attachment for holding a file at a constant angle. Its jaws are between 9-1/2 and 11 inches wide. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Handsaw Filing Vise

A small steel bracket has to be drilled on the drill press. Which vise, and what are the sizes available?

The machine table vise, which bolts to a drill press, lathe, or table and holds small pieces of wood or metal for machining or drilling. It comes with a 3-1/2-inch jaw width and 3-inch opening, or a 6-inch jaw width and 6-inch opening. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Machine Table Vise Piston Holding Vise

You are set up to grind a chisel and a drill bit, and the metals differ. What changes on the bench grinder, and what supports the tool?

The abrasive wheel is changed depending on the type of metal being ground. The rest supports the tool being ground; it is adjustable and may be moved from side to side. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Bench Grinder

You are about to use a portable power tool in a poorly lit shaft alley. List what must be satisfied before the plug goes in.

You must be completely familiar with the tool's controls and features; the tool must be inspected and found clean and in good condition; there must be plenty of light, and you do not work with power tools in dark areas where you cannot see clearly; and the tool switch must be in the OFF position before connecting to the power source. Once running, the tool has your full and undivided attention. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Where They Cannot Fall On the Floor or

Your snips will not cut clean any more, and a shipmate's pliers have a cracked jaw. What happens to each?

Dull shears can usually be sharpened on an oilstone or with a file, and the pivot screw or bolt gets a drop of light oil. Pliers with broken jaws, handles, or cutting edges are replaced. NAVEDTRA 14256 — Care of Shears and Nippers