Working on that infill (still)

I've been going into work early to squeeze in some time on my infill during the week. I don't have a decent vise for metal work at home at the moment. I just pack up my little red tool box full of files and spend 45 minutes or so putzing away before starting work. It's a nice way to start the day. I'll have to do a separate post about the saw and files...and the cold chisel. The little things in life can be extremely satisfying, and for some reason, the cold chisel that I've been using is one of those things. Anyway, onto business..

Here's the brass sides. I did a little additional filing to help sharpen the corners a bit before marking them onto the steel sole. We'll get back to these guys for some more filing and drilling, hopefully later this week.

After marking the sides to the sole we can go ahead and comb cut the waste down to the layout line. Some of the layout is similar to doing a wooden dovetail. I should have taken more pictures of that part, maybe next time. Once the cutting is over, you can grab the cold chisel and a hammer. Use the chisel to bend over the pieces and break them out. This is the same process used on the brass sides. I did the brass parts before starting the blog...so not a lot of pictures there.

This is after most of the filing is complete. There is still final fitting to be done. But the bulk of the work for this side of the sole is complete.

Customizing files is a bit of a chore, but it pays off. On this particular file I ground the teeth off of one of the sides to make it safe, allowing me to file into the corner. I'll post some pictures of various files. As I'm going through this I'm getting ideas of different ways to modify the files for different purposes.

Another shot of using the file. In this case, I'm using the non-safe edge to square up the side of the pin. On the left you can see where I started a saw cut, that's actually where the toe of the plane will be when I'm done.

Saving the ugly pic for last. This is part way into the opposite side of the sole, after chiseling. It's a pretty rough surface in there. However, a bit of patience and a decent file can make the work pretty quick.

One thing that is going to become a problem very soon is that I had an uh-oh in my planning. I was hoping to buy a lever cap instead of making one, because 260 brass in thicker pieces can be a bit pricey. The one I wanted isn't available so I'm changing tack a little bit. I'll have to find a work-around, but I have some ideas. In order to have a bit of mystery, I'll leave that part out until I fully solve the problem.
So, we're making some progress and moving along.