Teaching the ‘feel’ … at Michelin: 2 Available to Purchase

The file is probably the most difficult of all hand‐tools to use; it is certainly the most difficult on which to give effective instruction. It is true that there is only one serious fault for beginners to overcome: they produce a convex instead of a flat surface. They let the edges, back and front, drop. Most training schools and instructors start straight away with practice in filing a truly flat surface. Almost invariably the trainee gets rounded edges and he just goes on practising and practising until he gets a true flat. In other words, he is finding the means of control of the flat file through a rather lengthy and dull process of trial and error of the most hit‐and‐miss kind. This can be a deadening experience for the boy, which is especially to be regretted since filing usually comes very early on after leaving school and starting his training.