Cleaning needle files?

[Hammers]

A tip that I picked up absolutely years ago (can't even remember where/when!) was to rub a little bit of white chalk onto your files, and then gently brush the excess off. This means that when you file your metal models, the filings don't gum up the cutting faces so badly (you can just wire brush them down and carry on).

If you get milliput or plastic gumming up your files, then let the files soak in acetone for a little bit and the stuff will just dissolve out (although you may want to encourage it with an old toothbrush as well).

A similar trick for drill bits is to drill through a wax candle first, then through the (metal) models - this helps to stop the bit from sticking and breaking off in the hole you're drilling. I daresay this could work for files too, and to remove the metal you could soak them in boiling water (make to sure dry and oil them afterwards though - don't want  rusty files!).

Although I've clumsily snapped the tips off a couple of files over the years, I still regularly use 25-year-old files in my toolkit!

*Preventive* meassures. Now, that's cunning...!

[digid]

I also chalk my files before use, then use a file brush and 90 percent of the white metal comes right off. I learned this trick working on the lathe, but it works for the miniatures also. I have files that are 20+ years old and still going strong.   

When I used to use the files on lead figures a soaking in mercery would take the lead right out, but my supply of mercury is about gone, and it is really not a very safe thing to play with, and the mercury becomes contaminated. I have not tried it with the lead free metal the figures  are made of today.

Dale