How to deburr small pieces of various metals

When working with pieces of metal, there may come a time that you will need to smooth the edges of the metal project you are working on.
I will tell you how you can perform a basic step in preparing to work with metals such as steel, aluminum and brass.
We will refer to the basic step as deburring. Deburring means to smooth rough or sharp edges and is also for your own safety; you don't want to cut yourself while working with raw materials.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1.)Material. Your material that you are going to deburr is rectangular or square and will be generally aluminum or steel.
• 2.)A metal file. Your metal file will remind you of a nail file, but larger and thicker. Files are available in many sizes and shapes and their filing teeth range from fine to coarse.
• 3.) Gloves. If your material is of a large size and ragged edged, wear gloves. With steel pieces, i generally wear snug gloves; the burrs on the material are harder to file.
• 4.) Safety glasses. When filing, it is possible for hunks of material to hit you in the face if you are working aggressively.

1. Prepare your work surface. Cardboard taped down to the top of your work area,a comfortable chair and you are ready to begin! Put on your safety glasses first and then your gloves. In this scenario, we will be holding onto a rectangular piece of aluminum and using a lightweight file.

2. Pick up your file with the dominant hand, holding your piece of metal upright if possible with your other hand. The file will cut, or file, in one direction, which will be AWAY from your body. You want to hold the file between your index finger and thumb, rest the file on the edge of the material, and be sure to use the length of the file to take off the ragged edges of the material.

3. Work slowly and patiently in filing to remove the edges of the material. You are after a smooth edge and it's important that you don't try too hard otherwise you could slip up and cut yourself.
   Work around all the edges and when satisfied with the results, turn the material around to it's other side and hit those sides with your file.

Tips & Warnings

• Working with the length of your file will give you a smoother finish as opposed to short, jagged motions. Brass and aluminum are softer metals than steel or stainless steel, so you will want to use a lighter file. Brass and aluminum material will build up quickly in the teeth of your file, so it's important that you clean your file with a file brush to remove debris periodically.
• Start out using lighter strokes as opposed to heavy. You can always go back and file heavier but you can't undo too much filing. A uniform edge is what you are after and your goal is not to cut yourself when you handle your piece of material.