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Had to choose between a hand file and a pneumatic file on a tricky quarter panel repair last week
I was working on an old Jeep Cherokee from the late 90s, trying to smooth out a patch weld on the quarter panel near the wheel well. Brought both files to the job, figured I'd save time with the pneumatic one. But the angle was too tight, the air hose kept snagging on the bumper, and I ended up switching to the hand file after 10 minutes of frustration. It took twice as long but the control was way better. Anyone else find that old school tools still win out on tight spots like that?
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jessec392mo ago
Yeah @jamienguyen, that hose snagging thing is the worst, I once tripped over mine and put a dent in a fender I just finished.
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jamienguyen2mo ago
That line about the air hose snagging on the bumper really hit home. I've had the exact same issue more times than I can count. Pneumatic tools are great when you have the space, but in tight spots like a wheel well, the cord or hose always finds something to grab onto. The hand file just gives you that feel and control that air tools can't match, no matter how much time they save in open areas. Sometimes slow and steady really does win the race on tricky bodywork.
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