A lead hand told me to stop chasing tenths on rough ops

Been running a Haas VF-4 for about 2 years now and I used to dial every dimension down to the tenth, even on rough passes before heat treat. My lead hand finally pulled me aside last month and said, "You're burning 20 minutes a part for nothing, you're not making this any better for the finish op." At first it felt like he was calling me sloppy, but then I watched him run the same job and it got done in half my time with the same end result. Now I save the tight stuff for after heat treat and only hold what the print actually calls for. Anyone else had to unlearn the habit of over-trying on the rough side?

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charles8361mo ago

That "you're not making this any better for the finish op" line hit me hard when I heard it said to a coworker once. I used to think being a good machinist meant holding tenths everywhere, period. Took me a shamefully long time to see it’s about knowing where the tolerance actually matters. Now I treat roughing like its own job, get the metal off fast and leave enough for the heat treat to move around. Your lead hand did you a favor, even if it stung at the time.

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