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TIL my old way of checking tool runout was costing me time
I used to just eyeball it with a dial indicator and hope for the best, which led to a bad finish on a 4140 steel job last month. Now I always use a test indicator and a granite surface plate before the spindle even turns on. How do you guys check your tool holders?
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knight.xena3mo ago
Why waste time on a surface plate?
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coleman.jade1mo ago
... and my buddy Phil learned that one the hard way. He was building a small engine block and just used his workbench, thought he was being clever by shimming it with some old feeler gauges. Spent three days getting everything lined up only for the main bearing bores to be off by like seven thou when he finally checked with a height gauge. Had to scrap the whole block and start over, cost him way more time and money than just buying a cheap surface plate would have.
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noah_barnes3mo ago
Honestly, my buddy tried to skip using one on his last project. Tbh it was a total mess. His parts looked fine to the eye, but nothing fit together right. Turns out his whole work surface was off by a few thou. He wasted more time fixing things than if he'd just set up the plate first. Ngl, watching that happen changed my mind about them real quick.
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