Had to choose between saving a job or saving a tool bit today

I was running a production order for some aluminum brackets yesterday and my 1/4 inch end mill started chattering halfway through the run. I could either stop and swap the bit (losing like 45 minutes of setup time) or push through and risk breaking it. I picked the job over the bit and sure enough, that carbide end mill snapped on the last pass. Cost me $32 for the replacement plus the headache of reprogramming the new tool offset. Anyone else have a moment where you gambled on a worn tool and it backfired?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscar7431mo ago

Dude I did the exact same thing last week with a 3/8 ball mill on some steel parts. Knew it was getting dull but thought I could squeeze one more part out of it. Snapped on the final pass and I was so mad at myself for not just swapping it out.

norab211mo ago

Knew it was getting dull but thought I could squeeze one more part out of it." Yeah that's basically my entire career in one sentence. @oscar743 I swear the minute I think "eh one more pass can't hurt" is the exact second the universe schedules a catastrophic failure. My last one was a 1/2 inch rougher I was convinced had another hour of life in it. It chipped on the first cut and I ended up spending 20 minutes fishing broken carbide out of a pocket while my boss walked past and just shook his head. At least I got to practice my cussing for the day.