My first foreman told me to always run a facing pass before any finish cut, no matter what

This was back in the late 90s at a job shop in Dayton. He said it would guarantee a perfect surface, but it added about 15 minutes to every setup. I followed that rule for years until a new guy, fresh from tech school, showed me his setup for a simple aluminum bracket. He skipped the facing pass, used a fresh end mill, and got a mirror finish in half the time. It made me realize some old rules can hold you back. Anyone else have an old piece of advice they finally dropped?

2 comments

2 Comments

samb422d ago

My old boss at a gear shop insisted on a three-step deburring process with specific files. It took forever. I watched a younger guy use a powered deburring tool on the same parts and it was cleaner and five times faster. That was the day I stopped treating his word as gospel. Sometimes the new way is just better.

clairee882d ago

What specific files did he make you use? That old three-step method sounds like it came from a time before good power tools existed. Stubborn tradition just kills efficiency.