Had a chat with a retired toolmaker last week that made me rethink how I approach setups

I was at a local machining meetup in St. Louis and this older guy, must have been 70 something, started talking about how he used to do setups on old manual Bridgeports. He said something like 'you young guys spend too much time trying to get perfect numbers and not enough time thinking about what the part actually needs.' At first I thought he was just old school ranting, but then I watched him look at a job I was struggling with and point out a simple fixture change that saved me 15 minutes per part. It hit different because he wasn't talking about being faster, he was talking about being smarter with what you got. Made me realize I've been chasing tenths on stuff that didn't need it. Has anyone else had a veteran machinist point out something obvious you were completely missing?

3 comments

3 Comments

cole_baker13d ago

Yeah, that's how I learned buying cheap tools means spending twice.

danielnelson13d ago

Yeah that rule applies to relationships too?

wadew5113d ago

Hang on, let's not get TOO carried away here. I mean, okay, the old guy had a point about not chasing tenths where it doesn't matter. But framing this like some life-changing revelation for every single setup you ever do? That's a bit much. Not every part's a simple bracket. Some stuff really DOES need to be within half a thou, and if you dumb down your approach, you'll end up scrapping parts that cost more than the time you saved. I'd take a look at what @danielnelson said about relationships - that's a stretch, man, a setup tip doesn't translate to life advice. It's just good sense to know when you're overthinking and when you're being lazy about precision. There's a balance, and this post makes it sound like ALL the math is a waste, which it isn't. So yeah, sure, listen to the old guys, but don't throw your indicators in the trash just yet.