Visited a shop in Detroit last month and noticed their tool offset sheets were all handwritten on scrap paper

The old timer running the place said they never bothered with digital tool presetters and just used a worn-down micrometer and a notebook, has anyone else run a whole shop that way and actually kept tight tolerances?

2 comments

2 Comments

robin6286d ago

I was one of those guys who thought digital presetters were mandatory for tight work. But a few years back I watched a 70 year old machinist hold +/-.0002 on a worn Bridgeport using nothing but a tenths mike and a greasy spiral notebook. Changed my whole view on what actually matters in a shop.

karen3616d ago

A .0005 tenths mike and a steady hand will beat a DRO every time when the spindle is warm. @robin628, I've seen guys chase numbers on a DRO all day only to realize their tool holder was .002 off. The real trick is knowing your machine's quirks. Like that Bridgeport had a sweet spot on the X axis where backlash was predictable. You learn to compensate in your head and write it in the notebook. That old timer probably had it down to the half thou just by feel.