Took me 18 months to realize I was manually feeding wrong on every roughing pass

Was watching a YouTube video from a guy in Detroit who showed his feed rate overlay and I realized my machine was screaming because I was treating every pass like a finishing pass, not using the extra inch per tooth that solid carbide can actually take, anyone else ever get that wake-up call from watching someone else's setup?

3 comments

3 Comments

kimr102mo ago

Ngl that 18 months part hit me hard. Tbh I’ve been running the same handful of speeds and feeds for years and never thought to double-check until I saw someone else’s overlay too.

emery_young132mo ago

Oh man. Yeah that's brutal. I spent a whole year running my indexable endmill like it was made of butter. Chip thinning is real. Feeds are for eating. Speeds are for dying. That Detroit guy probably saved your spindle bearings.

henderson.wesley1mo ago

Did you ever find out what speeds and feeds you should have been running all along? I only ask because I feel like half of us are just guessing based on what some guy on YouTube said five years ago. It's wild that you can go eighteen months thinking you're doing it right and then realize you've been grinding your tools down the whole time. I've been there too, not with a mill but with a lathe, and it made me feel like an idiot for weeks after. The worst part is knowing how much time and material you wasted just because you didn't look closer sooner. Hopefully that Detroit guy's advice got you sorted out for good.