I had to pick between running a job with a worn collet or shutting down to replace it

So I was about to start a run of 500 parts for a local bike shop, all needing tight tolerances on the seat post clamps. My go-to 3/4 inch collet had a tiny bit of play, maybe a couple thou, but I was already behind schedule. I mean, the part looked fine on the first piece. The choice was to just run it and hope, or stop everything, clean the spindle, and put in a brand new collet from the cabinet. I shut it down. It took about 20 minutes, but not a single part was out of spec after that. If I'd kept going, I would have wasted material and probably had to re-run the whole batch later. Has anyone else faced that 'just one more run' feeling with a tool that's almost done? How do you decide when to stop and swap?

4 comments

4 Comments

felixlane2mo ago

Sometimes you gotta run the worn tool to make the numbers work. A couple thou on a seat clamp isn't the end of the world if you're checking parts.

richarddixon2mo ago

Been there with a drill press bushing that was just a hair loose. Told myself it was fine for a short run of brackets. Ended up with egg-shaped holes and a whole afternoon of rework. Now if a tool feels off, even a little, I swap it right away. That ten minute change saves hours later.

theajohnson2mo ago

Learned that the hard way with a worn jig.

fionam1116d ago

The part nobody talks about is how running a worn collet can actually damage your spindle taper over time. That little bit of play lets the tool wobble and it wears the taper unevenly. You might get away with it for one run but eventually you are looking at a spindle rebuild which costs way more than twenty minutes and a new collet. The real question is if you are willing to risk a multi thousand dollar repair just to save a little time. It sounds like you made the smart call even though it was annoying.