PSA: The $5 feeler gauge trick that saved my finish pass

I was running a job on a Haas VF-2 last Tuesday in my shop near Denver, cutting 6061 aluminum brackets with a 1/2 inch end mill. Kept getting chatter on the finish pass even with conservative feeds and speeds. Adjusted RPM, changed stepover, nothing worked. Then an old timer from the next bay over walks up and tells me to run a feeler gauge between the vise jaw and the part to check for lift. Sure enough, I had a 0.003 inch gap from a tiny chip under the part. Cleaned the vise, re-clamped, and the finish came out glass smooth. Has anyone else had a simple inspection tool catch something that wasted hours of setup time?

2 comments

2 Comments

david7033d ago

Nah, feeler gauges are just another excuse to avoid actually dialing in your feeds.

smith.elliot3d ago

Put a bright light behind the part next time you clamp up too, the shadow will show any tiny gaps you'd never see otherwise. I keep a set of feeler gauges in my apron pocket specifically for this reason, saved me more times than I can count after chasing ghosts on a finish pass. Chips under the jaws are the number one thing I check now before I even look at speeds or feeds.