Ran a lathe into a chuck face back in 2019 and learned a lot that day

I was running a late night shift on a Mazak at a shop near Akron. Got distracted by a text from my fiance and cranked the Z way too fast. Crashed a Kennametal boring bar into the chuck body, bent the tool holder and left a nice mark on the chuck face. How do you bounce back after a big crash without letting it rattle you the rest of the shift?

3 comments

3 Comments

susana662mo ago

Holy crap, a Kennametal boring bar? Those things cost a fortune! I would have been sick to my stomach watching that happen. I can't even imagine the sound that made, like the whole shop probably stopped and looked your way. You don't just bounce back from that right away, you gotta give yourself a minute to let the adrenaline wear off. Best thing is to just walk away from the machine for a few minutes, grab some water, and let your hands stop shaking before you try to do anything else. After that you just treat it like a lesson learned and get back to making chips.

the_holly1mo ago

That bit about the adrenaline taking a minute to wear off is spot on, I’ve been there. What worked for me was to just lock the machine out, take a walk around the shop floor, and breathe for a few minutes before even thinking about pulling the broken bar out. Getting back to making chips is the only way to move past it, but you gotta let your heart rate come down first or you’ll just make it worse.

james_kim2mo ago

Dude yes, I had the exact same thing happen with a Sandvik bar a few years back. Just stood there staring at the column for like five minutes, couldn't even breathe. Shop got dead quiet, then someone yelled "you okay over there?" and I just waved them off.