3 hours to find a 20 cent collet issue on a Haas

Kept getting chatter on a part I've run a hundred times, swapped inserts, checked speeds, even called a buddy. Turns out a tiny burr on the collet nut was causing runout, wasted most of my Saturday morning chasing it. Has anyone else had a simple fix take way longer than it should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamesf4120h ago

3 hours to find a 20 cent collet issue" - been there. I started wiping down collets and nuts with a rag before every job, saved me more times than I can count.

jamie77020h ago

I get where @jamesf41 is coming from with the rag trick, but I actually see it differently. The real issue isnt the dirt on the collet, its that the collet or nut itself is junk half the time. Wiping down a worn out collet is like putting a bandaid on a broken leg. Ive had times where I spent an hour cleaning everything, only to find out the collet was stretched or the threads were mangled. Spending 3 bucks on a new one upfront would have saved me that whole morning. Its easy to blame dirt, but the metal fatigue is the hidden time killer.