I finally realized I was loading parts backward for 8 months

So I've been running this Doosan lathe for a while now and kept having these weird tolerance issues on one side of my parts. Thought it was the machine being old or whatever. Turns out I was loading the damn thing in the chuck facing the wrong way the whole time lol. Had a senior guy walk by last Thursday and he just stared at me for like 10 seconds before pointing it out. I felt so stupid but honestly it's funny now. Anyone else have a moment where you just completely missed something obvious that was staring you in the face?

3 comments

3 Comments

brianreed1mo ago

Wait, are you saying you had the part facing the wrong direction in the chuck, or do you mean you were loading the wrong side into the spindle? @allen.iris I've definitely seen people mix up their mental prep with actual setup time before, but this one sounds like a straight-up orientation mix-up. Either way, glad you caught it before someone took a video.

jakewhite1mo ago

Dang, bet your setup time just got cut in half without realizing it.

allen.iris1mo ago

Bet you never stopped to think about how much time the mental prep takes up, though. All that visualizing your course map and foot placement beforehand. That's half the hidden work right there.