The day a coolant line split and taught me to check everything

I was running a big aluminum job on our old Haas, about 4 hours into a 6 hour cycle. Heard a weird hiss and saw a fine mist, but the pressure gauge looked fine. Kept going for 20 minutes until the pump started screaming. Turns out a cheap plastic T fitting on a secondary line had a hairline crack. The gauge only read the main line, so I missed it. Lost the whole batch and a $200 end mill. Anyone else have a story about a small part causing a huge crash?

2 comments

2 Comments

casey_barnes2mo ago

Watched a buddy's lathe eat itself because a single set screw backed out on a boring bar holder. Thing was just chattering for a bit, then it dug in and snapped the bar right off. Took the insert with it and put a nasty groove in the part.

robinson.holly2mo agoMost Upvoted

Okay, but "ate itself" feels like a stretch. A set screw coming loose is a basic shop mistake, not a machine meltdown. It wrecked the tool and the part, which totally sucks and is expensive, but lathes are tough. That's a bad day, not a total breakdown. The machine itself is probably fine after a cleanup and a new tool holder.