Showerthought: my $40 tool setter probe saved me and a guy in Wichita taught me the real trick

Oscar Scott · 2026-10-09T23:05:03.938935+00:00

So Friday morning I was running a batch of 60 aluminum brackets on the VF-2 and about part 22 the spindle started making this weird chirp sound on every rapid move. I shut it down and checked the tool setter, turns out the probe tip had a tiny chip and it was measuring about 0.015 off, which is why my Z depths were drifting on every part after the first tool change. I was about to order a new one for $200 when a guy named Dave at the machine shop down the street in Wichita told me to just flip the contact plate and re-zero it, which took maybe 10 minutes. Saved the run, but I scrapped 3 brackets before I caught it because I was trusting the numbers on the screen instead of watching the actual cut. Now I touch off manually every 5 parts on long runs and I keep a spare probe in the drawer, which cost me $40 instead of a full day of downtime. Has anyone else had their setter drift mid-batch on them, and do you reset it or just swap it out?

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Showerthought: my $40 tool setter probe saved me and a guy in Wichita taught me the real trick | CNC Operators - Rigidtalk