My old lead told me to stop using coolant on aluminum and I laughed at him

Been running 6061 parts for 6 years and always used standard flood coolant. Old timer named Frank watched me set up a job and said "turn the coolant off, you're fighting the chips." I thought he was messing with me but tried it on one test piece. Surface finish came out better and tool life went up about 40%. Anyone else run aluminum dry or is Frank just lucky?

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terry_jones2mo ago

Blew a buddy's mind when his old timer told him the same thing.

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grant_allen852mo ago

Yeah, I gotta disagree a bit with that take, @terry_jones. I mean sure, some old timers have useful stuff to say, but I've seen just as many pass along straight up bad info because that's how they've always done it. Respectfully, a lot of those guys are set in their ways and not exactly up on the latest research or best practices. It's not always about respecting experience blindly, sometimes it's about knowing when to question it too. Just my two cents though, I know plenty of folks swear by the old school approach.

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