I was wrong about those fancy tool holders, they actually saved my setup time

For two years I thought those expensive quick-change tool holders were a waste of money. I figured my standard collet chucks worked fine and I was just being cheap. Then my shop got a rush order for 50 aluminum parts last month and I borrowed a buddy's holder to test. Cutting my tool change from 90 seconds down to 15 saved me almost 6 hours on that job alone. Has anyone else had a tool they scoffed at turn out to be a game changer?

2 comments

2 Comments

stellablack1mo ago

My buddy laughed at those holders until he ran a 200 piece job and finished three hours early.

terryrobinson1mo ago

Yeah but did you actually time yourself before and after? I was the same way, I thought my manual chucks were fine and the whole quick change thing was just hype. Then I ran a batch of 30 stainless parts where each one needed three different tools and I was swapping out every time. That first day with the quick change holder I cut my changeover time from almost two minutes to like 20 seconds, honestly it blew my mind how much time I was just wasting before.