Overheard a guy at the coffee shop say he runs his cutterhead dry to save on wear parts

Between the risk of overheating the bearings and the extra vibration eating up seals faster, has anyone here actually tried running without lube for a full shift or is that just a recipe for a $5,000 repair bill?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim.xena26d ago

Brags about never changing his oil" - that's the exact same guy who probably brags about his CEL being a "maintenance reminder light." I knew a dude once who ran a skid steer so dry the hydraulic pump started sounding like a dying cat in a blender. Boss asked him what the noise was and he said "that's just how she sounds." Two days later the pump grenaded and sent shrapnel through the whole system.

patriciap5220d ago

My buddy tried this once on his old mill and the bearings went from a gentle hum to sounding like a bag of angry bees in about 20 minutes. He figured he'd save on grease cartridges but ended up dropping $3,200 on a whole new head assembly and a long walk of shame to the shop. I'm honestly not sure if that's cheaper than just buying lube or if we're all just bad at math lmao. Between the heat and the chatter, I'd bet the seals started leaking before his first coffee break that day.

felixramirez26d ago

Wait, is this guy trying to Win the Darwin Award for Milling? Running a cutterhead dry for a full shift sounds like that coworker who brags about never changing his oil and then wonders why his engine seized up on the highway. I've seen what happens when you skip the grease on a small job, the bearings start singing opera before lunch and the whole head sounds like a box of rocks by 3pm. That $5,000 repair bill is practically a guarantee if you try that stunt, ask me how I know.