it hurts to watch but we learn from mistakes
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I don’t have a photo, but I managed to run over my controller with the router on a job while I was in the other room a few months back. I’m guessing that I’m not the first person to have done this? Thankfully the controllers weren’t on backorder when I dorked it up. 
while learning how to probe, I drove a 60deg V bit into the aluminum probe and cracked the delicate tip off. It still cuts well but it was a big “ok, I need to pay more attention and slow it down” moment. Could have easily been my hand.
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Oh man, I have done that at least 3 times! I actually stuck one in so hard that aluminum block lifted a little with the bit when I raised the Z!
My wasteboard also has a couple of spots where I’ve run an endmill THROUGH my T-track. I didn’t have the bit in the collet very securely and it came loose during a job. It cut through 1" of walnut and buried itself into the table while the XY were still jogging around. That was exciting in a really bad way!
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stuff happens. I cracked my first bit last night, an 1/8" long downcut. MDF started to bind up in the profile groove and added a bunch of heat and resistance. It’s all part of the learning process
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Have done that myself.
Here I was trying to be clever/lazy/economist of effort. On the last step of a project I’d spent several hours getting to this point. I decided to program one final finishing pass at depth… But forgot to change my safe retract height.
Much colorful language.
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I found a gorgeous piece of birdseye maple. Seriously beautiful. It was destined for greatness, to be the inlays of a retirement plaque for a direct appointee of the governor of my state.
I set up the carve, hogged it out, and just to make sure it was perfect elected for a clearing path with a 1/16 tapered ball nose before the final v carve. About 4, 5 hours of machine work in total.
And i realized i cut it backwards. Or rather, i cut it in the standard orientation… when i needed to mirror it.
Well, my stock was 1/2 inch, so i planed down the goofup. I laminated the maple with some oak veneer to bring the material back up to a usable thickness. I set my cuts up again… and proceeded to ruin it a second time cutting it the wrong way.
I cut out the lettering and left it on my computer desk as a reminder to be less of an idiot in the future. Essentially two days of wasted machine time because of my idiocy.
I then had to go back to the lumberyard to get a suitable replacement… while the maple i replaced it with was nice, it had nothing on this piece!
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Well i knew it was going to happen eventually.
This is what happens to an endmil when running into a steel pin ypu forgot was underneath.
The steel pin
Just glad it was one of my cheap bits.
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In addition, carve your pocket then fill it with clear epoxy and paint the outside with clear epoxy as 2well…once it cures, carve the pocket again and fill with color. The clear epoxy should seal the grain.
These were beautiful pieces of birdseye maple set to be used for a vcarve inlay.
Until I forgot to mirror the vector and completely wasted them.
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I can’t say I’ve never been there. I feel your pain, it really sucks,
Guess who finally forgot to attach the magnet while probing for Z?
I’m painting that sucker bright red now.
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I’ve had my fair share of mistakes, especially the first year.
I want to make the following sign for the shop:
“If my CNC only does what it’s told, why do these mistakes keep happening!”
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That is much better than the deflector curtain my wife sewed for my shop that says “measure twice cut once”. I wish I could say it is something always followed.
this is a good reason to switch to a 3d touch probe.
Adam - I’m eagerly awaiting a bit setter. Could you elaborate on how a 3d probe would be used here?
You’d use a 3D probe instead of your XYZ touch block. It doesn’t require a magnet be connected to the collet nut, so you can’t forget to do it. I got the DIG3D.LP.M from topcom.cz.
https://topcom.cz/products/dig3d/dig3dlpm/
I chose the PNP/NC version. The PNP simplifies wiring a little bit by eliminating the need to use a resistor. The NC aspect is a safeguard, as the controller must see the probe is connected normally before it can be used. If not, the controller will alarm.
This is essentially a replacement for your XYZ touch block.
I’m thinking I might follow your lead here, Adam. Did you select the sealed version, and which of the 5 tip types did you select for it?
I went with the sealed version and the 2mm ruby tip.
Appreciate the explanation, but I am more wondering how this can be used to set the Z height of an arbitrarily chucked bit (no collar). I am still waiting on my bit setter to arrive, and currently touch off of the block probe between tool changes to set the height.