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I thought my old way of checking the cutterhead was good enough until a job in Mobile Bay.
Saw a guy use a laser level to map the wear pattern, and it showed a 3/8 inch dip I'd totally missed by eye. Anyone got a better method for tracking that kind of uneven wear?
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umaanderson20d ago
Mobile Bay will do that to you. We started using a dial indicator on a magnetic base after a similar surprise. Run it across the cutterhead in a grid pattern and log the numbers on a simple chart. It's slower than a laser but catches those gradual dips a straight edge can miss. The key is checking the same spots every time to see the wear trend.
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adam91d ago
Yeah, that paint pen trick is smart. It turns the data into a physical mark you have to see and deal with, which beats a forgotten chart. Makes the whole check part of the routine instead of extra paperwork.
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That dial indicator grid sounds like a lot of work for what you get. I tried logging numbers on a chart and it just never stuck with the crew. We switched to taking a bright paint pen and marking the low spots the laser finds right on the cutterhead itself. Seeing that big orange circle in the dip every day during pre-checks is a way better reminder than a sheet of paper in the office. It makes the wear pattern something you can't ignore.
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