Originally Posted by
LeeWay
.....Your switch contacts may have arced and your switch might be toast though.
No it is not good practice and the quote above explains why.
When you turn on a big motor it draws a current many, many times the maximum current draw under full load. As an example I had a Herbert #8 Turret Lathe that had a full load current of 40 amps and a starting surge in excess of 280 amps.
Most times the switch that turns the machine on and off will be rated to interrupt the circuit at full load amps; when you turn the motor on and off before it gets up to speed you may be severely overloading the switch by turning off the starting current surge. The large current can cause arcing and literally burn the contacts off the switch. Or worse, weld everything together and make it impossible to open the circuit or arc between adjacent contacts and blow a fuse.
What the old time machinist should have told you to do is spin the chuck by hand; the reason for the advice is to check that the gears are all correctly engaged. If they are not when you start the machine they can fail to drop into engagement and the dogs or teeth get rounded off, or they drop into engagement when the motor is at speed and the shock can b reak something.
Turning by hand lets things drop into engagement gently.
An open mind is a virtue...so long as all the common sense has not leaked out.