Quote Originally Posted by tbaker2500 View Post
Really? I found zero difference on that cutter's tool life going to dry. I think you might be overestimating the "quality" of this bit.
Okay, I just calculated my last run, and that was 24 hours of run time on that bit and it's still sharp. So maybe I under estimated.

But thank you for recognizing the value associated with eliminating the hassle of flood. Add into that health issues. I'm very sensitive to chemicals, and the various coolants I'd tried left me very irritated. That being said, I've learned some better brands that might be less bad.
Personally, I've done dry, I used FogBusters for several years, then finally, reluctantly, switched to flood when I started pushing my machines harder. I'd never go back. I found dry/mist far too noisy, and the constant stream of high-velocity air needed to keep chips clear, especially on deep pockets and slots, really painful to listen to, and the chips went EVERYWHERE. It was also very finicky - hard to keep the air/mist/etc aimed exactly where it's needed, and the FogBuster was prone to random clogs, due to the small orifices in the mister head. And at the rates you're moving, it only takes a few seconds of loss of air/coolant to get into welding and other bad things. In comparison, I find flood relatively relaxing - it's quiet, not at all fussy, and very reliable. It's easy to get enough flow that aim almost doesn't matter, so I never have problems caused by lack of cooling, unless I'm careless and allow the sump to get too low. I like being able to start the machine and walk away, confident it won't get into trouble. Never quite reached that point with dry or mist. I did like not having wet, drippy parts coming off the machine, but got tired of finding chips all the way on the opposite of my shop, 20+ feet away. With flood, I can run for days, and not have a single chip on the floor even right next to the machine. Oddly, I find less airborne/vapor coolant with flood as well, though I suspect that is highly dependant on the specific coolant you use, and I did switch from KoolMist to RustLick WS5050 shortly after switching to flood.

Regards,
Ray L.