Hot take: My aluminum cut gone wrong taught me about coolant
I used to think skipping coolant on quick jobs was fine to save a few minutes. Last month, I was making some small brackets from aluminum and went without it to avoid extra cleanup. Part way in, the tool got so hot it started to smoke and left a rough surface. I had to shut everything down, swap out the tool, and restart the whole program. That delay cost me way more time than I ever saved by cutting dry. Now I get that coolant does more than just cool; it flushes chips and keeps tools from wearing out fast. I always use it now, no matter how short the run. It keeps the job smooth and stops dumb errors like that.