My shop is in Cleveland and we got a old timer who retired from Ford in 09. He told me the same thing about letting the chip talk and I thought he was crazy at first. But after I saw him save a 600 pound die casting mold with just his ear and a quick glance at the swarf I changed my mind. Calculators are fine for roughing but the real magic happens when you step back and listen. That part you saved would have been a real gut punch to scrap.

Ouch, keyword match settings are brutal.

My 70 year old uncle trims everything down to the bone.