The machinist's measure of real work: spindles turning and metal coming off. Setup, meetings, paperwork and waiting for material all count as not making chips. It is also a greeting and a boast, and owners use spindle uptime figures to put a number on it.
Heard on the job
Took all morning to set up the fixture, but we're making chips now and it's running like a clock.
Also heard as
- cutting metal
- cutting chips