The shadows thing is actually legit physics though. NASA's official explanation about the surface reflecting light differently makes sense but the uneven ground and multiple light sources from the sun and the lunar module create weird angles. There's a NASA engineer named Farouk El-Baz who wrote about how the moon's surface messes with perspective in photos. Not saying it proves anything, but the shadow argument isn't as dumb as people make it sound.

My shop has a beat up old mill from the 70s and I bought a set of those fancy carbide end mills last year. They cost almost as much as the machine is worth and the finish still looks like a cat scratched it because the spindle has too much play. @emmag22 you're right, spending money on nice tooling just makes me feel like I'm trying to polish a turd. I keep dreaming about one of those newer CNC machines too but then I remember my mortgage is already high enough. The buttery smooth finish might just be a myth for guys like us running ancient equipment.

Blew through an hour trying to cut one piece square yesterday.

His buddy probably should have checked what kind of batteries those cordless models use too. Some of those newer Andis are lithium ion, but a lot of the cheaper ones have old school NiCads that just dump voltage without warning. My old cordless Wahl did the same thing right at the worst moment, and I found out later that a fresh charge on a NiCad gives you a false sense of security. It's not just about having a backup, it's about knowing the battery tech in the tools you're using. A lithium ion clipper will give you a slower fade in power, not a sudden stop.

I had a buddy who worked at a shop in Jacksonville that had a torque wrench older than his truck. He called it "the guesser" and just added a grunt for extra tightness. 15 foot pounds is straight up dangerous on something like head bolts. I've seen warped decks on small engines from less than that. Your 6.0 already has enough problems without throwing bad torque into the mix. At least you caught it before you fired it up and turned that driveway into a boat ramp.