This month's tip concerns hob sharpening. I have noticed lately that many customers are using their hobs longer before sharpening. This is certainly understandable due to the economy, however it is false savings. Sharpening more than 0.015" of wear off of a hob not only shortens the life of the tool, but hobbing with a dull cutter makes the machine work harder which in turn increases maintenance costs. It also requires more power to cut with a dull hob, which adds to the utility bills. A dull hob also contributes to a poor finish, which can make your customers unhappy. Even in a time when cost-cutting is critical, the best way to reduce production costs is having your cutters sharpened at the regular intervals.