Gotta push back a little on this one. I've run Haas machines for years and the defaults are actually pretty decent for common materials like 6061 and 1018. The problem isn't the presets, it's that people don't know what material they're actually cutting. If you're running something weird like a stainless or a tough alloy and you just punch "go" on the factory feed, yeah you're asking for trouble. But a $400 endmill crash usually means you didn't check the toolpath or the material code before hitting cycle start. The old timer is right that you should verify, but calling every default a straight up lie is a bit much. I trust the defaults for aluminum all day long, just double check your material and tooling first.

Man, that's a tough read, @troy_adams. Really feel for the guy.

Ugh, I gotta respectfully disagree here. I see patina as one thing and actual rust as a totally different problem, you know? Patina is that even, stable oxidation that sits on the surface and actually protects the metal underneath, like on a old copper pan or a well-used brass lamp. But rust, real rust, that's just corrosion eating your gear away from the inside out, it's not character, it's damage waiting to happen. I've seen too many guys at the Rocky's swap meet act like their flaking, pitted knife blades are "well-loved" when really they're just neglected. There's a difference between using something hard and letting it get wet and sit in a drawer for six months. You can use your gear and still wipe it down sometimes, that's not babying it, that's just common sense.

A lot of life is just learning which shortcuts will bite you later.

Dude that sounds like an absolute nightmare. Self-leveler is way more finicky than people make it out to be, especially if your subfloor isn't perfectly clean or the temp's off a bit. I feel your pain, that must have been super frustrating to keep going back and pouring again.