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How often teeth need replacing also depends on the job and the above factors, says John Hood, sales manager for paving and milling products with Bomag Americas. "Depending on the job and the scope of the work, I've seen tool changes in very abrasive, heavy cut situations done in as short a period of time as every 30 minutes," Hood says. "It's a variable that's all over the place."

Whether you're replacing teeth daily or weekly, the tooling is one wear part a contractor cannot ignore.

Moldboard wear strips
The moldboard helps clean out the trench and keeps cuts clean. These strips are often made of hardened steel or carbide, and like the teeth are in constant contact with the asphalt. That constant contact wears the strips down and can even cause the strips to bend. If they wear too far the containment door will start to wear, Chastain says. Repairs to the containment door can be costly.

Wear on the moldboard results in more material being left in the trench and a less smooth surface. As a result, the finishing crew has more cleanup work to do, Hood says.

Chastain says that on average moldboard wear strips will need to be changed once or twice a season depending on the type of material being milled.