Swarfcast

Chris Armstrong has saved me more times than I can count—helping us at Graff-Pinkert through tough machinery deals, especially when it comes to Swiss machines. Citizens? He's our guy. But today's podcast isn't just about technical know-how. After years of driving coast to coast fixing machines and solving problems most people wouldn't touch, Chris is [...]

Lately, I've been kind of on an AI bender using chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude daily. Whether I like it or not, AI is transforming the way I write, the way I search the Internet, maybe even the way I think. My guest on today's show, Riley Hutchinson, is bringing that transformation into CNC machine [...]

I met today's guest, Mike Pelham, completely by chance — over breakfast at the hotel bar during PMTS in Cleveland. He knew who I was from the podcast. But I didn't know him. Kind of strange when that happens — but it's really cool. After we talked for five minutes, I started thinking he could [...]

Born with no intention of becoming a machinist, Greg Knight says he was drafted into “indentured servitude” at age 16 when his father started a Brown & Sharpe machine shop in their garage. Despite his initial distaste for manual labor, fate had other plans for the psychology, philosophy, religion, and sociology major. I ran into [...]

On today's show I'm bringing back  one of my favorite past guests on the podcast—Damon Pistulka. The first time Damon was on the show he talked about his company Exit Your Way, which helps businesses level up for successful acquisitions. Today he is going to talk about his other venture, B2BTail, which advises small manufacturing [...]

Today we're running a podcast that I guested on in September of 2024 called “Networking and Marketing Made Simple.” The show focuses on how LinkedIn can be used to grow your business. It's hosted by Scott Aaron, who for the last seven months was my LinkedIn coach, an experience that is already paying dividends in [...]

When Trump was elected President for a second term, I expected there would be a lot of talk about tariffs, but I didn't anticipate all the attention on the Panama Canal and Greenland. So, it seemed like the perfect time for Lloyd and I to talk to one of our favorite geopolitics experts, Dr. Andrew [...]

My guest on today's podcast, Anthony Davis, told me that since age 10 he and his brother knew they wanted to join their family business, Global CNC, a tooling manufacturer for CNC lathes and mills. Today at age 23, Anthony runs the company alongside his 25-year-old brother, Alexander, and their 84-year-old grandfather who founded the [...]

It takes tremendous balls to start a machining company from scratch. And, maybe a little extra chutzpa to start a shop that primarily runs cam screw machines making millions of parts for automotive. After 23 years working in job shops and running a small farm, Karl Drasgow cashed out his 401K to found Drasgow Inc., [...] The post What it Takes to Start a Multi-Spindle Shop–EP 235 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Damn. It's already 2025? I was just getting used to the idea that it was 2024. Today, Lloyd and I are reflecting on what worked and didn't work in our used machinery business and our personal lives over the last year. We're also discussing our intentions and predictions for the new year. Will we sell [...] The post What the Heck is Our Strategy for 2025?–EP 234 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

I often ponder—why do some people own and build companies, while most people are destined to spend their careers as employees. In Part II of my interview with Mike Payne, owner of Hill Manufacturing & Fabrication, we explore this question. Mike comes from a family of six generations of teachers, not business managers or entrepreneurs, [...] The post Why Some People Build Companies and Others Don't, Mike Payne (Part 2) EP 233 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

On today's podcast, I'm talking with Mike Payne, owner of Hill Manufacturing and Fabrication in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, to peek inside the mind of a prolific acquirer of manufacturing companies. Before purchasing Hill in 2018, Mike spent 20 years in M&A, orchestrating over 100 deals across nearly every industry. Since then, Mike has acquired four [...] The post Manufacturing Acquisitions with Purpose, Mike Payne (Part 1)-EP 232 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Have you ever wondered how a used machinery dealer like myself approaches buying secondhand equipment? About a month ago, I did my first LinkedIn live talk and featured that subject. I focused the talk on my techniques for communicating with sellers and equipment experts. I believe the majority of people these days lean too much [...] The post 3 Secrets to Buy Used Equipment like a Used Machinery Dealer-EP 231 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

You may have noticed that I often talk about friction on this podcast. That's because everyone has to fight friction in business—and there is A LOT of friction in the manufacturing business. Friction from time consuming stuff. Friction from stuff being too hard to figure out. Friction from stuff we're not qualified to do or [...] The post Your Shop Is Too Slow, with Const Ivanov-EP 230 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Why would anybody buy a CNC multi-spindle for $2 million? Or $3 million for that matter? My guest on today's podcast, Richard Kingsbury, has the answer. Richard is Managing Director of the Kingsbury Engineering Division, England's INDEX distributor. In this interview, Richard gives a history lesson of screw machining. We discuss how you sell a [...] The post How a $2 Million Dollar INDEX Multi-Spindle MAKES You Money, Richard Kingsbury-EP 229 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

I've interviewed a lot of interesting business coaches for this podcast, and all the coaches had one thing in common. They focused on coaching a company's owner or management, rather than working with everyone at the company. But my guest on today's show, Tim Drinkwater, founder of Accurate Machine Products in Janesville, Wisconsin, hired a [...] The post Why I Hired a Life Coach for My Machinists, with Tim Drinkwater–EP 228 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

This week on Swarfcast, we've been thinking a lot about some of the exciting tech that we saw last month at IMTS. One thing that always stands out to us are the robots. As our recent podcasts have touched on the topic of AI, we thought it would be fitting to reshare an interview we [...] The post Robots that Know Where to Go, With George Konidaris–EP 193 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

I encounter a lot of friction in my work. Too many obstacles get in the way of me doing the things I need to do and the things I like to do. I know all of you out there have friction in your work too, and if you're in the manufacturing business you likely encounter [...] The post ISO Without the Headache, Adam Marsh-EP 227 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

If you have not already listened to Part I, you can find it here. After serving in the Navy SEALs for nine years, Bill Berrien retired from the military in 1999, ready for a new chapter in his life. He attended Harvard business school where there were six other SEALs in his class. After graduating [...] The post How a Navy SEAL Runs a Machining Company, with Bill Berrien (Part II)—EP172 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Bill Berrien has had an extraordinary professional journey. He earned an MBA at Harvard, worked for General Electric and then in private equity. Ten years ago, he purchased Pindel Global Precision, a successful two-generation machining company near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which he has modernized and grown over the past decade. Oh, I forgot to mention, he [...] The post How a Navy SEAL Runs a Machining Company, with Bill Berrien (Part I)–EP171 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

At IMTS 2024, I learned about the latest technology for CNC lathes, robots, and most notably 3D printing. Stratasys was the first 3D printing company I visited at the show. I spoke with Foster Ferguson, Director of Aerospace, and Tom Leach, Commercial Leader at Stratasys, about 3D printing applications for automotive and space vehicles. Then I spoke with [...] The post 3D Printing a Human Heart at IMTS–EP 226 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Today's podcast episode is the second half of our interview with Dr. Onome Scott-Emuakpor, the founder of Hyphen Innovations, a firm that develops low cost, damage resistant aerospace components. When Onome does engineering research, he fuels his creativity by embracing resource constraints and what he calls the “fail fast” mentality. The fail fast mentality means [...] The post Thinking Like an Artist to Solve Engineering Challenges, With Dr. Onome Scott-Emuakpor—Ep. 181 (Part II) first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Noah is attending IMTS this week, so we are resharing one of our favorite podcasts from last year. This episode of Swarfcast was recorded in March of 2023. The second part is also available online here. On today's podcast, we talk about how you can apply the artistic side of your brain to solve engineering [...] The post Thinking Like an Artist to Solve Engineering Challenges, With Dr. Onome Scott-Emuakpor (Part I)—Ep. 180 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Terry Iverson is a lifer in the machining industry. His grandfather sold machines for Hardinge over 100 years ago, and for 40 years he ran the Hardinge machinery distributor for the Midwest.  Today Terry focuses his efforts on getting young people in America into manufacturing. He wrote two books directed at parents to open their [...] The post CNC Machining Camp, with Terry Iverson–EP 225 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Most of us don't have a knack for pivoting.  We follow the standard curriculum, and we keep going forward when we get in a lane, whether we believe it's the right direction or not. But for Michael Gimbel, my guest on today's show, seeing setbacks as serendipity and then pivoting is a natural gift. Michael [...] The post Pivoting to Manufacture a Product, with Michael Gimbel – EP 224 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Often the best deals and business decisions happen when you're doing something that seems crazy to other people and even a little bit crazy to yourself. As used machinery dealers, putting our money down to stock old, dirty machines that we're only interested in for resale, we have to have chutzpa. To some people, the [...] The post How Crazy Ideas Fuel Your Business–EP 223 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

“This is how it's always been done.” Businesses sometimes can do OK with a philosophy like that. Maybe even make good money.  But it sucks being just ok, because you know you could be so much better. Today on the podcast we are joined by Jim Mayer, founder of the Manufacturing Connector and host of the [...] The post How to Create an Awesome Manufacturing Culture, with Jim Mayer–EP 222 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

I've had a LinkedIn profile for a long time, but I didn't pay much attention to it until two years ago when I started using it to promote this podcast. I know it's been helpful for me, but like all social media, the way it works is an enigma. I'm guessing that many of you [...] The post How to Promote Your Business on LinkedIn, with Scott Aaron–EP 221 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

The concept of an ESOP to me has always seemed extraordinary yet at the same time a little hard to grasp. E-S-O-P is an acronym for Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Basically it means an employee owned company. Our guest on today's podcast is Rich Gaffney, Vice President of Commercial Operations at Sentry Equipment, a 100-year-old [...] The post What If The Employees Owned Your Company?, with Rich Gaffney–EP 220 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

My guest on today's show is Kris Fugate, President of Revolution Machine Works, a prominent rotary transfer machine rebuilder, specializing in Hydromats. Hydromats can seem strange and overwhelming to those unfamiliar with them. Some say they their circular shape with 12 or 16 work stations reminds them of a UFO, and the machines can crank [...] The post Where Do Rotary Transfers Fit?, with Kris Fugate—EP. 144 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Using savings to buy a 20-year-old Swiss machine that's been sitting idle for year is a gamble. Buying one to start a machining company without any customers yet or a place to put the machine means really going ALL IN. Today's podcast is Part II of my interview with Dulio Arellano, founder of Premier Swiss [...] The post Betting Your Savings to Start a Machining Company, Dulio Arellano (Part II)—EP 219 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

My guest on today's show immigrated to the United States from Mexico at 18 years old, went to tech school, worked his way up in job shops, became one of the top technicians at Tornos, and then founded his own successful job shop. Dulio Arellano is the founder of Premier Swiss, a Tornos Swiss screw [...] The post 18-Year-Old Immigrant Becomes Machine Shop Founder, Dulio Arellano (Part I)—EP 218 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

This week on Swarfcast, we're sharing an interview we originally did back in 2020 with Paul Van Metre, Co-Founder of ProShop ERP. During our discussion, Paul shares a lot of valuable and timeless information that can help your shop run more efficiently. Since we did the interview, he has also started his own podcast, called [...] The post How to Cut Machine Setup Time in Half, with Paul Van Metre – EP 97 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Do you ever wonder how I make a living buying and selling old iron? Sometimes Graff-Pinkert's used machinery business boggles our own minds too. But we have some tricks of the trade that make it possible for me to pay my mortgage, and on today's podcast I'm going to share a few of them with [...] The post How to Buy and Sell Machines Like a Used Machinery Dealer–EP 217 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Pasta machines operate a lot like cam screw machines, Antonio Adiletta told me when I interviewed him for this week's podcast. Antonio is co-owner of Arcobaleno and GAM Precision in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After growing up in Italy, Antonio moved to Canada and then eventually emigrated to the United States with his wife and business partner, [...] The post Pasta Machines and Precision Parts, with Antonio Adiletta — EP 140 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Working in the machining industry I hear the term “lean manufacturing” mentioned a lot. But what does the word “lean” really mean in this context? And how do you implement it in your company?  To help me clarify these questions, I interviewed Matthew Rassi, founder of Twenty Helping Hands. He's a lean manufacturing consultant who [...] The post Escaping Your Comfort Zone with Lean Manufacturing, Matthew Rassi-EP 216 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

In honor of this weekend's PMPA National Technical Conference, we're resharing a podcast we did last year with Elliott May, engineer at BME in Port Huron, Michigan. BME builds original custom attachments for cam multi-spindles. They also rebuild Acme-Gridley screw machines. Elliott and I talked about a lot of fascinating things in this interview. How [...] The post Innovating New Attachments for Screw Machines, with Elliott May—EP 143 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

I'm dealing with a customer right now who seems interested in some CNC machines Graff-Pinkert has for sale. They told me they needed this type of machine ASAP! And these machines are RARE! They even said they had a big job for the machines already and they are on the “verge of pulling the trigger [...] The post Ghosted by a Customer, What Do You Do?—EP 215 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Our guest on today's show, Howard Sheldon, grew up working in his family's third generation precision turning company. He planned to eventually take over the business from his father, but unfortunately succession didn't happen the way he had hoped. Howard left his family company in his mid-30s, and 10 years ago started his own Swiss [...] The post Leaving your Father's Manufacturing Company and then Founding Your Own, with Howard Sheldon-EP 214 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

My guest on today's show, Thadd Mellott, called us at Graff-Pinkert because he needed a Star SB20 CNC Swiss machine. His company, Circle M. Spring, in Warsaw, Indiana, produces medical parts, including implantable orthopedic components. Circle M. Spring is currently merging with a medical component design company that specializes in sports medicine. Thadd is incredibly [...] The post Supplying Medical Parts Directly to Hospitals, with Thadd Mellott-EP 212 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Today's episode is Part II of our interview with Roger Duffy, owner of F&F Machine Products. In Part I we touched on Roger's natural entrepreneurial instinct and how he loves to push himself to get out of his comfort zone. In this episode, we're delving further into Roger's business adventures and philosophies.  He believes in [...] The post Breaking Your Machining Business Out of Its Goldfish Bowl, Roger Duffy (Part II)-EP 212 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

How many times has something happened to you that really sucked but then eventually turned out to be a good thing or even a great thing that happened for you?  Today, I'm going to tell you a story about when a big machinery deal went to hell and then how its failure led to an [...] The post How to Turn a Business Failure Into an Opportunity—Seeking Serendipity-EP 211 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Recently, we have seen a growing number of mergers and acquisitions in the manufacturing space. After these deals are finalized there's a lot of uncertainty for the employees caught in the middle of reorganization. Our guest on the podcast today is Jennifer Fondrevay. Jennifer is a best selling author and the Founder of Day1 Ready, [...] The post How Do You Manage Employees When a Company is Acquired? With Jennifer Fondrevay—EP 175 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

At Graff-Pinkert, I've sold a lot of machine tools to successful entrepreneurs, including my guest on today's show, Roger Duffy, owner of F&F Machine Products. But, just a few people like him really have stood out for their outward ballsiness in business. Roger says he loves being an entrepreneur because it allows him to take [...] The post Growing a Thriving Shop by Creating Chaos and then Organizing it, Roger Duffy (Part I)-EP 110 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

“I can't hire a cam multi-spindle operator who knows what they're doing! I'm throwing out my multi-spindles and going all CNC.” “These old Acmes, Wickmans, or New Britains pay for themselves every three months. They've left a wide open field for me!” Selling screw machines for our used machine tool business, Graff-Pinkert, we hear both [...] The post Change, Fear, and Screw Machines–EP 209 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Have you ever dreamed about combining your expertise and passions to become an entrepreneur? My guess on today's podcast did just that. Erez Speiser is the creator of machiningdoctor.com, a site for professionals in the machining industry to get technical information to simplify their work. The site offers resources such as a sophisticated feeds and [...] The post Becoming the Machining Doctor, with Erez Speiser- EP 208 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

My guest on today's podcast, Jerod Dailey, could have been a mechanical engineer or even a doctor if he wanted to, but instead, he followed his passion and became a journeyman machinist right out of high school. Then he fell into a career 24 years ago, teaching precision machining to high schoolers at South Adams [...] The post Precision Machining Class in Session, with Jerod Dailey-EP 207 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Happy New Year everybody! Today Lloyd Graff and I are reflecting on the ups and downs of machining world in 2023 and giving our thoughts about what we might see 2024. As you would expect, we discussed a number of topics in addition to precision machining, such as the US's unpredictable economy, anti-semitism, and my [...] The post Hard Lessons We Learned in the Machining World in 2023–EP 206 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Today I'm debuting a new episode series under the Swarfcast umbrella that I'm going to put out every so often. From April 19, 2018, until April, 19, 2019, I spent an entire year meeting at least one stranger every day and documented everyone I met. Some days I met 10 people, other days I was [...] The post Meeting People Project: My Fellow Treasure Hunter, Steve first appeared on Today's Machining World.

My guest on today's show is Damon Pistulka, founder of Exit Your Way, a firm that helps businesses sell their companies. What's unique about Exit Your Way is that before it tries to sell a business, it helps the business's owner increase their company's value, often working with clients for three to five years. Then [...] The post Making Your Manufacturing Company Salable, With Damon Pistulka-EP 204 first appeared on Today's Machining World.

Malachi Greb, my guest on today's show, has a mission, “freeing humans, one robot at a time.” He is the founder of Elite Automation, a company that designs automated systems for manufacturing clients, taking manual processes and automating them with robotics, conveyors, vision, and more. They also provide robotic welding systems. Malachi and I talked [...] The post Freeing Humans One Robot at a Time, with Malachi Greb-EP 203 first appeared on Today's Machining World.