Taylor Jenkins didn't start out wanting to be a machinist. He wanted to fly planes.

Then COVID hit, his plans changed, and he ended up in a composites program working with carbon fiber instead, chasing the same hands-on itch he'd had since high school building RC gliders and racing drones. From there he landed a job as a CNC operator in southern Utah almost by accident, just because he could already read a blueprint.

A few shops, a few good mentors, and one really bad boss later, Taylor ended up running his own shop, Lone Wolf Precision, completely solo. No crew, no robots, just him, two Brother mills, and an auto saw he's genuinely proud of.

In this episode, we get into:

- His path from drone racing and RC planes into machining (it's a weirder story than you'd think)
- The probe crash that almost killed his new Brother machine, and what it taught him about automation actually eating your "free time" instead of giving you more of it.
- The aerospace shop that trained him right, including learning the CMM inspection feedback loop the hard way
- The bad coworker situation that finally pushed him to leave that job for good
- The six weeks he had to buy a machine and make a brand new production contract work, after turning down a job offer to do it
- How he finds new work (hint: it's not LinkedIn), and why he fires customers who aren't worth the headache
- The saw stop he designed because every shop bandsaw stop he's ever used has been garbage

If you're running your own shop, thinking about starting one, or just like hearing how somebody actually built theirs from the ground up, this one's worth the listen.

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Connect with the hosts on Instagram:
Patrick Mcclintock: IG or PM@Job Shopper TN
Cameron Graves: IG or PM@Machiningiscool
Bradley Thomas: IG or PM@Marvel

Thanks for listening!!!