Swarfcast

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 appeared first on Today’s Machining World.

I just launched a new YouTube show where I share the most fascinating lessons I’ve learned from podcasts—ideas that can help you grow in business and life. It’s called I Learned It on a Podcast. The first episode dives into a topic I know Swarfcast listeners will appreciate: how to communicate, negotiate, and really listen—even [...]

The post How to Talk to Anyone—Even If You Disagree-EP 244 appeared first on Today’s Machining World.

My guest on today’s podcast, Jared Daily, 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 Jared Daily-EP 207 appeared first on Today’s Machining World.

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 [...]

The post The Machining Revivalist with Chris Armstrong—EP. 243 appeared first on Today’s Machining World.

It seems like every other day as a machinery dealer, I talk to someone who says they would purchase a machine from me, if only they could find a person to run it.  Today’s podcast guest, Ann Wyatt, founder of Ann Wyatt Recruiting, makes her living by finding manufacturing professionals for companies. Ann’s journey to [...]

The post How to Find New Manufacturing Talent, with Ann Wyatt — EP 170 appeared first on Today’s Machining World.

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 [...]

The post Can AI Replace Your Shop’s Smartest Machinist?, with Riley Hutchinson-EP 242 appeared first on Today’s Machining World.

When you’re shopping for machines do you find yourself wondering if the more expensive option for a machine is the better one? Does a taiwanese brand perform worse than a German brand? Will one machine last longer than another? Are some machines pretty similar between certain brands? The truth is, paying more money for a [...]

The post Should I Buy the Expensive or Cheaper CNC Machine? With Justin Tauber–Ep. 159 appeared first on Today’s Machining World.

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 [...]

The post How to Sell a Commodity with Soul, with Mike Pelham–EP 241 appeared first 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 appeared first on Today’s Machining World.

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 [...]

The post Tai Chi, Machine Tools, and ALS, with Greg Knight-EP 240 appeared first on Today’s Machining World.