The Impractical Machinists

Eddie Riddell runs Steele Co Engineering out of Perth, Australia — one of the most isolated cities on the planet, about 12 hours from the nearest place. He started with a fabrication business, got it up to four employees, then walked away from all of it to do what he actually wanted: run a one-man CNC machine shop on his own terms.

In this episode, Eddie breaks down why he made that call, how he pulled off buying a brand-new mill turn as a one-man shop, and what it actually takes to build a lean, profitable business by yourself.

We also get into:

• Why he introduced a minimum charge and how some clients stayed, some didn't — and why he's fine either way
• How his terms and conditions let him walk down to a customer's house with an angle grinder — and why the customer paid immediately after
• What it's like sourcing machines and materials from the most isolated industrial city in Australia
• His goal to get down to working 3 days a week — and the mindset shift that made it possible
• Why he chose to stop having employees and never looked back

Eddie's approach to business is simple: know your worth, keep your overheads low, and don't let anyone treat you like a bank.

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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!!!

What's actually killing machinists faster — big corporate shop rules or the chaos of running your own place? This week Pat jumps in as guest host and we go deep on all of it. Lead time strategy that keeps customers off your back, why a $350 pizza might be the best business investment you make this year, and the real reason good machinists walk out the door and never come back.

We get into scrap part confessions, exotic material nightmares, G-code quizzes that stumped everyone, and the one question every machinist eventually asks themselves — if you could start a shop from scratch, what would you actually do differently?

In this episode:

• Lead time strategy that protects your sanity
• Why you should never ship early
• The $350 pizza that saved $4,000
• Big shop vs small shop culture debate
• Scrap part show and tell
• G-code quiz: G18, G96 and more
• No-quote jobs and when to walk away
• Starting a shop from scratch — machines, mindset and mistakes

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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!!!

Owning a machine shop sounds great… until you’re chasing work, quoting jobs at midnight, dealing with problem customers, and trying to stay profitable while keeping the lights on.

Recorded live as a panel session during a Kennametal open house event, Brad from Marvel Machining, Ian from Lakewood Machine & Tool, and Luke from Progressive Turnings / Crusader Machining sit down for a real conversation about the ups and downs of running a shop.

They talk about finding work, quoting jobs, when to say no, staying busy vs actually making money, keeping good employees, buying equipment, and the jobs that almost broke them.

Whether you’re a one-man shop, running a full team, or thinking about starting your own business, there’s something in here you’ll relate to.

Just honest shop talk from people living it every day.

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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!!!

Pat, Cameron, and Brad catch up on what’s been going on in their shops—from current projects and production challenges to the reality of keeping work on track.

They also dive into a listener question about when to go full-time with a side shop, breaking down the financial side, the risk, and what that transition actually looks like. The conversation touches on balancing a day job while building something on the side, using your job to fund equipment, and what happens when that decision gets made for you.

They also get into shop culture, big vs. small companies, and why more machinists are thinking about going out on their own.

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Drop your comments or topic ideas in the forum.

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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!!!

The guys kick things off talking about the realities of repair and walk-in work, then get into quoting strategy — specifically what to do when a customer hands you a massive stack of confusing prints and expects a price by Tuesday.
From there it's community questions: trusting manufacturer speeds and feeds, probing from CAM, machine warm-up routines, and how AI tools like ChatGPT are actually finding their way into everyday shop life.
Brad shares advice on finding enough work to go full time, and the guys close out responding to a second-gen machinist who programmed 510 new parts in a year and still couldn't keep up — breaking down what's really going on when programming becomes the bottleneck.

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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!!!

Hans Keisler from Motor Control Technology joins the podcast to talk about his path through the machining trade — from working at Lockheed to building his own aerospace-focused machine shop.

We get into what it’s really like working in a union shop, the differences between big aerospace companies and small job shops, and what it takes to go from a one-man operation to hiring employees.

Hans also shares the reality of chasing aerospace and defense work — certifications, compliance, IT requirements, and all the behind-the-scenes work that most machinists never see.

It’s an honest conversation about building a shop, navigating the industry, and trying to make cool hardware that ends up on some pretty serious projects.

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Drop your comments or topic ideas in the forum.

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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!!!

If you've spent any time in online machining communities, you know the name. 

Titan Gilroy has been one of the most talked-about — and most polarizing — figures in online machining for over a decade. Whether you're a fan or a skeptic, there's no question he's had an impact on how a generation of machinists learned the trade.

We sit down with Titan for a long, unscripted conversation that covers a lot of ground. We hear how he got into machining, how he built and ran a shop doing aerospace and subsea work, and how that eventually led to what Titans of CNC is today. We dig into the technical stuff too — speeds and feeds, CAM software, five-axis strategy, fixturing, and what he actually thinks separates a good machinist from a great one.

We also get into the business side: landing customers, negotiating contracts, running multiple shifts, and what he'd tell a shop that's been around for years but can't seem to move forward.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:03:14 – Titan's Story
00:34:51 – Landing Big Customers: How Titan Got Into SpaceX & Aerospace
00:49:20 – Titans of CNC Academy & Teaching Five-Axis in High Schools
01:01:32 – Advice for the Veteran Machinist Who's Hit the Ceiling
01:09:00 – CAM Software Debate
01:49:22 – Running a Profitable Shop

Learn more about TITANS OF CNC here
or follow them on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn

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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!!!

Michael is 20 years old and runs his own machine shop in Idaho. He bought his first CNC at 17 while still in high school, taught himself machining entirely through YouTube, and has never spent a dollar on advertising.

In this episode, Michael shares how he went from building RC airplanes to hand-coding G-code on a vintage Swiss lathe, why he moved his entire shop from Tennessee to Idaho, and how he stays up until 4 AM when customers need parts delivered on time.

We talk about his equipment (Haas DM-2, S20Y lathe, Citizen B-12 Swiss, and a new Mazak 5-axis), his approach to finding work through relationships instead of marketing, and his plans to add robots before hiring employees.

If you're curious about starting your own shop or wondering how someone builds a manufacturing business from scratch with zero industry connections, this one's worth a listen.

Follow Michael on Instagram or YouTube.

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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!!!

We flip the script on Dylan Jackson — co-owner of Proteum Machining and host of the Within Tolerance podcast — and dig into how he actually got here.

Dylan didn’t follow a clean, traditional path. He struggled in engineering school, stumbled into machining through community college, and slowly found that the shop floor made more sense than the classroom ever did. From running parts for free just to learn, to buying a used CNC before he even had a real shop, to building Proteome into a high-end prototype job shop, his story is messy, real, and very relatable.

We also talk about what it’s really like running a two-man shop, why prototype work is a completely different mindset, and how Dylan ended up becoming one of the most trusted voices in manufacturing through his podcast.

Find Dylan here: Proteum Machining's Instagram or Within Tolerance Podcast's Instagram.

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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!!!

What happens when a finisher ruins a $20,000 part — and nobody wants to take responsibility?

In this episode, we dive into the real, unfiltered side of running a machine shop. From late material deliveries and unreliable suppliers to finishers damaging parts and offering little more than excuses, we talk through the situations that quietly cause the most stress, lost time, and financial risk in manufacturing.

From there, the conversation widens into shop operations and industry reality:

• How busy (or slow) shops are right now in different regions
• What tool reps and machine sales tell us about the manufacturing economy
• ERP systems, scheduling, and material planning in small shops
• The challenges of hiring, training, and getting a shop to run without constant oversight
• Organization, unfinished side projects, and the never-ending push to improve shop efficiency

We wrap things up by reflecting on last year’s goals, what actually got accomplished, and what each of us is trying to focus on moving forward — from better systems and organization to reducing daily chaos on the shop floor.

🔔 Subscribe, Rate, and Review to never miss an episode. Your feedback helps us bring you the content you love!

Drop your comments or topic ideas in the forum.

Or listen to our podcast on YouTube

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!!!