Episodes

Editor’s Note: This podcast was recorded in Spring of 2022. Tyler has now been retired for over 2 years, and Noah is the proud father of a 1 year old. In early 2022, Tyler Jarosz sent me an email to ask if Graff-Pinkert would be interested in a used little parts washer he no longer needed in his machine shop. He found out about Graff-Pinkert from listening to Swarfcast, which I’m proud to say is the only podcast he has ever listened to. At 40 years young, Tyler retired, closing Twenty6Products, ...

George Konidaris is the cofounder of the startup, Realtime Robotics. He’s also a Professor of Computer Science and the director of the Intelligent Robot Lab at Brown University. Right now, programming a robot arm to perform a repetitive task typically requires a robot integrator to program where every joint of a robot should go. It’s a ridiculous and tedious process. But with Realtime Robotics’ AI technology, you can instruct a robot to do a task and you don’t have to tell it a zillion steps exp...

On today’s podcast we continue our season talking to successful companies who produce their own products. Today’s guest is Joel Trusty, co-owner and President of Trusty-Cook, a company that manufactures a diverse group of industrial polyurethane products such as dead blow hammers and spindle liners for bar loaders. Joel says one of the keys to the company’s success has been talking to customers about what they need. Listen with the player at the bottom of the page or at your favorite podcast a...

Today’s guest on the podcast is Jayme Rahz, CEO of Midway Swiss Turn, a small precision machining job shop in Wooster, Ohio. Around a quarter of Midway Swiss Turn’s business is supplying the U.S. Department of Defense. While supplying the DoD can be a lucrative opportunity for a manufacturer, the work comes with some hurdles to overcome, including acquiring a Cyber Security Maturity Model Certification, commonly referred to as CMMC. On today’s show, Jayme discusses how a small manufacturing com...

In November of 2015, our used machine tool company, Graff-Pinkert, bought a Schütte S32PC, mfd. 2002, in Cologne, Germany, from a dealer we didn’t know. It was a nice looking machine. A big 32mm CNC Multi-Spindle, painted red and cream because it came out of a Mercedes factory. We were excited to bring the machine to the US until the seller allowed it to get wet when he put it outside in a rainstorm. But this debacle eventually had a happy ending. Someone we had never met before helped us get o...

On today’s podcast I interviewed Kathryn Shibelski. Kathryn is a second chance hiring advocate. Her firm, KES HR Consulting, works with companies who are considering hiring incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people. The job candidates have often been convicted for drug offenses, white collar crimes, sex crimes, and even murder. Obviously, the idea of hiring people with criminal records could seem quite risky for a number of reasons, but according to Kathryn, second chance hires can thrive in ...

Recently, I’ve talked to a few Swarfcast listeners who are considering starting their own podcast shows, so I thought it made sense to make an episode discussing the merits of hosting a podcast as well as some advice if you want to build one successfully. I’m really excited about my guest today because he is one of the most knowledgeable people I know about how to grow and monetize a podcast, my podcast coach, Kevin Chemidlin, host of the podcast Grow the Show. Even if you don’t want to start ...

Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” Today, I’m going to tell you a story about how dots in my past came together serendipitously to help me solve problems and make some good deals in our used machinery business. When I met the people in these stories, I had no idea they would be significant to our business down the line, and of course, I never coul...

Lately, Graff-Pinkert has seen a lot of new opportunities for our used machinery business–particularly in the category of machines that I like to call “Sexy Ugly.” Many customers are clearing the decks of their dirty Acme, Davenport, and Brown & Sharpe cam screw machines to become pure CNC machine shops, while at the same time, quite a few machining companies are still embracing those ancient cast iron beasts. I know I’m not saying anything that most of you readers don’t already know, but to pe...

Today’s podcast is part two of an interview we did with David Wynn, CFO of ABF Engineering and Machining, a third generation screw machine shop in South Fulton, Tennessee. Dave makes a lot of his profits on mechanical screw machines that are older than him, but he emphasizes using advanced technology to automate his business’s processes. Listen with the player at the bottom of the page or at your favorite podcast app. View the podcast our YouTube Channel. Follow us on Social and never miss an ...

On today’s episode, we’re shaking things up. We’re playing an episode from a podcast I guested on, the Business Growth on Purpose podcast with Jose Palomino. One of the topics we focused on in the interview was how I discover new leads and opportunities in our used machinery business by using strategies that create serendipity. You know–the stuff I often like to talk about. Keeping your eyes open for interesting things you weren’t originally looking for. Contacting lots of people out of the blu...

On April 1, Budweiser ran an ad on Instagram with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney promoting March Madness, as well as celebrating one year since she transitioned to becoming a woman. This one short ad caused a mass boycott of Budweiser and brought out the worst of the intolerance and divisiveness that plagues my country. I understand how people become uncomfortable seeing “other” people who look different from the majority or who don’t fit into easily into a familiar, “normal” category. I...

Today’s episode is extra fun for me because I had the pleasure of interviewing my brother, Dr. Ari Graff. Recently, Ari has shifted his career focus from practicing psychotherapy to life coaching. His coaching focuses specifically on helping men who feel unhappy and stuck in romantic relationships. It also helps single men who have difficulty maintaining or starting satisfying relationships. As you might have guessed, today we’re not going to be talking about the machining business. But I wan...

For those who don’t know, I am a used machinery dealer, with a specialty in selling Screw Machines. I like to romanticize the used machinery business by referring to it as treasure hunting. We specialize in selling rare models of machinery, located in remote locations, owned by esoteric folk, serendipitously stumbled upon. Every used machine we sell has a story behind it. And I have found the machines and deals that have most interesting stories often turn out to be some of the most lucrative...

On today’s show we’re talking about what you do if your business’s growth becomes stagnant or even stops all together. Our guest is Jose Palomino, host of the Business Growth on Purpose podcast and founder and CEO of Value Prop, a consultancy that gives established B2B companies strategies to jump start growth when it has fallen off. Jose gave me great insight about how you objectively examine the health of your company and take steps to make changes. We talked about B2B marketing and what yo...

I know you will enjoy this favorite past episode, whether or not it’s your first time hearing it. As Swiss machines continue to improve, so does the capability of the accessories and tooling to aid you in the machining process. This episode will hopefully illuminate some ways you can improve your efficiency and accuracy by adding modern technology to your current machines. Our guest is Jim Gosselin, owner and President of Genevieve Swiss Industries. Genevieve Swiss sells innovative accessories s...

I am a treasure hunter for a living. I pay my mortgage by finding obscure used machines from all over the world and then finding people who want to buy sexy-ugly/high-tech equipment. The best way to do that is by interacting with customers in ways that create serendipity. Today, I’m going to tell you how calling people on the phone, even when it seems like a long shot, can result in serendipity. If you approach talking to people with the right strategies you have the potential to create tons of...

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 you can look at failure during the problem solving process as a positive. If “failing” means you learn something that propels you fo...

On today’s podcast, we talk about how you can apply the artistic side of your brain to solve engineering challenges. Our guest is aerospace engineer, Dr. Onome Scott-Emuakpor, founder of Hyphen Innovations, a firm that develops new advanced aerospace components for the Department of Defense and other clients. Onome’s family immigrated from Nigeria to Lansing, Michigan, before he was born. In high school, he was an average student but excelled in fine arts classes. In college, he played Division...

With the latest news that unemployment is at its lowest in 54 years, we thought it was important to post this favorite episode about how to hire the employee who fits correctly for a specific position. Our guest on the podcast today is Brian Balasia, CEO and Co-Founder of TalentEi, a company that produces a software platform that matches employers and job seekers across a variety of sectors. Brian says the platform enables companies to hire superior people, more quickly, and at a better price th...

On today’s show, Lloyd Graff and I are discussing our observations of the machining industry in 2022 and our instincts about where the industry is headed in the coming year. As used machinery dealers at Graff-Pinkert, we saw trends in 2022 such as reshoring, the resurgence of old school cam screw machines, and a growing number of machining businesses that soon may be for sale. We think these trends will accelerate in 2023, and we hope this conversation will uncover some opportunities that your...

On today’s podcast I interviewed Trevor Blondeel, the founder of Operations Kickstart and the host of the podcast, Mindfulness Manufacturing. Trevor uses mindfulness techniques to coach manufacturing executives so they can better lead their companies. The idea is that if his clients become more conscious of their feelings and their current behavior, it will inspire sustainable change in how they work with others and lead. If you’re interested in the topics of coaching and understanding yourse...

Today we are starting a new podcast show and blog on the Today’s Machining World Podcast Network called “Seeking Serendipity.” Click the following links to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts. As our regular readers and listeners know, we talk a lot about serendipity in Today’s Machining World and on Swarfcast. Serendipity is the concept of being in the right place at the right time. Some people call it being lucky, a Spanish customer of Graff-Pinkert once translated it as “de...

On this podcast I spoke with James Persenaire, a district manager at FANUC America Corporation. James gave insight into the strengths and weaknesses of collaborative robots and how Fanuc’s collaborative robots differ from competitors such as Universal Robot. He also addressed misconceptions about traditional robots that they are expensive and dangerous. He emphasized that the integration of the robot is the primary factor in both its cost and safety. We ran this episode back in 2019 (Ep. 38), b...