Episodes

On today’s podcast we’re talking about bar loaders for multi-spindle screw machines. Our guest is Chris Manning. Chris has been installing and repairing integrated bar loaders around the world for 20 years, primarily Cucchi bar loaders. Integrated loaders, usually those made by Cucchi or IEMCA, replace the traditional stock reels on multi-spindles. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. Bar loaders may sound like a boring topic, but they are actually quite expensive and complex equipment. One in...

On today’s podcast we discuss how to run a profitable high volume machining business. Our guest is Harry Eighmy, co-owner and C.O.O. of American Turned Products (ATP) in Erie, Pennsylvania. Scroll down to listen to the podcast Harry and his brother Scott believe it is important to invest heavily in high-end turning equipment such as INDEX multi-spindles and Hydromat rotary transfer machines for large volumes. They also make sure to balance their high volume work with smaller run jobs using CNC ...

On today’s podcast I interview Dr. Doug Conroy of Conroy Orthopedic & Sports Physical Therapy. Doug has been treating injured folks for decades, including me as I rehab my left Achilles tendon. Our interview focuses on the negative effects a workplace environment can have on the human body. Scroll down to listen to the podcast Doug told me that in the past, workplace health risks were mostly associated with accidents in industrial settings. However, he says that many of today’s experts consider...

For the fiftieth episode of Swarfcast we are playing clips from some of our favorite past podcasts. Scroll Down to Listen to the Podcast Highlights include: (3:06) From episode 1, Lloyd talks about his decision to go into the family machinery business. He also talks about his working relationship with his father and his father’s cousin Aaron Pinkert. (7:37) From episode 15, George Breiwa, founder of DynoVap, talks about his proprietary vaporizer that does not rely on an external electrical so...

On today’s podcast we interview Sebastien Schmitt, North American Robotics Division Manager of Stäubli, a prominent robot producer from Switzerland. Sebastien explains how Stäubli focuses on building robots to help produce smaller automative components for car interiors and parts under the hood rather than assembling large car bodies like some of its competitors. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. Sebastien also discusses Stäubli’s TX2 Robot, a model which can be used in a collaborative or a...

Bo Burlingham has spent much of his career writing about the lives of entrepreneurs. I recently interviewed him at his home in the rustic hills of Oakland, California. Scroll Down to Listen to the Podcast We talked about the need to plan for a strong and successful conclusion to a business career, as described in his recent book, Finish Big. Bo discussed seven factors that characterized owners who had happy exits: (10:55) You must know who you are, what you want and why. (11:44) You have to b...

Our guest on today’s podcast is Zak Pashak, founder of Detroit Bikes, the largest bike frame manufacturer in the United States. All bikes that the company sells are assembled in Detroit, and its high-end models have frames constructed of high quality American Chromoly steel. Zak lamented to us that he couldn’t find many companies in the U.S. to supply parts for wheels and other bike components. We told him we would take on the mission personally to find him some. Scroll down to listen to the po...

Today’s podcast is part two of an interview we did with Bruno Schmitter, CEO and COO of Hydromat USA. When Bruno came to America in 1979, his competition was National Acme and New Britain Multi-Spindles. Today he says his competition is mainly CNC Swiss and 5-axis Turning Centers. Bruno argues that having one machine that can do many operations at a time is a better option than having multiple machines which require more space, more people and more tooling. Scroll Down to Listen To The Podcast...

Today’s podcast is part one of a two part interview we did with Bruno Schmitter, CEO and COO of Hydromat USA. In 1979 at the age of 25, Bruno came to St. Louis to sell and popularize the previously unknown transfer machine in North America. Bruno told us that at a young age growing up in Switzerland his father began encouraging him to go into the machine tool business. He also discussed his first years in the United States when he traveled the country convincing multi-spindle screw machine shop...

Today’s podcast is part 2 of an interview we did with John Habe IV, President of Metal Seal Precision, a machining company based in Mentor, Ohio. Listen to the podcast on the player below. Over the last several years John has grown Metal Seal Precision both organically and through major acquisitions. According to John, growing through acquisitions can be financially rewarding but does not come easily. John discussed the difficulty in buying companies, which often have emotionally attached owner...

Today’s podcast is part 1 of a two part interview we did with John Habe IV of Metal Seal Corporation, a machining company based in Mentor, Ohio. Scroll down to listen to the podcast. John and his two brothers own Metal Seal and several other machining companies, along with some granite countertop firms. He told us that since they purchased their father’s machining business in 1999 they have built their enterprise into one doing over $100 million in sales per year. In the interview John discuss...

In today’s podcast I was interviewed about a book I am writing which documents a year in which I have met at least one new person every day. I started 364 days ago when I met a guy named Tommy, working the bar at a restaurant in Chicago called the Blue Door Farm Stand. Listen to the Podcast on the player below. Over this year I estimate I have met 450 to 500 strangers. I have met people on the street, a ton of Uber drivers, and folks from all over the world. I have even been forced to call Comc...

On today’s podcast we interviewed Jay Sauder, owner of Sauder Machine in Plymouth, Ohio. One of Sauder’s specialties is making hydraulic wheel cylinders for Amish horse-drawn buggies using sophisticated CNC equipment. Sauder and his 10 employees are all members of the Mennonite church. Earlier in his life, Jay himself drove a horse and buggy, but today he chooses to drive a pickup truck. However, all of his employees ride bicycles to work. Jay told me that the company buys used equipment almos...

Have you ever asked yourself what your purpose is when you go to work in the morning? Sometimes I wonder if I’m spending enough time making an important impact on the world, or if I’m too wrapped up in the mechanics of making deals on machine tools. In this week’s podcast we interviewed Brent Robertson of Fathom. Brent is a business philosopher and consultant. His mission is help people discover what their purpose is, beyond just making money. He has found that if he can give people purpose in ...

In today’s podcast I interviewed Ben York, an inventor and consultant for machining companies. I met him at the 2019 Precision Machining Technology Show where his company, Theory 168, was presenting his Perfect Zero Alignment system. The system uses a camera installed in a CNC machine to set work coordinates and align and set tooling (see demonstration video below). Ben said his mission is to “take the art out of machining.” He wants machining to be easy enough so people can do it even if they ...

In today’s podcast we interviewed Graeme Sinclair, owner of Parish Engineering, a prominent precision machining shop in Australia. Graeme has been in the machining business for 60 years, since he served his apprenticeship at age 14. In the interview Graeme discussed the challenges faced by machine shops in Australia verses the rest of the world, his eclectic taste in CNC machines, and his passion for the game of squash. Sinclair explained that one reason he has many different types of equipment...

On today’s podcast we interviewed Ed Crowley, owner of Crowley Tool Company, a company that specializes in making custom insert form tools and quick change tooling packages for the precision machining industry. Ed explained in detail how his company has developed modular tooling that an operator can change on the fly, which can reduce set up time from days to minutes. He admits that the marketshare for form tools is shrinking as the cam multi-spindles have lost favor, but he thinks that his pro...

Like many people, I get overwhelmed at work. Sometimes I don’t get the work done I want to do, so I stay at the office an hour or two extra. By the time I get home I feel like I don’t have enough free time for relaxation and other activities. Scroll down to listen to the podcast with Ari Meisel. I have been repeatedly listening to a book called The Art of Less Doing, by Ari Meisel, today’s podcast interviewee, which has had a real positive effect on my life. Meisel, who calls himself an “overwh...

On today’s podcast, we interviewed Victor and Betty DaCruz, owners of DaCruz Manufacturing in Bristol, Connecticut. Victor and Betty have transformed their company over the last three decades from a multi-spindle screw machine shop with ACMEs and New Britains into a high-tech CNC turning operation. While other companies complain about not being able to find quality employees, DaCruz has created a culture that attracts high level young people to work at the company. Scroll down to listen to this...

On today’s podcast, we interviewed Mark Fordyce, Team Leader of the Hydromat Parts & Rebuild department at Component Bar Products in St. Louis. Mark is a Hydromat Maestro. He has been working with rotary transfer machines for over 40 years, first as a self-taught setup man in a job shop, followed by working in the engineering department at Hydromat Inc., and then at Component Bar. He is one of the first people Graff-Pinkert calls when we have a question about a Hydromat, and often the machine w...

On today’s podcast, I interviewed Bryan Batten, CEO of Palmetto Precision Machining, located in Anderson, South Carolina. Palmetto Machining is a precision machining/fabrication shop specializing in tooling and automation for the automotive industry. Bryan, who jokingly refers to himself as a mechanical psychologist, discusses the difference between working with automotive companies in different countries, his experience purchasing a machining company, and the manufacturing boom in the South. Qu...