Episodes

110
Aug. 1, 2024

CNC Swiss Mad Scientist, Chris Armstrong–EP 110

Today’s show is the second episode in our season about Swiss machining. I interviewed Chris Armstrong last week while he was parked at a rest stop somewhere in Texas. He was en route on an all day trip to service a customer’s Citizens. I met Chris and his partner, Ryan Madsen, owners of Texas Swiss, a few years ago, trying to sell them some Citizen L20s from Asia. Texas Swiss, formerly named Mad Science, is a CNC Swiss job shop not far from Houston that focuses primarily on Oil & Gas and Defense...
112
Sept. 7, 2023

Ep. 112 Developing a World-Class CNC Turning Company with Mike Reader

Today’s podcast is the fourth episode of our season interviewing people involved in CNC Swiss machining. Our guest is Mike Reader, owner and president of Precision Plus, a CNC turning company in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Mike came into the machining business at 31 years old following a career in the fast paced finance industry. When he first arrived, the company was using old school Tornos cam Swiss machines and running a lot of commodity-type parts. Over the years Mike has built a world-class machini...
116
May 10, 2023

Having the Courage to Become Your True Self, with Jackie, owner of PXR Machining–EP 116

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...
114
April 4, 2023

Live Tooling and Accessories for CNC Swiss with Jim Gosselin–EP 114

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...
114
Feb. 25, 2022

Best of Swarfcast: Live Tooling and Accessories for CNC Swiss, with Jim Gosselin —EP. 114

Our guest on the podcast today is Jim Gosselin, owner and President of Genevieve Swiss Industries. Genevieve Swiss sells innovative accessories specifically for Swiss CNC lathes, such as live tooling and cutting tools, to combat the problems small parts manufacturers constantly deal with. Scroll down to read more and listen to the podcast. Or listen on your phone with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite app. Find us on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swarfcast...
117
April 8, 2021

Ep. 117 – Mental Recovery with Dr. Ari Graff

On today’s podcast we are continuing our season about mental health. Our guest is Dr. Ari Graff, a psychologist at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, a nationally ranked rehabilitation research hospital based in Chicago. Patients come to Shirley Ryan to recover from severe illnesses and injuries. Dr. Graff’s job is to help patients mentally heal from the emotional trauma that comes along with being damaged physically. The opinions in this podcast episode are solely those of Dr. Graff. They are not on...
115
March 19, 2021

Ep. 115 – Treasure Hunting, Swarf, and Sliders with Noah Graff

Back in February I had the pleasure of being interviewed on the MTD Podcast, an excellent podcast about machining in the UK. Hosts Joe Reynolds and Giovanni Albanese grilled me about a lot of our favorite topics featured on Swarfcast, like treasure hunting, reshoring, Trump, and Swiss CNCs, which my British counterparts often call “sliders.” Scroll down to read more and listen to the podcast, or listen with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts or your favorite app. Main Points I explain the origin...
113
Feb. 25, 2021

Ep. 113 – A MultiSwiss Screw Machine to Maximize Production, with John Belmonte

On today’s podcast we continue our series about Swiss machining. Our guest is John Belmonte, owner and President of Mitotec, a precision turning company in Necedah, Wisconsin. Recently Mitotec purchased a Tornos MultiSwiss 8X26 multi-spindle screw machine. The unique design of the MultiSwiss enables such quick changeovers the machine is running many of the same jobs the company has on its single spindle Swiss machines, but in a fraction of the cycle time. Scroll down to read more and listen to...
112
Feb. 11, 2021

Ep. 112 Developing a World-Class CNC Turning Company with Mike Reader

Today’s podcast is the fourth episode of our season interviewing people involved in CNC Swiss machining. Our guest is Mike Reader, owner and president of Precision Plus, a CNC turning company in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Mike came into the machining business at 31 years old following a career in the fast paced finance industry. When he first arrived, the company was using old school Tornos cam Swiss machines and running a lot of commodity-type parts. Over the years Mike has built a world-class machini...
109
Jan. 21, 2021

Ep. 109 – Citizen CNC Swiss Lathes with Marc Klecka

Today’s show is the first episode of our new season about Swiss-Type CNC machining. Our guest is Marc Klecka, founder and president of Concentric Corporation, a prominent distributor of Citizen-Cincom CNC Swiss lathes in Cleveland, Ohio. Scroll down to read more and listen to the podcast, or listen with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts or your favorite app. Main Points Marc talks about his company, Concentric, which has been distributing Citizen Swiss machines for 31 years and Miyano for 10 yea...
108
Jan. 14, 2021

Ep. 108 – Tool Life Optimization with Benjamin York

Our guest on today’s show is Benjamin York. Benjamin’s company, Theory 168, makes a product called Tool Life that collects and analyzes data on machine tools to optimize efficiency in machine shops. Scroll down to read more and listen to the podcast with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts or your favorite app. Main Points Benjamin talks about his company, Theory 168. He says the company focuses on optimizing machining processes, particularly in Swiss machining. He says his constant mission has b...