Business of Machining

TOPICS: How do business leaders spend their time inside their company? Saunders wants to hire a machinist or an operations manager. Saunders did an awesome tour with Area 419. DT1 Favorite machines. "Leadership is being present." Lathe facing passes and how to get the best finish. Saunders QC bin for diamond parts is getting better and better.

TOPICS:  Area 419 Tour will be premiered on YouTube Monday April 19th, 2021 at 1:30 PM EDT!  Cashflow, Loans, and Post Covid Economic Impacts Grimsmo's purchased a used Willemin Neodymium Magnets Swiss Miss - Saunders Decides Against Swiss for Reversible Inserts CNC Lathe Probing & Tooling Options Business Mindset - The Shift from Preparer to Reviewer

TOPICS: Saunders is settling in and working very hard on some updates to the shop this past year. Grimsmo dives into new coolant dispenser. Being a parent and teaching your kids cool stuff! Oil vs coolant. Grimsmo talks about ordering two new lathes! Cycle time speed increases across different machines.

TOPICS: SMW and Grimsmo in limbo between the lone bootstrapper and leader of a team Plurality of Swisses. Saunders and Grimsmo discuss production volume, process reliability, and other decision making factors for buying new CNC lathes I'm Nak sure if I need a Willemin or Nak. Grimsmo and Saunders debate about whether or not the Nak should be let go in favor of a Willemin Mill Turn Sourcing centerl...

TOPICS:   Grimsmo crashed a Renishaw spindle probe on the Mori. Saunders hired an intern just to focus on Johnny Five! Orbit mechanical water timer for filling coolant. Should we both get another swiss lathe? Saunders is reorganizing the whole shop. Doing a night run of pallets is a game changer.  

TOPICS: Just Start! Saunders and Grimsmo discuss the importance of context and relativity when it comes to business advice. SNAP OUT OF IT! You may not realize you're in a comfort zone! Work Smarter AND Harder? The age old debate. Intelligence Vs. Diligence & Practice Vs. Skill Lights out production on the KERN Saunders hires out the cleaning and bookkeeping! Odoo ERP at Seneca Woodworking &am...

TOPICS:   Saunders' makes something awesome that went to the bottom of the ocean! Machining titanium Fusion 360 Tool Library issues and fixes Catching up on backorders. Shipping delays and organizing. Playing catch-up. Grimsmo gives a deep dive into swiss lathes and purchasing info for Saunders

TOPICS Learning - The importance of Curiosity and the Dunning-Kruger Effect (overestimating your competence) 3D Printers for Dual Extrusion Pivotal Machinist Moments - Area 419 Tour, Never Stop Quitting Your Job, and the Downside of Bootstrap Mentality. It Figures. After releasing the "How to Get Paid On Time" video, Saunders gets stiffed. Don't Take It Personal! Implementing systems and strategie...

TOPICS: Saunders talks about his experience with quitting his day job and when you should to. Do you spot holes in machining? Saunders goes into a huge rabbit hole of 3d printing. Lathes, Lathes and more Lathes! Hot glue in the shop? What are the uses? Saunders does a shop tour at Area419

TOPICS   Does a College Education Matter? Grimsmo and Saunders share their different paths and initial interests BEFORE they got into CNC machining. Someone is looking for a new machinist---could it be you? Optical Flat & Monochromatic Light for Part Flatness @laneymachinetech Grimsmo and Saunders offer each other workable solutions for tool break detection and other quirky issues. Renish...

TOPICS:   Reaming holes. Endmill coatings and storage. Grob factory tour. Tool like time and replacement methods. Johnny Five returns. Links: https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/09782467

TOPICS: Trusting Instincts Social proof for marketing and branding Creative Fixturing and Workholding Grimsmo and Saunders Approved Tools! Grimsmo's Favorite Gripper Pad The "I can't believe it exists already" wrench Good reasons to outsource things beyond the scope of your business Xometry Pay - Solving Collection of past due accounts for businesses? Prusas, 3D printed 1/4" Royal Collet for sub s...

TOPICS:   Ordering Lathe Material - Purchasing/procurement Finances in Business What makes you happy? Growing a business in 3 stages Lathe talk Past due accounts receivables? Creating your own cnc machine?

  Saunders on feeling overwhelmed and a defining moment at Pierson Workholding. Can daily tasks actually KILL your business? "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." - James Clear Marketing  Business accounting Tool life for lathe parting inserts

TOPICS: Saunders is starting 2021 off great with their ERP system and staying busy with orders. Saunders also tells us about his broken tool on the lathe.   Grimsmo has been getting their Okamoto surface grinder up and running and it has been awesome! The big news out of Grimsmo is that the Rask is back! They have been hard at work for almost 4 years to bring back the Rask.  

TOPICS:  Grimsmo starts us off with a smooth lead in SMW Product Demand Increases & The Struggle to Reduce Lead Time  Super Helpful Tools & Gadgets (Scales & Pallet Jacks) https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200680712_200680712 Precision  Abbe's Principle The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World A Crazy Metrology Question on the NY...

2020 has been a wild year, and we are sure you are tired of hearing about it by now. But here at the Business of Machining we decide to reflect on the positives. Thank you to everyone for being with us throughout this year!   Grimsmo has found a solution to lift very heavy objects within their shop without the need of a forklift. It takes them back to the old Volvo days in the garage. Saunder...

TOPICS: - Podcast Feedback & Developing a Consistent Opening Statment - Strategy: Learning Your Customer Base & SEO - Email from Brewery | ERP VS Wiki - Covid Hits Close to Home at SMW - Staffing A Growing Business & The Concert Mindset - Recycling Chips: The Need for a Compactor

Grimsmo makes a big move and purchased a Okamoto surface grinder! Saunders' offers his input and general advice on purchasing new machinery. The boys talk about the potential of using "Slack" in their respective companies. This could help bridge the gap between consumer and company and it is worth looking at.   Saunders has started to step away from his ERP system "LEX" to let his team run it...

Business of Machining has now reached it's 200th episode! That's 3.84 years of "private" conversations about manufacturing and growing small businesses.  A sincere thank you to the listeners out there--or as we've lovingly dubbed them, "parking lot circlers." In the past 4 years, this podcast has been downloaded over 1 million times!    TOPICS: - The importance of authenticity - Det...

Saunders & Grimsmo are ending of the year with expansion! Both shops are on similar growth paths in their respective shops. Grimsmo has hired on Pierre to help boost production, while Saunders has hired 3 people around his shop.   Grimsmo's surface grinder should be here in a couple of weeks! Which means they have to make some room for it and figure out how to bring it into the work flow....

TOPICS:  Auctions, Warranties, and Riggers Is Saving Money the Ultimate Purchase Factor? Developing Decision Making Framework Formalizing the Interview Process Tom Lipton's Test Jig Pierre - New to GK Team SMW Phase 5 of Shop Overhaul Machine Modifications for Chip Evacuation & Larger Coolant Tanks Water & Coolant Delivery System Update Vendors and Relationships DLC Coating Sandvik QS...

The boys have been crazy busy this week. Saunders' and his team have developed a little bit of a safe word around the shop. PINEAPPLE! This signifies that the person is safe. For example, if you hear a loud bang or somebody drops something and hear the safe word. Than you know that person is ok! Its actually a very good idea especially when you have a lot of ground to cover or a lot of employees....

Today the Johns are reppin' each other by sporting SMW and GK tees.  Grimsmo Knives Tee SMW Tee TOPICS: Orange Vise Tour Grimsmo's Next Machines Process for Pressing Bearings into Bearing Cages Surface Grinding Machines - CNC or Manual? Air Compressors & Sound Proofing Tasks - Batching VS. Whack-A-Mole Organizational Chart - G Suite Alias Emails SMW is Hiring! SMW Careers  

Have you ever had such a premium custom table experience that ruined every other table in the world for you? Well Saunders has! He is loving the MakerPipe table systems to make some custom solutions for his shop. You can find Makerpipe here .   Both Grimsmo and Saunders are falling more in love with the idea of full ERP integration in their respective shops. Grimsmo especially are looking to...