Business of Machining

"To say it was life-changing would be a bit dramatic but...it was life changing!"  - Saunders   Saunders shares his EMO experience while Grimsmo gets ready for CMTS in Toronto.  A year has passed since they attended IMTS and major changes  have taken place not only in their shops but in their lives.     Tradeshows are inspiring but for some, they are in...

Statistically, it's incredibly likely to get dark every day; however, there is  0% chance of Saunders holding a focus group.   You have a great product to offer the masses but is it enough to be successful? If you haven't considered MINIMAL PRODUCT VIABILITY, you might be in for a surprise.   Grimsmo's confidence in his ability to create a product from start to finish leaves hi...

Have you ever heard of EUSTRESS?  Probably not.  But you've definitely experienced it. It's a feeling our co-hosts lovingly refer to as "the grind."   With the pre-order in the past, Grimsmo turns his  focus and renewed energy toward the Norseman workflow and  the automated process for Maker's Choice knives.   While some think chip thinning is overrated, Saunders believes understanding this machin...

BEEF.  That's what's for 7am. People that lack authenticity can test your nerves and leave you  feeling raw but it's easy to let it go when there are bigger fish to fry.   Today is the first day of the rest of Grimsmo Knives.   After an arduous journey with a 2.25 year pre-order, the new direction for the company becomes clear. It's like a breath of  fresh processes. ...

"I don't always find EXTRA KNIFE ORDERS but when I do, it's when I have T-minus 6 days until the deadline. "- Grimsmo   If you haven't seen your reflection in a while, check out this Instagram  post.   Record players are scarce these days but there's something that  might  work in a pinch.  A PROFILOMETER???   For Saunders, the benefits of a Cogsdill&nb...

Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger.   Out of nowhere, Grimsmo has an astonishing spike  in productivity but Saunders is perplexed.  Did he wake up with superpowers or clone himself?   Bureaucracy?  More like bureauCRAZY! Saunders finds himself peevish and bogged down with what should have been a simple task.   With the right tools in the right places, machining the steel fixture plates should, in th...

"I've felt what drowning feels like and it sucks."    Grimsmo's pushing full steam ahead but is it enough to meet the deadline?   Reducing Stress = Immediate Relief, right? Not exactly.   Unfortunately, ANY change in your normal stress level can leave you feeling  worse because it's not what you're used to. Saunders grapples with finding a new norm.    How do&nbs...

Feel like picking some BRAINS? By reviewing this podcast on iTunes from now through the end of September, you could be chosen to have a CHAT with the co-hosts on the topic of your choice! Saunders visits Madison, WI for Tech Days, formerly the Tormach Open House and Mitutoyo America Corporation, second to The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in metrology accuracy. And I said,...

Video: Q-Mark STRESS, SOLUTIONS, and...SUSHI? How long have you been in survival mode? If you're feeling under the weather, there's a good chance it isn't last night's dinner. When it comes to stress, be prepared to bring solutions to the table. If there isn't a solution, venting and validation can offer relief. Saunders and Grimsmo mull over ways to avoid past pitfalls and new ideas to move their...

Video: Okamoto - I DO give a chuck!  Book:  THE GRINDING WHEEL The Rask order is nearing completion and the stork's bringing the VF2. Saunders has a fantastic week. Systems are falling into place but he reminds himself "not to count his chips while he's at the table." Grimsmo still thinks it's a good idea to pat yourself on the back every once in a while. The guys discuss accounting, too...

Orange Vise Tour     Grimsmo returns from vacation but was he able to relax? Saunders tinkers with a new plan for organizing tools. Just because they're the same size doesn't mean they go together. To maximize efficiency, you may need to think outside your tool box. PROCESS RELIABILITY, tell me what it means to me... Reliable and consistent results take the cake over pushing tool paths t...

Orange Vise Tour Machine ROI Delivering Happiness Grimsmo + Vacation = Worry/Anxiety? Normally, the idea of vacation should produce feelings of excitement and relaxation but for Grimsmo, it's a different story. "What is the end goal?" The guys are in a constant state of defining and refining goals. How do you know you've made it if you don't know where you want to end up? In his quest to pay it fo...

Pierson MPS  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEZeVbockyQ   Link to Saunder's Video RE: ChipBreak about drawings:  http://bit.ly/2sWGcoI   As patriotic holidays arrive and fireworks are ignited, both Johns get fired up about PROCESS--the process of making processes, to be exact.  What if you have no idea where to begin?  The important thing is not WHERE you start but T...

Delivering Happiness: http://amzn.to/2sGeaO9 Grimsmo Pierson MPS Video: http://bit.ly/2slM8T6 "We've got to talk."  The suspense is killing Grimsmo after receiving cryptic messages from Saunders during his Californian machine shop trip.   Saunders and Grimsmo get honest about the current state of their businesses.  Bootstrapping has its merits to a point but it can also inhibit your...

Pierson Tour: http://bit.ly/2tk4c4w Grimsmo Knives work-flow boards: http://bit.ly/2slM8T6 Pierson QC Review video: http://bit.ly/2slWfab "Goals are tools that allow me to say no"--What does that even mean?   On this episode of Business of Machining, Grimsmo and Saunders are taking action to improve workflow processes and quality control. While Grimsmo visits a machine shop at a local college...

"I'm not the host, we're co-hosts" and for now, they want to keep it that way.  For these two, paying it forward and reciprocity keeps the wheels turning. Blade Show has amazing products but for Grimsmo, the people and interactions are the bread and butter(knife).  Today, he plans to chop up 20 billets of timascus. Got heartburn?  It might be your workholding.   Saunders r...

What a shame! In a hotel, sometimes the only place with decent WiFi is beside the pool in beautiful weather. Today marks day 1 of Blade Show 2017 in Atlanta, GA.  This week is full of productivity, positivity, and new considerations. Saunders hones his communication skills, grows the SMW roster, and shares an official result of negotiations spanning several months. Grimsmo's week has been ful...

The Okamoto grinder gets TLC and opens the door to the grinding world for Saunders.  Although Grimsmo's not wearing his tuxedo shirt,  he DOES have a lesson on the saga of the "Linda Wheels."  For entrepreneurs, self-evaluation and reevaluation is a skill that must be practiced.  While it poses challenges to decisions and beliefs, it can unveil new and better solutions to probl...

X-Rays and broken bones but everyone is safe!  Full of energy and passion, the Open House has an even better year than the last.  Grimsmo gears up for his  6th trip to the world's largest knife show. The amateur bug bites Saunders when Niagara Cutter pays a visit and it was caught on camera. The E-Myth Revisited is (oddly enough) REVISITED by Saunders. Are you a technician, a manage...

It's tradeshow time!  On the same day, Grimsmo attends Elliot-Matsura Joint Open House while Saunders attends the Precision Machining Technology Show.  As business owners, they always have to be on the look out for better products.  Sometimes it's difficult to avoid getting sucked into the almighty sales pitch. Saunders contemplates a new addition to the shop while taking care of so...

Entrepreneurship isn't all sunshine and rainbows. The Johns both express their gratitude for special people in their lives. Grimsmo decides to make his own fidget spinners (out of titanium) and two new grinding wheels have arrived. The Renishaw OLP for the lathe helps him make strides in efficiency. He is now running machines unattended while making good parts; especially with some additional macr...

As an entreprenuer, confidence in your tools and machines isn't all you need. Multi-tasking - is it a valuable skill or bologna?   Saunders applies Grimsmo's often stated advice, "You can do anything but it doesn't mean you should do everything" by hiring a new employee.   A dedicated Grimsmo Knives fan goes above and beyond and Saunders attends SKILLS OHIO, a state-wide machining compet...

Grimsmo's back in the swing and a new addition to his repertoire of tools is a gamechanger.  Renishaw installs an OLP40 probe on his lathe that measures parts and puts it into text format.  TRAKHOUND, a FREE software that interprets data from MTConnect to create a snapshot of machine data.  Saunders has concerns about his Renishaw probe but is determined to rule out operator error b...

Book: How to Win Friends http://amzn.to/2ovOvWf AMAZING Miyano Turret Lathe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1Y_3jWBDzU Saunders sails through the past week with relative ease, lower stress levels and high productivity.  Grimsmo gets ready for the next wave of production in what he calls the “calm before the storm.”  The glorious grinding wheel Grimsmo has been expecting arrives and com...

Saunders shares a golden machinist's moment. Grimsmo has been spending time "putting out fires" but why?  Saunders offers perspective on the impact of unrealistic expectations and an interesting way to get into a better mindset when problem solving and making decisions.  Grimsmo lights up when sharing his new thing: tracking tool life via a simple macro calculation.