I met today’s guest, Mike Pelham, completely by chance — over breakfast at the hotel bar during PMTS in Cleveland.... more

Working in the machining industry I hear the term “lean manufacturing” mentioned a lot. But what does the word “lean”... more

Born with no intention of becoming a machinist, Greg Knight says he was drafted into “indentured servitude” at age 16... more

Josh Hacko is a fourth generation watchmaker. He says he was born into his vocation, but in reality his work... more

On today’s show I’m bringing back  one of my favorite past guests on the podcast—Damon Pistulka. The first time Damon... more

My guest on today’s show, Thadd Mellott, called us at Graff-Pinkert because he needed a Star SB20 CNC Swiss machine.... more

On today’s podcast episode, you’re going to hear the story of a thriving fifth-generation family manufacturing business that is constantly... more

Today we’re running a podcast that I guested on in September of 2024 called “Networking and Marketing Made Simple.” The... more

Have you ever dreamed about combining your expertise and passions to become an entrepreneur? My guess on today’s podcast did... more

When Trump was elected President for a second term, I expected there would be a lot of talk about tariffs,... more

Dave Polito is my Star CNC guru. He’s always been there when I’ve had questions, whether I was asking about... more

My guest on today’s podcast, Anthony Davis, told me that since age 10 he and his brother knew they wanted... more

Spinner is a German CNC machine tool brand that’s been around for 73 years. The company sold 1,200 CNC mills... more

It takes tremendous balls to start a machining company from scratch. And, maybe a little extra chutzpa to start a... more

Our guest on the podcast today is Rogério Mezadri, Director of SAMOT Mexico, a 200-employee automotive machining company in Guanajuato,... more

Damn. It’s already 2025? I was just getting used to the idea that it was 2024. Today, Lloyd and I... more

Do you ever ask yourself why the majority of businesses out there are struggling to survive while an elite handful... more

One of my favorite machinery dealers we work with is from Brazil. He specializes in sending machine tools to South... more

I often ponder—why do some people own and build companies, while most people are destined to spend their careers as... more

On today’s podcast, I’m talking with Mike Payne, owner of Hill Manufacturing and Fabrication in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, to peek... more

Today’s show is the first episode of a multi-part series about how machining companies acquire new work.  Our guest is... more

Have you ever wondered how a used machinery dealer like myself approaches buying secondhand equipment? About a month ago, I... more

Sometimes machining companies tell Graff-Pinkert they have long running, lucrative jobs supplying parts to the D.O.D., and it always has... more

You may have noticed that I often talk about friction on this podcast. That’s because everyone has to fight friction... more

Today’s interview is an old favorite. It’s a story about a young entrepreneur and his father producing minuscule parts with... more

Why would anybody buy a CNC multi-spindle for $2 million? Or $3 million for that matter? My guest on today’s... more

Today’s podcast is Part 2 of our interview with Dave Thuro, second-generation owner of Thuro Metal Products. In this episode,... more

We are going back to the archives this week with an interview from our first year of the show! Great... more

I’ve interviewed a lot of interesting business coaches for this podcast, and all the coaches had one thing in common.... more

This week on Swarfcast, we’ve been thinking a lot about some of the exciting tech that we saw last month... more

I encounter a lot of friction in my work. Too many obstacles get in the way of me doing the... more

If you have not already listened to Part I, you can find it here. After serving in the Navy SEALs... more

Bill Berrien has had an extraordinary professional journey. He earned an MBA at Harvard, worked for General Electric and then... more

At IMTS 2024, I learned about the latest technology for CNC lathes, robots, and most notably 3D printing. Stratasys was... more

Today’s podcast episode is the second half of our interview with Dr. Onome Scott-Emuakpor, the founder of Hyphen Innovations, a... more

Noah is attending IMTS this week, so we are resharing one of our favorite podcasts from last year. This episode... more

Terry Iverson is a lifer in the machining industry. His grandfather sold machines for Hardinge over 100 years ago, and... more

This podcast episode is the second part of our interview with Will Healy III about how to get the most... more

The 2024 IMTS International Manufacturing Technology Show coming up in two weeks in Chicago! We did an awesome podcast two... more

Most of us don’t have a knack for pivoting.  We follow the standard curriculum, and we keep going forward when... more

Our guests on today’s show are Michael Ottenweller and Terry Hanson, of Ottenweller Company, a medium-sized fabrication and machining company... more

Often the best deals and business decisions happen when you’re doing something that seems crazy to other people and even... more

Today’s show is the second episode in our season about Swiss machining. I interviewed Chris Armstrong last week while he... more

“This is how it’s always been done.” Businesses sometimes can do OK with a philosophy like that. Maybe even make... more

Today’s episode is Part II of our interview with industrial auctioneer Robert Levy. In Part I, I tried to get... more

Auctions are always on our mind at Graff-Pinkert. Since Internet bidding became ubiquitous in the last 15 years they’ve become... more

I’ve had a LinkedIn profile for a long time, but I didn’t pay much attention to it until two years... more

The concept of an ESOP to me has always seemed extraordinary yet at the same time a little hard to... more

My guest on today’s show is Kris Fugate, President of Revolution Machine Works, a prominent rotary transfer machine rebuilder, specializing... more

Using savings to buy a 20-year-old Swiss machine that’s been sitting idle for year is a gamble. Buying one to... more

Our guest on the podcast today is a machinist, entrepreneur, and master craftsman. Josh Shapiro is the owner and founder of... more

My guest on today’s show immigrated to the United States from Mexico at 18 years old, went to tech school,... more

This week on Swarfcast, we’re sharing an interview we originally did back in 2020 with Paul Van Metre, Co-Founder of... more

Do you ever wonder how I make a living buying and selling old iron? Sometimes Graff-Pinkert’s used machinery business boggles... more

Pasta machines operate a lot like cam screw machines, Antonio Adiletta told me when I interviewed him for this week’s... more

In honor of this weekend’s PMPA National Technical Conference, we’re resharing a podcast we did last year with Elliott May,... more

I’m dealing with a customer right now who seems interested in some CNC machines Graff-Pinkert has for sale. They told... more

On this week’s classic episode of Swarfcast, we’re talking about preventing fires inside of machinery. Our guest is Mike Campo,... more

Our guest on today’s show, Howard Sheldon, grew up working in his family’s third generation precision turning company. He planned... more

It seems that today’s younger generations of workers, such as millennials, want to understand why they are instructed to do... more

In the last year, our used machinery company, Graff-Pinkert, has been successfully growing our business brokering division. This podcast and... more

Today’s episode is Part II of our interview with Roger Duffy, owner of F&F Machine Products. In Part I we... more

How many times has something happened to you that really sucked but then eventually turned out to be a good... more

Recently, we have seen a growing number of mergers and acquisitions in the manufacturing space. After these deals are finalized... more

At Graff-Pinkert, I’ve sold a lot of machine tools to successful entrepreneurs, including my guest on today’s show, Roger Duffy,... more

“I can’t hire a cam multi-spindle operator who knows what they’re doing! I’m throwing out my multi-spindles and going all... more

As the housing market has slowed recently in our current economy, alternative types of construction such as 3D printing with... more

My guest on today’s podcast, Jerod Dailey, could have been a mechanical engineer or even a doctor if he wanted... more

Have you ever wondered if bone screws could actually be machined from real tissue? If that were possible, where could... more

Happy New Year everybody! On today’s podcast, Lloyd Graff and I reflect on the ups and downs of machining world... more

We originally published this episode in 2019. It was a better time in Israel’s history, before the country was savagely... more

Today I’m debuting a new episode series under the Swarfcast umbrella that I’m going to put out every so often.... more

Have you considered whether your business is salable? My guest on today's podcast says only a small fraction of companies... more

Our guest on today’s podcast is Joe Bennett, Vice President of Sales at Seaway Bolt and Specials, a privately held... more

Malachi Greb, my guest on today’s show, has a mission, “freeing humans, one robot at a time.” He is the... more

When you’re shopping for machines do you find yourself wondering if the more expensive option for a machine is the... more

Last week, Lloyd Graff wrote a blog called “What Brings Me to Work,” which we think will speak to a... more

The last year and a half, I’ve been a rookie family man. I’m trying to balance selling sexy-ugly iron, podcasting,... more

Today’s guest on the show is Paul Huber, CEO of COMEX, in Monroe Connecticut. Paul is a machinery dealer specializing... more

In college, one of my favorite elective classes was bowling—I took it twice. Maybe you poo poo the idea of... more

How do you know what to charge for your product? How do you negotiate with customers and leave the least money... more

As Graff-Pinkert has gotten more into consulting machining businesses who want to sell their companies, we are constantly learning new... more

Imagine a sheet metal prototype shop that was so fast and reliable it never turned down a job if it... more

Today’s podcast is the fourth episode of our season interviewing people involved in CNC Swiss machining. Our guest is Mike... more

I love this classic episode because it emphasizes how having fun with your product (or service) and feeling free to... more

This podcast has been going for five years now, and those people who listen to it frequently might be tired... more

Editor’s Note: This podcast was recorded in Spring of 2022. Tyler has now been retired for over 2 years, and... more

George Konidaris is the cofounder of the startup, Realtime Robotics. He’s also a Professor of Computer Science and the director of the Intelligent... more

On today’s podcast we continue our season talking to successful companies who produce their own products. Today’s guest is Joel... more

Last week, I heard a story about an old customer of Graff-Pinkert who lost three key machinists because a shop... more