My guest on today’s podcast, Jared Daily, could have been a mechanical engineer or even a doctor if he wanted to, but instead, he followed his passion and became a journeyman machinist right out of high school. Then he fell into a career 24 years ago, teaching precision machining to high schoolers at South Adams High School in Northeast Indiana, which happens to be the Number 1 machining region in the United States. Jared ’s classes sound fascinating and challenging. They usually ditch the text book to do hands-on projects like build a car engine from scratch using high-end CNC…
Author: Noah Graff
Chris Armstrong has saved me more times than I can count—helping us at Graff-Pinkert through tough machinery deals, especially when it comes to Swiss machines. Citizens? He’s our guy. But today’s podcast isn’t just about technical know-how. After years of driving coast to coast fixing machines and solving problems most people wouldn’t touch, Chris is shifting gears—rebuilding how he works, the kinds of parts he makes, and how he makes a living. This is a story about the machining world. It’s about burnout, comebacks, and the deep, rare purpose you find when you fix things for a living. Listen on…
It seems like every other day as a machinery dealer, I talk to someone who says they would purchase a machine from me, if only they could find a person to run it. Today’s podcast guest, Ann Wyatt, founder of Ann Wyatt Recruiting, makes her living by finding manufacturing professionals for companies. Ann’s journey to becoming a recruiter started in 2010 when she was an unemployed recent graduate of Western Kentucky University without the means for a home Internet connection. Her mom suggested she go to the career center at the local unemployment office where she could access the Internet…
Lately, I’ve been kind of on an AI bender using chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude daily. Whether I like it or not, AI is transforming the way I write, the way I search the Internet, maybe even the way I think. My guest on today’s show, Riley Hutchinson, is bringing that transformation into CNC machine shops. He is co-founder of Swarf AI, an AI copilot built specifically to fill the tribal knowledge gap that retiring skilled workers are leaving. You might not be using it much right now, but after hearing this interview you’ll understand why AI will likely be…
When you’re shopping for machines do you find yourself wondering if the more expensive option for a machine is the better one? Does a taiwanese brand perform worse than a German brand? Will one machine last longer than another? Are some machines pretty similar between certain brands? The truth is, paying more money for a machine tool does not always translate to better user experience or greater productivity. Machining and life are more interesting than that! Our guest on today’s podcast is Justin Tauber, co-owner and Vice President of Integrated Machinery Systems (IMS), a machine tool distributor in Itasca, Illinois. …
I met today’s guest, Mike Pelham, completely by chance — over breakfast at the hotel bar during PMTS in Cleveland. He knew who I was from the podcast. But I didn’t know him. Kind of strange when that happens — but it’s really cool. After we talked for five minutes, I started thinking he could be a good interview. Mike owns a fourth-generation family business, International Chemical Company, selling chemicals to machine shops — a true commodity product. But when he talks about manufacturing, family, and customer relationships, none of it feels boring. In our conversation, we talked about selling…
Working in the machining industry I hear the term “lean manufacturing” mentioned a lot. But what does the word “lean” really mean in this context? And how do you implement it in your company? To help me clarify these questions, I interviewed Matthew Rassi, founder of Twenty Helping Hands. He’s a lean manufacturing consultant who has been working in the manufacturing industry for over two decades. Matthew says that the first step for a company to adopt lean manufacturing is to bring all of its people together to exchange ideas, from the CEO to the person sweeping floors. In his…
I get fulfillment from being a yenta. Aka a matchmaker. Or “a dot connector as I like to say” in my serendipity speak.😀 I’m the guy who throws parties and looks forward to his “worlds colliding.” I love introducing one friend from one circle to another friend from another circle who I know will hit it off. Which is one reason why having a booth at Precision Machining Technology Show (PMTS 2025) was so fulfilling and potentially profitable for our company Graff-Pinkert. A booth gives me a home base to throw my party and personally introduce people I know to…
Born with no intention of becoming a machinist, Greg Knight says he was drafted into “indentured servitude” at age 16 when his father started a Brown & Sharpe machine shop in their garage. Despite his initial distaste for manual labor, fate had other plans for the psychology, philosophy, religion, and sociology major. I ran into Greg at PMTS 2025 in Cleveland last week, working in the Absolute Machine Tools booth despite being retired for several years after being diagnosed with ALS. I’ve always found Greg fascinating and fun to talk to since we met 20 years ago at my first…
Josh Hacko is a fourth generation watchmaker. He says he was born into his vocation, but in reality his work is truly his own. Josh is Technical Director of two sister companies, NH Micro and Nicholas Hacko Watchmaker, which manufactures high-end wrist watches in Sydney, Australia, that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The company can manufacture up to 85% of a wristwatch’s components in-house, including the watch’s movement, a feat that only a handful of independent watchmakers around the world have accomplished. With his team, Josh engineers and machines his watches’ components, and he and his dad come…