Swarfblog

Why Onshoring Is Really Happening, with Lloyd and Noah Graff-EP 271

The first quarter of 2026 stunk for Graff-Pinkert’s used machinery business. But fortunately, in the last few months, we’ve made some really good deals, selling old Davenport and Acme screw machines, as well as some expensive late model CNC multi-spindles. Today, Lloyd Graff and I give our take on why

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Psyched for 2017!

This is my first Swarfblog of 2017 and it’s not about the Cubs. I am grateful to be able to continue writing it and grateful

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One Hole at a Time

I’ve seen a lot of change in my lifetime.  Cubs winning the World Series.  The Berlin Wall falling.  The Internet altering work and pleasure.  And

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How Not to Get a Job

As a headhunter who recruits in the fields of engineering and manufacturing, I can often judge in a matter of seconds whether a candidate could

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Ding Dong School

I’ve been talking to a lot of smart people and reading some well-researched material so I can pretend I know stuff that you don’t already

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5-Axis 4 Grand

In the fall of 2015 Michelle and Matt Hertel gave birth to a baby girl and a 5-axis CNC milling machine in Montana. Their baby

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Home on the Steppe

Those Russian thieves! First they steal back Crimea, then they steal our election (maybe?), and now they are poaching our talented labor force. They are

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