Are American Manufacturers Babies? Let's Figure It Out with OSH Cut's Caleb Chamberlain

🎙️ Caleb Chamberlain, co-founder of Osh Cut, joins Tool or Die for a loose conversation about the viral video that hit a nerve in U.S. manufacturing circles. The video—posted by a frustrated entrepreneur—calls out American manufacturers for being unwilling or unable to build a simple ATM kiosk enclosure, contrasting that experience with seamless production in China. Joel, Alex and Caleb break down where he's right, where he's wrong, and what the story reveals about the structural gaps in American industry—especially for high-mix, low-volume manufacturing.TIMESTAMPS:* 00:00 Intro & viral video setup* 02:00 The mystery of WTI Wireless* 04:00 Why Osh Cut was founded* 07:00 U.S. manufacturers: optimized for repeat jobs, not first-time customers* 10:00 “American manufacturers are babies?” Not quite* 13:00 Why high-mix, low-volume work is still so hard* 20:00 What’s missing: no U.S. equivalent of Alibaba* 28:00 What Caleb would do with $250 million* 33:00 Should you scale services or open new shops?* 38:00 Could Osh Cut’s platform become a SaaS business?* 44:00 Why many legacy shops won’t survive the next decadeKey Topics:* The real reasons U.S. manufacturers turn down small or custom jobs* Why digitizing quoting is only 20% of the challenge* The case for vertically integrated, software-native factories* What it would take to build an American manufacturing marketplace* Reshoring, tariffs, and the shrinking pool of capable shops* Why Caleb thinks this is the time to build in U.S. manufacturing👉 Website: oshcut.comTOOL OR DIE is produced by Johnson & Roy (Johnson-Roy.com), a strategic advisory firm focused on technology, mobility, manufacturing, and robotics. Your hosts are Joel Johnson, longtime tech journalist and builder (General Motors, Gizmodo, Wirecutter), and Alex Roy, General Partner at New Industry Venture Capital (NIVC.us) and veteran of the autonomy and mobility space.Follow them:* LinkedIn: alexroy | joeljohnson* X: @alexroy144 | @joeljohnson* Web: johnson-roy.com Get full access to TOOL or DIE at www.toolordie.com/subscribe