PODCAST · business
Swarfcast
by Today's Machining World
Noah Graff, used machine tool dealer and editor of Today’s Machining World, interviews machining company owners, equipment gurus, and experts with insight to help and entertain people working in the machining field. We discuss topics such as how to find quality employees, customer acquisition, negotiation, and the best CNC equipment options for specific jobs.
Episodes
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See the Part Before You Cut It, with Greg Walker and Bob Folts–EP 275
I was touring a shop once, and the owner told me the engineers can draw up whatever they want. It never comes out like that on the machine. At IMTS, I brought that up with Greg Walker and Bob Folts of Spatial Integrated Systems. They told me it can. As long as you’re honest with the software.…
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Why Make a Robot That Looks Like Us, With Phil Zheng-EP 274
A few years ago, Richtech Robotics would call hospitality groups and offer them robots. They got laughed out of the office. The answer was always the same. We’re a people company. Now they’re building an 8,000 square foot factory in Las Vegas. Three production lines for robots and sensors, all...
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The Machinist with Purpose, with Doug Rizzo-EP 273
My guest today, Doug Rizzo, has been working in machine shops for over 55 years, and he’s only 62. Doug worked in his father’s company through good times and terrible, and did applications for Doosan. Now, he’s a plant manager by day and runs his own shop for six or seven hours at night. Doug…
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This Robot Can Grab a Beer, with George Konidaris-EP 272
Open your fridge and grab a beer without knocking anything else over. It’s usually not hard for a human to do it. But getting a robot to do the same task can take an engineer weeks or months. George Konidaris is a professor of computer science at Brown University, director of the Intelligent…
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Best of Swarfcast: A 67-Year Adventure in Swiss Machining Continues, with Paul Huber-EP 199
Today’s guest on the show is Paul Huber, CEO of COMEX, in Monroe Connecticut. Paul is a machinery dealer specializing in cam Swiss automatics. That’s cam Swiss, not CNC. I’m talking about Bechlers, Stroms and Escomatics, not Citizens. Paul is 84, but proudly says feels like he is 60 as he raises...
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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…
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Why We Choke Under Pressure — And How to Fix It-EP 250
We’re on vacation this week. So we’re publishing one of my favorite Blog/Videos that’s been on my mind lately. I highly recommend you watch the video version of this podcast. Click on the link to go to the video. I won a few big matches on my high school Tennis team, but I was never awesome. I...
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Best of Swarfcast: Talking Citizen CNC Swiss Lathes with Marc Klecka – EP 109
Today’s show is the first episode of our new season about Swiss-Type CNC machining. Our guest is Marc Klecka, founder and president of Concentric Corporation, a prominent distributor of Citizen-Cincom CNC Swiss lathes in Cleveland, Ohio. Scroll down to read more and listen to the podcast, or…
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Can Work Make You Happy? Ask the Russian in Brazil, with Tatiana Koval-EP 270
My guest today teaches happiness for a living. Which is ironic, because she grew up in a country where smiling at a stranger means something is wrong with you. Tatiana Koval spent 15 years as an HR consultant in Russia. When the war in Ukraine started, saying you were against it could put you in...
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Best of Swarfcast: Tai Chi, Machine Tools, and ALS, with Greg Knight — EP 240
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…
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Army, Amazon, Aerospace, with Nir Levy — EP 269
Nir Levy was nineteen years old when he was already commanding a unit in the Israeli army. He managed hundreds of people and logistics with life or death stakes, at an age when most of us were figuring out laundry. After the Israeli army came Amazon, where Nir eventually ran a full manufacturing...
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Best of Swarfcast: What If The Employees Owned Your Company, with Rich Gaffney — EP 220
On this "Best of Swarfcast" episode, Noah speaks with Rich Gaffney, Vice President of Commercial Operations at Sentry Equipment, a 100-year-old manufacturing company in Wisconsin that has been employee owned since 1986.
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Your Scrap Tungsten Carbide Is a National Security Question, Nick Stevens and Joey Marks–EP 268
While his nine-year-old son was fighting stage three cancer, Nick Stevens was driving around buying up scrap tungsten carbide just to keep food on the table. It worked well enough that one day, sitting in the hospital room, his son said to him: “Dad, why don’t you just start your own business and...
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The Only Classic Car Wiper Business in the World, with Pat Parnell-EP 267
Pat Parnell went to buy a classic car for his wife. He ended up buying a company too. Rain Gear Wiper Systems, the only hidden wiper system company for classic cars in the world. After 42 years hauling and installing high-end appliances, his body was done with the heavy lifting. Within a few…
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The Man Who Never Stops Teaching, with Logan McGhan-EP 266
Today’s podcast is about mentorship, finding it, and paying it back. Logan McGhan is an old friend of mine from the used machinery business who is now a CNC programmer at a semiconductor company in Arizona. Along the way he’s had invaluable mentors in martial arts, machining, and sales, and one…
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Manufacturing a $70,000 Wristwatch in the United States, with Josh Shapiro EP-174
Have you ever wondered what it takes to manufacture luxury watches that cost tens of thousands of dollars? This is the episode to find out! Last week I reconnected with Josh Shapiro to tell him about a used Willemin 408MT Graff-Pinkert had for sale. He told me that he was extremely excited for…
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Rifles, Racing, and Rhinos, with Tim Betts–EP 265
I met Tim Betts a few weeks ago when he was shopping for a Willemin mill-turn we had for sale. One conversation in and I knew he had to come on Swarfcast. Tim told me he’s in the drugs business, the guns business, and horse racing, and that actually makes him one of the most [...] The post…
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Be THE Leader, with Ryan Avery–EP 264
Sometimes I feel like I’m a good leader. I think I’ve always believed at least that I could be. The insecure statement comes from my conventional view of leading–taking charge to mobilize other people in our businesses, or as a dad or as a thought leader. But my podcast guest Ryan Avery, gave me…
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Courage to Be Rubbish – EP 263
“God, I am so NOT relaxed right now. But I need to just embrace what I read recently — you need the courage to be rubbish. Just relax, stop worrying about everything being perfect, and do it.” I said that to my dad, Lloyd, as we sat down to record our podcast last week–which turned [...] The post...
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Manufacturing Acquisitions with Purpose, with Mike Payne (Part 1)-EP 232 (Best of Swarfcast)
On today’s podcast, I’m talking with Mike Payne, owner of Hill Manufacturing and Fabrication in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, to peek inside the mind of a prolific acquirer of manufacturing companies. Before purchasing Hill in 2018, Mike spent 20 years in M&A, orchestrating over 100 deals across nearly...
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Why Some People Build Companies and Others Don’t, with Mike Payne (Part 2) – EP 233 (Best of Swarfcast)
I often ponder—why do some people own and build companies, while most people are destined to spend their careers as employees. In Part II of my interview with Mike Payne, owner of Hill Manufacturing & Fabrication, we explore this question. Mike comes from a family of six generations of teachers,...
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Your AI Life Coach Is Lying to You, with Brooks Canavesi–EP 262
Today’s AI conversation is about vulnerability—not automation, efficiency, and replacing jobs. Brooks Canavesi, co-founder of Baryons, is taking AI somewhere different. He’s not trying to replace the human. He’s trying to make the human better. I’ve actually been using ChatGPT to supplement my…
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Robots that Know Where to Go, With George Konidaris (Best Of)
Seems like right now every podcast is doing an interview centered around artificial intelligence. But I waited until I found the right story, one that was truly relevant to our audience in the machining world. Today’s guest on the podcast, George Konidaris, is the cofounder of the startup…
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So You Want To Be More Confident?–EP 261
The most interesting things I’ve ever done — the best conversations, the best podcasts, the best calls — they all required me to be confident enough to move forward, when the results were far from certain. Today I’m going to tell you something I just learned that can get that confidence up when…
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He Bought the Shop He Worked For, Federico Veneziano (Part II)-EP 260
Federico Veneziano didn’t just buy the machine shop he worked for — he became the sole owner of a 70-year-old company and then changed its name, culture, and direction. When Federico bought American Micro three years ago, there were over 25 shareholders. Now there’s one. The company had 86...
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Learning, Teaching, Owning, with Federico Veneziano-EP 259
At 12, he was cutting metal in northern Italy. By 21, he was teaching DMG’s own technicians how to use their machines. At 47, he owns the whole company he first walked into just to set up a machine. Federico Veneziano is the owner of BoldX Industries and an old friend of mine. His story [...] The...
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Making Engineers Love Manufacturing, With Andrew Schiller-EP 258
What happens when a mechanical engineering instructor actually comes from industry—not academia? My guest on today’s podcast is Andrew Schiller from Utah Tech, who spent six years at Caterpillar and GE, and studied theology at seminary, before landing in the classroom. He’s teaching students to...
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Is 2025 the End of Cam Screw Machines? EP 257 (Reupload)
Is an Acme-Gridley the mink coat of machine tools? A well made product that still does a great job, but nobody wants another one. In 2025? No. Not yet. On today’s podcast, Lloyd and I talk about our used machinery business over the last year. We saw one customer drop 20 million for five INDEXs to...
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The Turnaround Formula, with Neil Lansing-EP 256 (Reupload)
Today I’m talking to a guy who believes every company needs to be built to last—not just to flip. Neil Lansing is a turnaround specialist who left private equity to bet his own money on small, underperforming businesses. He’s taken companies from 18 employees to over 400. From $2 million to…
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Running a CNC Swiss Medical Shop, with Shawn Gaskin–Ep. 161
Our guest on the podcast today is Shawn Gaskin, owner of Swiss Technologies of New England and Stone Medical in Plainville, Massachusetts. Shawn started Swiss Technologies over 20 years ago, with one L20 Citizen making parts out of sterling silver for Tiffany and Company. Over the years, his...
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Attached to Multi-Spindles, with Elliott May—EP. 143
Our guest on today’s podcast is Elliott May, engineer at BME in Port Huron, Michigan. BME builds original custom attachments for cam multi-spindles. They also rebuild Acme-Gridley screw machines. Elliott and I talked about a lot of fascinating things in this interview. How to keep old mechanical...
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Pivoting to Manufacture a Product, with Michael Gimbel – EP 224
Most of us don’t have a knack for pivoting. We follow the standard curriculum, and we keep going forward when we get in a lane, whether we believe it’s the right direction or not. But for Michael Gimbel, my guest on today’s show, seeing setbacks as serendipity and then pivoting is a natural gift....
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Is 2025 the End of Cam Screw Machines? EP 257
Is an Acme-Gridley the mink coat of machine tools? A well made product that still does a great job, but nobody wants another one. In 2025? No. Not yet. On today’s podcast, Lloyd and I talk about our used machinery business over the last year. We saw one customer drop 20 million for five INDEXs to...
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How to Make Your Employees Want to Stay, with Adam Wiltsie–EP 130
Last week, I heard a story about an old customer of Graff-Pinkert who lost three key machinists because a shop down the street was paying more. It led me to make a post on Linkedin, asking if machinists and setup people were paid enough to attract young people to the machining field. On the…
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The Turnaround Formula, with Neil Lansing-EP 256
Today I’m talking to a guy who believes every company needs to be built to last—not just to flip. Neil Lansing is a turnaround specialist who left private equity to bet his own money on small, underperforming businesses. He’s taken companies from 18 employees to over 400. From $2 million to…
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Running a “First Class” Cold Heading Company, with Joe Bennett-EP 135
Our guest on today’s podcast is Joe Bennett, Vice President of Sales at Seaway Bolt and Specials, a privately held cold heading company in Columbia Station, Ohio, founded in 1957. In the cold heading process, coiled steel is cut into slugs, which are then hit multiple times, ultimately pounding...
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Another AI Episode (But This One’s Actually Useful)-EP 255
The last six months I’ve been using AI to help me with everything from business negotiations to dealing with my kid’s pneumonia. It’s become a daily part of how I operate—at work and at home. The big difference between it and just googling is that you have a conversation with it. Check out the...
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Citizen CNC Swiss Lathes, with Marc Klecka
We’re seeing an uptick in the Swiss market on the Graff-Pinkert side of the business, particularly Citizen machines. In response, we thought now was a great time to share an interview Noah conducted in 2021 about Swiss-Type CNC machining. He talks to Marc Klecka, founder and president of…
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Rare Earths Aren’t Rare, with Julie Klinger-Ep. 254
“Rare earths aren’t actually rare, nor are they earths,” Julie Klinger told me. Julie is an associate professor at UW Madison and literally wrote the book on rare earth elements—Rare Earth Frontiers: From Terrestrial Subsoils to Lunar Landscapes. I interviewed her last week, the day after Trump...
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Ep. 129 – Recruiting Long Term Shop Employees, with Bill Cox (Part 2)
In part 1 of my interview with Bill Cox, owner of Cox Manufacturing in San Antonio, Texas, Bill talked about the power of his company’s robust apprenticeship program. But how does Cox Manufacturing get so many employee candidates, while most machining companies are dying to get any job…
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Ep. 128 – Building a Great Apprenticeship Program, with Bill Cox
Unlike the majority of machining companies right now, struggling to find enough skilled people to fulfill demand, Cox Manufacturing in San Antonio, Texas, boasts a continuous pipeline of new talent. In fact, Bill Cox, the company’s owner, says right now the company has a stack of applications for...
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How to Persuade Anyone Before You Even Speak-EP 253
Last week another machinery dealer mentioned that being a family business was part of why she wanted to work with us at Graff-Pinkert. I don’t know if that was the deciding factor, but it reminded me that persuasion often happens before you say a word. This concept of convincing someone before…
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Success of a Woman in the Machining Business, with Aneesa Muthana—EP 33
On today’s podcast, we interviewed Aneesa Muthana, owner of Pioneer Service Inc., a CNC machine shop that features 26 Star CNC Swiss lathes. Aneesa shared her fond memories of being raised on the floor of a centerless grinding shop, M&M Quality Grinding, founded by her Yemeni immigrant parents....
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How To Get Lucky (It’s Easier Than You Think)–EP 252
Today I’m going to tell you how to get lucky. It seems like some people are always in the right place at the right time getting all the lucky breaks, while the rest of us watch from the sidelines. I often feel like I’m in that sideline category too. But as used machinery dealers, our [...] The…
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Where Rotary Transfers Fit, with Kris Fugate—EP. 144
My guest on today’s show is Kris Fugate, President of Revolution Machine Works, a prominent rotary transfer machine rebuilder, specializing in Hydromats. Hydromats can seem strange and overwhelming to those unfamiliar with them. Some say they their circular shape with 12 or 16 work stations…
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AI That Actually Works in Manufacturing, with Adam Marsh-EP. 251
What if I told you there’s a tool that can look at a photo of your weld and tell you exactly what you screwed up. The tool could also help you figure out that your machining problem isn’t your end mill, it’s actually your coolant, and it costs less than hiring one person? On today’s [...] The…
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Defending Your Manufacturing Company From Cyber Attacks, with Drew Phillips–EP 162
Are you vaccinated against the Virus? Is your computer system prepared for the inevitable attack? Today’s podcast discusses the scary reality that manufacturers are the number one target of cyber attacks around the globe. Manufacturing companies are at risk for ransomware and intellectual…
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Why We Choke Under Pressure — And How to Fix It-EP 250
I highly recommend you watch the video version of this podcast. Click on the link to go to the video. I won a few big matches on my high school Tennis team, but I was never awesome. I never won the big tournaments. What killed me was that I always had more fun and played [...] The post Why We…
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How to Create an Awesome Manufacturing Culture, with Jim Mayer–EP 222
“This is how it’s always been done.” Businesses sometimes can do OK with a philosophy like that. Maybe even make good money. But it sucks being just ok, because you know you could be so much better. Today on the podcast we are joined by Jim Mayer, founder of the Manufacturing Connector and host…
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Machines vs Workers? With Noah and Lloyd–EP 249
If you had $100,000 to spend on your machine shop, what would you spend it on? When I polled people on LinkedIn, out of 170 responses, 46% said they would buy a new machine, 33% said “robots and automation.” Only seventeen percent said “hire and train people.” Does this mean American shops have...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Noah Graff, used machine tool dealer and editor of Today’s Machining World, interviews machining company owners, equipment gurus, and experts with insight to help and entertain people working in the machining field. We discuss topics such as how to find quality employees, customer acquisition, negotiation, and the best CNC equipment options for specific jobs.
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Today's Machining World
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Swarfcast have?
Swarfcast currently has 300 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Swarfcast about?
Noah Graff, used machine tool dealer and editor of Today’s Machining World, interviews machining company owners, equipment gurus, and experts with insight to help and entertain people working in the machining field. We discuss topics such as how to find quality employees, customer acquisition,...
How often does Swarfcast release new episodes?
Swarfcast publishes regularly with 300 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Swarfcast?
You can listen to Swarfcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Swarfcast?
Swarfcast is created and hosted by Today's Machining World.
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