TOPICS:

• Business Problem Solving & Developing Systems
• DIY Coolant Washdown System
• Shipping, Customer Service
• Air Compressor/Drain System IoT Failure
• Google Sheet To Do List
• Thingyverse RC F1 Car: 3D Printed Parts & Inspiration
• Pro-Active Machine Shop Maintenance
• Learning the KERN - Mid Routine Program Restart: Heidenhain Block Scan, Haas Setting 36
• Programming G-Code using Visual Studio Code Detecting Syntax Errors
• Grimsmo Knives Shop Tour Video
• Fluke Power Meter Determines Power Availability for Willemin
• Growth Vs. Scaling: Approaching with Caution
• Sister Tools & Multiple CNC Mills
• Lathe Tooling & Tool Life
• Seco Quick Change Toolholder on the Swiss
• Capto Toolholders for the Nakamura
• SMW Fixture Plate Packing & Shipping Process

Check out Spencer Webb's IG @spencer_webb_nh for Kinetic Precision PFG Stones

TOPICS:

• Being vulnerable & making decisions.
• Moving and reorganizing areas of both shops.
• CORE VALUES.
• Traction by Gino Wickman
• Saunders installed a coolant washdown system.
• Chip management & draining coolant.
• Renishaw probe batteries.
• Draining air compressors!

TOPICS:
- Chip Trapper VS. Freddy
- Machine Shops & Climate Control
- Regularly Scheduling Maintenance
- DIY Washdown system for the Haas?
- 3D Printing a Detent Dropper Mechanism Creality LD002H
- Information and Operations Overhaul at SMW
- Communicating Important Information for Team

TOPICS:

• Both John's are reading Traction by Gino Wickman. Has tons of great information.
• What are the most important numbers to monitor in your business?
• Do you watch cash on hand on a daily basis?
• Standardize info without the noise.
• Grimsmo is trying to machine acrylic, which is tougher than it looks.

Topics:

• Grimsmo shares an update about firing his father
• How the justice system relates to owning a business
• Saunders leans toward LEx tracking inventory and communicating with Shopify's API
• Astronaut Hangout: Outer Space, Infinitesimal Perspectives, & UFOs
• GK Seco Tool Update
• Swiss IRL - Setup, Material, Guide Bushings, Turning Centerless Ground Material
• Willemin - A Customs Nightmare
• Helpful Advice for Decision Making - More alternatives = Better decisions
• KERN - Tool Life & Pallet Management

TOPICS:

• This week Saunders & Grimsmo give a deep dive into all their employees and what they do.

TOPICS:

• Grimsmo quits (this is a good thing, we promise)!
• ERP Systems & Purchase Orders
• Raw Material Shortages
• Willemin (Mill-ish) coming to Grimsmo Knives from Ohio
• Haas VF-3 & Haas DT-2 for production at SMW!
• KERN & lights out production
• Diagnosing Tool Life Killers & Solutions (Chip Evacuation, Fusion 360 Adaptive with Ramp Taper Angle, tool coatings, through spindle coolant, flute count, magnetism, and more!)
• Higby Threads, CNC Lathe Love, Master Ring Gauges
• Dimension Drawings for QC at SMW
• Fusion 360 FINALLY allows threading with a grooving tool!

TOPICS:

• How do business leaders spend their time inside their company?
• Saunders wants to hire a machinist or an operations manager.
• Saunders did an awesome tour with Area 419.
• DT1 Favorite machines.
• "Leadership is being present."
• Lathe facing passes and how to get the best finish.
• Saunders QC bin for diamond parts is getting better and better.

TOPICS: 

• Area 419 Tour will be premiered on YouTube Monday April 19th, 2021 at 1:30 PM EDT! 
• Cashflow, Loans, and Post Covid Economic Impacts
• Grimsmo's purchased a used Willemin
• Neodymium Magnets
• Swiss Miss - Saunders Decides Against Swiss for Reversible Inserts
• CNC Lathe Probing & Tooling Options
• Business Mindset - The Shift from Preparer to Reviewer

TOPICS:

• Saunders is settling in and working very hard on some updates to the shop this past year.
• Grimsmo dives into new coolant dispenser.
• Being a parent and teaching your kids cool stuff!
• Oil vs coolant.
• Grimsmo talks about ordering two new lathes!
• Cycle time speed increases across different machines.

TOPICS:

• SMW and Grimsmo in limbo between the lone bootstrapper and leader of a team
• Plurality of Swisses. Saunders and Grimsmo discuss production volume, process reliability, and other decision making factors for buying new CNC lathes
• I'm Nak sure if I need a Willemin or Nak. Grimsmo and Saunders debate about whether or not the Nak should be let go in favor of a Willemin Mill Turn
• Sourcing centerless ground 17-4 Stainless
• Bar feeders & Automation
• Area 419 Tour of the new shop gets Saunders dreaming big. The tour is set to premiere on YouTube on Monday, April 19th!
• GK products like the SAGA, Norseman, and Rask increase in demand
• Superordinate Shop Goals - Giving the team a unified vision
• Renishaw Probe Replacements = Worth It!

TOPICS:

• Grimsmo crashed a Renishaw spindle probe on the Mori.
• Saunders hired an intern just to focus on Johnny Five!
• Orbit mechanical water timer for filling coolant.
• Should we both get another swiss lathe?
• Saunders is reorganizing the whole shop.
• Doing a night run of pallets is a game changer.

TOPICS:

• Just Start! Saunders and Grimsmo discuss the importance of context and relativity when it comes to business advice.
• SNAP OUT OF IT! You may not realize you're in a comfort zone!
• Work Smarter AND Harder? The age old debate.
• Intelligence Vs. Diligence & Practice Vs. Skill
• Lights out production on the KERN
• Saunders hires out the cleaning and bookkeeping!
• Odoo ERP at Seneca Woodworking & Using Data
• SMW got flooded! Delay on/off switches: https://amzn.to/3eU8ZB2
• Martin upgrades the Shapeoko into a detent track burnishing machine
• How and when to hire more people
• Grimsmo talks about the possibility of selling the Nak for a bigger Tornos!
• Oil Vs. Coolant
• Ultrasonic Cleaning

TOPICS:

• Saunders' makes something awesome that went to the bottom of the ocean!
• Machining titanium
• Fusion 360 Tool Library issues and fixes
• Catching up on backorders.
• Shipping delays and organizing.
• Playing catch-up.
• Grimsmo gives a deep dive into swiss lathes and purchasing info for Saunders

TOPICS

• Learning - The importance of Curiosity and the Dunning-Kruger Effect (overestimating your competence)
• 3D Printers for Dual Extrusion
• Pivotal Machinist Moments - Area 419 Tour, Never Stop Quitting Your Job, and the Downside of Bootstrap Mentality.
• It Figures. After releasing the "How to Get Paid On Time" video, Saunders gets stiffed.
• Don't Take It Personal! Implementing systems and strategies for handling problematic situations is a MUST.
• Whip It Good! Haas Lathe Spindle Liner Whipped Itself into Shape?
• Lights Out, KERN ON. Grimsmo and his team arrive at the shop to find the KERN still running after successfully completing 10 pallets.

TOPICS:

• Saunders talks about his experience with quitting his day job and when you should to.
• Do you spot holes in machining?
• Saunders goes into a huge rabbit hole of 3d printing.
• Lathes, Lathes and more Lathes!
• Hot glue in the shop? What are the uses?
• Saunders does a shop tour at Area419

TOPICS

• Does a College Education Matter? Grimsmo and Saunders share their different paths and initial interests BEFORE they got into CNC machining.
• Someone is looking for a new machinist---could it be you?
• Optical Flat & Monochromatic Light for Part Flatness @laneymachinetech
• Grimsmo and Saunders offer each other workable solutions for tool break detection and other quirky issues.
• Renishaw probing macros and lathe part off techniques

TOPICS:

• Reaming holes.
• Endmill coatings and storage.
• Grob factory tour.
• Tool like time and replacement methods.
• Johnny Five returns.

Links:

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/09782467

TOPICS:

• Trusting Instincts
• Social proof for marketing and branding
• Creative Fixturing and Workholding
• Grimsmo and Saunders Approved Tools!
  
  • Grimsmo's Favorite Gripper Pad
  • The "I can't believe it exists already" wrench
• Good reasons to outsource things beyond the scope of your business
• Xometry Pay - Solving Collection of past due accounts for businesses?
• Prusas, 3D printed 1/4" Royal Collet for sub spindle & Gauge Housings

UP NEXT: 

FEBRUARY 2021 GOALS FOR GK

TOPICS:

• Ordering Lathe Material - Purchasing/procurement
• Finances in Business
• What makes you happy?
• Growing a business in 3 stages
• Lathe talk
• Past due accounts receivables?
• Creating your own cnc machine?

• Saunders on feeling overwhelmed and a defining moment at Pierson Workholding.
• Can daily tasks actually KILL your business?
• "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." - James Clear
• Marketing 
• Business accounting
• Tool life for lathe parting inserts

TOPICS:

• Saunders is starting 2021 off great with their ERP system and staying busy with orders.
• Saunders also tells us about his broken tool on the lathe.

• Grimsmo has been getting their Okamoto surface grinder up and running and it has been awesome!
• The big news out of Grimsmo is that the Rask is back! They have been hard at work for almost 4 years to bring back the Rask.

TOPICS: 

• Grimsmo starts us off with a smooth lead in
• SMW Product Demand Increases & The Struggle to Reduce Lead Time 
• Super Helpful Tools & Gadgets (Scales & Pallet Jacks)
  • https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200680712_200680712
• Precision 
  • Abbe's Principle
  • The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World
    
    
  • A Crazy Metrology Question on the NYCCNC Forum
• Toolpath & Product Improvements
  • Reliable Processes VS. Cycle Time
  • Using templates for easier programming
• Conventional VS. Climb Milling

2020 has been a wild year, and we are sure you are tired of hearing about it by now. But here at the Business of Machining we decide to reflect on the positives. Thank you to everyone for being with us throughout this year!

Grimsmo has found a solution to lift very heavy objects within their shop without the need of a forklift. It takes them back to the old Volvo days in the garage. Saunders is playing with a Vortex cold air gun and is having a literal blast.

TOPICS:

- Podcast Feedback & Developing a Consistent Opening Statment
- Strategy: Learning Your Customer Base & SEO
- Email from Brewery | ERP VS Wiki
- Covid Hits Close to Home at SMW
- Staffing A Growing Business & The Concert Mindset
- Recycling Chips: The Need for a Compactor