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Business of Machining

John Grimsmo of Grimsmo Knives and John Saunders of NYC CNC discuss their success, struggles, goals and more as machinists, business owners and entrepreneurs.
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Now displaying: July, 2019
Jul 26, 2019

THE SCOOPS AHOY OF CNC MACHINING

Grimsmo's KERN will be used as a positional 3-axis for knife making at first, meaning he doesn't need crazy tool or gauge lengths--at least until he decides to get fancy.
IT'S A GRAVY SITUATION!

EARTH TO SMW!

Saunders and his team are back to Earth from visiting the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., where Adam Savage, Andrew Barth, and Jen Schachter assembled the Apollo 11 Hatch Door Replica for Project Egress.

3D Pit Stop
On the way back to Zanesville, SMW stopped at Xometry. Although they're primarily a software company, don't be fooled. They're all about lean manufacturing with some LEGIT 3D Printing machines. The next time you go to the break room and reach for a donut, it could be HP Polyjet tomfoolery.

Smart People....Smart People Everywhere!
At Autodesk Toronto, Grimsmo sees some familiar faces and picks some brains---smart brains.
Nothing beats getting to hang out with a new Robo drill and The True Croatian Sensation.

Haas releases their UMC-500!

With a base price of $121,000, you can be sure that all the bells and whistles will give you an amazing machine for under $200,000. While Saunders generally sticks to his debt-free preference, his experience with the benefits of 5-Axis machining make him slightly lean the other way (as long as the circumstances make sense, of course).


10 Top Notch Things About KERN

They can machine through a human hair but....the big question is: how do they set THAT up?
If you think about it...chances are, you'll be able to figure it out.


It's 5 O'Clock somewhere...Yates Precision to be exact!
Jake's taking care of 5 O'Clock shadows safely by making safety razors.

Click the Image Below to Check Them Out

 

ADVICE FOR A BETTER WORLD
Do the best you can as much as you can.
What would happen if you had to visibly put your name on every part?


COOLANT SPILL. CHECK YO CANISTERS!
A clear filter canisters from McMaster bites the dust and Grimsmo's not the only one!
IF YOU HAVE THESE, MAKE SURE YOU REPLACE THEM!

 

Jul 19, 2019

Hungry...for SUCCESS?

If you wanna be an entrepreneur, you've gotta HUSTLE! And if you're in the manufacturing industry, you're also making parts. Grimsmo balances running the shop/being the boss, with learning the new machine. 

On Grimsmo's decision to buy a Kern...

“You’ve restored harmony” - Saunders

It's not two lathes against one mill, now there will be an equal number of each. 

Y aren't you working?!

Grimsmo struggles with the Y-axis of his Swiss lathe. 

“Every time I think I get it, there’s another little headache”  - Grimsmo

WARM UP 

“You have to get your mind into it. It takes time to warm up. You can’t just hop between modes” - Saunders 

Saunders and Grimsmo talk about strategies to balance machine time with other priorities, like thinking deeply, and home-life. 

A Saunders' tip: Voice notes bring you back to the way you were feeling when you took a note. 

Tool Tracking Strategies

Saunders is using AirTable

Grimsmo is using ProShop and his 3D printer

When to go BIG...and when to 3D print -1 chips

Grimsmo and Saunders discuss when to come up with a cheap solution to a problem...even when there's already a tool-for-that out there. 

Project Egress

Saunders is off to DC for the unveiling of the previously secret project. Didn't make it to the Air and Space Museum on July 18th? Check out the project in this video.  

 

Jul 12, 2019

Apollo 11. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. 50th Anniversary. Adam Savage. Project Egress---need I say more!? SMW was given an amazing opportunity to collaborate with other makers and Adam Savage's team to make an Apollo 11 hatch door replica for the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing. If you'd like to see the assembly of the door on July 18, 2019, click here for details!

Click the Image Below For Video


TOP OF THE LINE, END OF THE ROAD: KERN
Still reeling from the arrival of the Tornos, Grimsmo makes a
NEW MACHINE ANNOUNCEMENT! He shares his story about visiting Kern, why it's right machine and why it's the right time! Get in on the juicy details about the machine specs and options.

Click Image Below to TOUR KERN!



Lights Out Production on the NAK!
Grimsmo comes in to find his Nakamura STILL churning out delrin bearing cages for the Norseman. Once Grimsmolocks finds a new shop, a bar feeder will soon follow--just think about the production possibilities!


Slow Down For Lights Out?
In the machining community, many talk about slowing down operations when the lights go out, but why? The Johns take their best guesses; process reliability, extended tool life? At this speculative stage, the benefits of slowing down are difficult to understand, especially when it comes to consistency.


WHAT'S THE WORD FOR THAT?

What we DO know is that when the toilet brush is closer....we're more likely to give the bowl a scrub. We've been there; excited about a project only to realize the tools needed aren't handy or there's a nagging, tedious task that must be completed before moving forward. It's not exactly laziness but this tangential mini-task sucks away joy and focus; resulting in either procrastination OR failure to complete the task at all.

Saunders challenges the audience to come up with a word for this!

Jul 5, 2019

The Elements of a Machine Shop: Coffee, Coolant, Oil, and FIRE! 

Swiss Lathe Update? 

“I have both crashed it and set it on fire” - Grimsmo

About the fire…it wasn’t THAT bad

Folks from the manufacturer of Grimsmo’s Mist Collector reassure Grimsmo that the machine is usually completely fine after a small fire like that. 

Regardless...GRIMSMO PARKING LOT TEST OF THE FLAMMABILITY OF OIL COMING SOON

“You don’t want to talk about crashing your machine, but this is a safe place” - Grimsmo 

Is a Swiss worth the risk? 

Despite the fire, Grimsmo still thinks he might have been better off if he got the Swiss before his conventional lathe. 

Breaking down the pros and cons to buying a Swiss before a conventional lathe

“The swiss is a little more complicated” - Grimsmo 

“But when has that ever stopped you” - Saunders

Grimsmo moves onto the second part he’ll have made on his Swiss lathe: spacers for the knives

How do I get started as a machine shop? 

Saunders answers this question by differentiating between simply selling a product, and running a business. 

“Think about how your work affects your customers!” - Saunders 

Making your services more convenient, and improving customer service, pushes you PAST the competition. 

“It’s easy to do, but it’s easier not to do. That’s why so many people don’t do it” - Grimsmo

“If you have to have an excuse, that’s your problem. Not your customer’s problem” - Saunders

Learn more about this topic in the book How to Win Friends and Influence People

Saunders thanks the audience; his wife is doing great! And is even back to work! 

Check out the NYC CNC Hermle video

And it was ALL a dream

You can be a machinist and a dreamer at the same time. You just might dream about different things. Saunders, for example, gets a killer deal at an auction on a machine!!...in his dream 

In the DC area on July 18? Come to the Air and Space Museum!

Saunders will be there hanging out and watching a demonstration. More details in this episode.

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