
Swarfcast
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.
Latest episodes

Mar 25, 2025 • 50min
How to Sell to a Generation that Won’t Answer Your Calls, with Damon Pistulka-EP 239
On today’s show I’m bringing back one of my favorite past guests on the podcast—Damon Pistulka. The first time Damon was on the show he talked about his company Exit Your Way, which helps businesses level up for successful acquisitions. Today he is going to talk about his other venture, B2BTail, which advises small manufacturing [...]

Mar 17, 2025 • 44min
Supplying Medical Parts Directly to Hospitals, with Thadd Mellott-EP 213
My guest on today’s show, Thadd Mellott, called us at Graff-Pinkert because he needed a Star SB20 CNC Swiss machine. His company, Circle M Spring, in Warsaw, Indiana, produces medical parts, including implantable orthopedic components. Circle M Spring is currently merging with a medical component design company that specializes in sports medicine. Thadd is incredibly [...]

Mar 11, 2025 • 47min
A 150-Year-Old Manufacturing Business Reinvented, Adria and Aaron Bagshaw–EP 200
On today’s podcast episode, you’re going to hear the story of a thriving fifth-generation family manufacturing business that is constantly reinventing itself. I interviewed Adria and Aaron Bagshaw, owners of W.H. Bagshaw, a machining company in Nashua, New Hampshire, that started over 150 years ago! For 135 years, W.H. Bagshaw produced the same type of [...]

Mar 3, 2025 • 29min
How I Engineer Getting Lucky in Business-EP 238
Today we’re running a podcast that I guested on in September of 2024 called “Networking and Marketing Made Simple.” The show focuses on how LinkedIn can be used to grow your business. It’s hosted by Scott Aaron, who for the last seven months was my LinkedIn coach, an experience that is already paying dividends in [...]

Feb 25, 2025 • 50min
Becoming the Machining Doctor, with Erez Speiser- EP 208
Have you ever dreamed about combining your expertise and passions to become an entrepreneur? My guess on today’s podcast did just that. Erez Speiser is the creator of machiningdoctor.com, a site for professionals in the machining industry to get technical information to simplify their work. The site offers resources such as a sophisticated feeds and [...]

Feb 18, 2025 • 54min
Panama, Tariffs, and Power, with Andrew R. Thomas-EP 237
When Trump was elected President for a second term, I expected there would be a lot of talk about tariffs, but I didn’t anticipate all the attention on the Panama Canal and Greenland. So, it seemed like the perfect time for Lloyd and I to talk to one of our favorite geopolitics experts, Dr. Andrew [...]

Feb 11, 2025 • 41min
My STAR CNC Swiss Guru, with Dave Polito—EP 169
Dave Polito is my Star CNC guru. He’s always been there when I’ve had questions, whether I was asking about a 1999 Star SA12, or a sweet SV38R located in Asia, or the ever flummoxing Siemens control on an ECAS-20. Dave is the owner of Quality Machine Tool Services, the Star distributor for Illinois and [...]

Feb 4, 2025 • 36min
Destined to make CNC Tool Holders in the US, with Anthony Davis-EP 236
My guest on today’s podcast, Anthony Davis, told me that since age 10 he and his brother knew they wanted to join their family business, Global CNC, a tooling manufacturer for CNC lathes and mills. Today at age 23, Anthony runs the company alongside his 25-year-old brother, Alexander, and their 84-year-old grandfather who founded the [...]

Jan 27, 2025 • 51min
Getting Customers to Buy an Unfamiliar Brand, With Salim Awad–EP 186
Spinner is a German CNC machine tool brand that’s been around for 73 years. The company sold 1,200 CNC mills turning centers, and automation systems in Europe last year, yet in the United States, a large amount of people in the machining industry have never even heard of them. At the 2023 Precision Machining Technology [...]

Jan 19, 2025 • 37min
What it Takes to Start a Multi-Spindle Shop, with Karl Drasgow–EP 235
It takes tremendous balls to start a machining company from scratch. And, maybe a little extra chutzpa to start a shop that primarily runs cam screw machines making millions of parts for automotive. After 23 years working in job shops and running a small farm, Karl Drasgow cashed out his 401K to found Drasgow Inc., [...]