
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

Nov 6, 2024 • 33min
Producing Tiny Parts with a Tiny Workforce on Swiss, with Dan Rudolph–EP 111
Today’s interview is an old favorite. It’s a story about a young entrepreneur and his father producing minuscule parts with no other employees than themselves and Dan’s wife. On today’s podcast we continue our season about Swiss machining. Our guest is Dan Rudolph, co-owner and founder of Rudolph LLC. Rudolph LLC produces medical parts as [...]

Oct 29, 2024 • 59min
How a $2 Million Dollar INDEX Multi-Spindle MAKES You Money, Richard Kingsbury-EP 229
Why would anybody buy a CNC multi-spindle for $2 million? Or $3 million for that matter? My guest on today’s podcast, Richard Kingsbury, has the answer. Richard is Managing Director of the Kingsbury Engineering Division, England’s INDEX distributor. In this interview, Richard gives a history lesson of screw machining. We discuss how you sell a [...]

Oct 23, 2024 • 28min
Growing a Machining Business, with Dave Thuro (Part 2)–EP 27
Today’s podcast is Part 2 of our interview with Dave Thuro, second-generation owner of Thuro Metal Products. In this episode, Dave discusses his growth philosophies. He believes in aggressively acquiring as many job opportunities as possible, but then saying no to most of them. The company tries to acquire at least two long term accounts [...]

Oct 22, 2024 • 28min
How to Grow a Machining Business with Dave Thuro, (Part 1)–EP 26
We are going back to the archives this week with an interview from our first year of the show! Great story and great company. ********* Today’s podcast is part one of a two-part interview with Dave Thuro, second-generation owner of Thuro Metal Products, a successful job shop in Long Island, New York. The business produces [...]

Oct 15, 2024 • 52min
Why I Hired a Life Coach for My Machinists, with Tim Drinkwater–EP 228
I’ve interviewed a lot of interesting business coaches for this podcast, and all the coaches had one thing in common. They focused on coaching a company’s owner or management, rather than working with everyone at the company. But my guest on today’s show, Tim Drinkwater, founder of Accurate Machine Products in Janesville, Wisconsin, hired a [...]

Oct 9, 2024 • 1h 5min
Robots that Know Where to Go, With George Konidaris–EP 193
This week on Swarfcast, we’ve been thinking a lot about some of the exciting tech that we saw last month at IMTS. One thing that always stands out to us are the robots. As our recent podcasts have touched on the topic of AI, we thought it would be fitting to reshare an interview we [...]

Oct 1, 2024 • 1h
ISO Without the Headache, Adam Marsh-EP 227
I encounter a lot of friction in my work. Too many obstacles get in the way of me doing the things I need to do and the things I like to do. I know all of you out there have friction in your work too, and if you’re in the manufacturing business you likely encounter [...]

Sep 24, 2024 • 39min
How a Navy SEAL Runs a Machining Company, with Bill Berrien (Part II)—EP172
If you have not already listened to Part I, you can find it here. After serving in the Navy SEALs for nine years, Bill Berrien retired from the military in 1999, ready for a new chapter in his life. He attended Harvard business school where there were six other SEALs in his class. After graduating [...]

Sep 24, 2024 • 30min
How a Navy SEAL Runs a Machining Company, with Bill Berrien (Part I)–EP171
Bill Berrien has had an extraordinary professional journey. He earned an MBA at Harvard, worked for General Electric and then in private equity. Ten years ago, he purchased Pindel Global Precision, a successful two-generation machining company near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which he has modernized and grown over the past decade. Oh, I forgot to mention, he [...]

Sep 17, 2024 • 35min
3D Printing a Human Heart at IMTS–EP 226
At IMTS 2024, I learned about the latest technology for CNC lathes, robots, and most notably 3D printing. Stratasys was the first 3D printing company I visited at the show. I spoke with Foster Ferguson, Director of Aerospace, and Tom Leach, Commercial Leader at Stratasys, about 3D printing applications for automotive and space vehicles. Then I spoke with [...]