Talkin Shop with ShopSabre

What if your CNC machine was not just a piece of equipment—but another employee on your team?
In this episode of Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre, Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters challenge the way businesses think about CNC equipment and explain why the lowest purchase price does not always mean the lowest long-term cost.
Brandon breaks down how a CNC machine adds production capacity, consistency, accuracy, speed, and reliability to a business. Just like hiring an experienced employee, investing in higher-quality equipment can give your team more capability while reducing downtime, improving productivity, and creating room for future growth.
The guys also look at the real difference between saving a few thousand dollars upfront and spreading that difference across years of production. When reliability, support, training, parts availability, and useful life are considered, the cheaper machine may not always be the less expensive decision.
They also discuss why automation should not simply be viewed as replacing employees. The right equipment can make skilled employees more productive, allow them to focus on higher-value work, and give a business the capacity to take on more opportunities without immediately adding more labor.
The takeaway: do not evaluate a CNC machine only by the number on the quote. Look at the productivity, reliability, support, downtime, future capacity, and value that machine can deliver over thousands of hours of ownership.
Better tools make good employees more capable. Better support reduces risk. And the right CNC machine can become one of the most productive members of your team.
Plus, Brandon and Nick answer customer questions about the future of CNC plasma and fiber laser technology, ShopSabre quality and customer support, and how one customer reduced a six-week production cycle to just 12 days after adding CNC automation.
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Should you trust the influencer—or the experience behind the message?
In this episode of Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre, Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters break down how influencers have changed modern marketing and why visibility does not always equal expertise.
Customers now research products through YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, podcasts, and online communities before ever speaking with a salesperson. That can be powerful—but it also makes it harder to separate genuine experience from paid promotion.
Brandon explains why the best influencers bring more than followers. They understand the industry, have real-world experience, communicate honestly, and have earned the trust of their audience.
The guys also discuss the "quiet experts" who may not have huge social followings but have decades of knowledge and results behind them.
The takeaway: marketing can start the conversation, but reputation, experience, and customer service determine what happens next.
Experience matters. Integrity matters. Results matter. And trust still has to be earned.
Plus, Brandon and Nick answer customer questions about buying new vs. used CNC equipment, helical vs. straight rack and pinion, and Mozaik vs. KCD software.
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Get a Quote Today: https://www.shopsabre.com/get-a-quote/
Explore ShopSabre CNC Routers: https://www.shopsabre.com/all-cnc-routers/
Follow us for daily CNC content
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopsabre
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopsabre
X/Twitter: https://x.com/ShopSabreCNC
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shopsabre
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shopsabre-cnc/

Should you buy a used CNC machine or buy new? The price tag says one thing. The next five years of ownership say something completely different.
In Episode 257 of Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre, Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters take on the question every shop owner eventually has to answer. Not just about CNC machines either. Your next truck, your next piece of equipment, your next major investment. Same trap, every time.
Here is the part nobody tells you. Price is what you pay today. Value is what you actually receive over the life of what you own. Those are two completely different conversations, and confusing them is the most expensive mistake in your shop. Brandon lays out exactly what you are buying when you buy new, and it is a much longer list than steel and motors. He also gets into what you are quietly signing up for when you buy used, including the costs that do not show up until ownership starts.
The guys get into the stuff that actually bites: air supply damage you cannot see, grease history you will never know, control systems that cannot connect to anything, parts that stopped being made, and the phone call you make when your machine is down and nobody has any obligation to pick up.
This is not an anti-used-equipment episode. Brandon is clear that used gear has helped countless shops get started and it deserves credit for that. It is an episode about walking in with the right expectations instead of the wrong ones.
Plus three customer questions, including the one Brandon takes personally.
If you have ever told yourself you are not shopping on price, this one is going to sting a little. Hit like if it did. Drop a comment and tell us the last thing you bought cheap and regretted, and subscribe so you catch next
week's episode.
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Get a Quote Today: https://www.shopsabre.com/get-a-quote/
Explore ShopSabre CNC Routers: https://www.shopsabre.com/all-cnc-routers/
Follow us for daily CNC content
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopsabre
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopsabre
X/Twitter: https://x.com/ShopSabreCNC
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shopsabre
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shopsabre-cnc/

Think playing it safe protects your CNC shop? It might be the most expensive decision you never made. In this episode of Talkin' Shop, Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters break down how real business owners weigh risk against reward, and why the shops that grow are the ones willing to move before every question has an answer.
 
You will hear the questions every owner wrestles with. Should you finance or pay cash for that next machine? How do you know when it is time to add a second CNC? Is the "safe" choice to wait actually leaving work and profit on the table? Brandon and Nick answer real listener questions, then get into the part nobody talks about: the true cost of a decision goes way past the dollar amount on the invoice.
 
They break down the cost of time, the cost of lost opportunity, and the cost of the stress you pile on your team when you refuse to invest. They explain why the cheapest option is almost never the lowest cost option, and why standing still while your competitor automates is the biggest gamble of all.
 
If you own a shop, run a crew, or keep putting off a big decision, this one is for you.
00:00 - Why Every Business Decision Is Really a Risk Decision
04:33 - Finance vs. Cash for CNC Equipment: Why Financing Keeps Your Cash Working
07:17 - How to Know When It's Time to Add a Second CNC Machine
11:00 - Why Zero Risk Doesn't Exist: The Real Question Is Which Risk You Accept
13:47 - The Hidden Risk of Doing Nothing: Why Standing Still Costs More Than Investing
19:27 - The True Cost Beyond the Dollar: Time, Opportunity, Operational, and Emotional Cost
22:28 - Why ShopSabre Builds In-House Instead of Importing Frames From Overseas
35:43 - The Risk-to-Reward Formula: Weighing the Realistic Worst Case Against the Upside
#CNC #ShopSabre #CNCBusiness #TalkinShop #CNCMachine #CNCRouter #PlasmaTable #FiberLaser #Manufacturing #SmallBusinessTips #BusinessRisk #MadeInUSA #CNCShop #Entrepreneurship
 
Hit like if this hit home, drop your biggest business-risk question in the
comments, and subscribe so you never miss an episode of Talkin' Shop.
Discover all our CNC machines and accessories: https://www.shopsabre.com/ 
Follow ShopSabre for daily updates, tutorials, and expert tips: 
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shopsabre-cnc/ 
Since 2000, ShopSabre CNC has delivered high-quality CNC routers, plasma cutters, and laser engraving machines built in the USA to businesses and hobbyists worldwide. Subscribe for more insights on CNC technology, project builds, and industry-leading machine performance.

How much does an employee really cost a small business beyond their hourly wage?
In Episode 255 of Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre, hosts Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters answer that question directly for shop owners and small manufacturers.
 
The short answer: an employee's true cost runs well past base pay. Once you add payroll taxes, workers' compensation, health and dental benefits, a 401(k) match, paid time off, training time, onboarding, tools, and software, a worker's real
cost can land about 25 percent above their wage, and in extreme cases up to 50 percent higher. A $25-per-hour employee who looks like a $60,000 salary can actually cost the business closer to $30 to $38 per hour.
 
Brandon explains why time, not money, is the real trade. A business is not buying labor; it is buying time applied to an outcome. Clock-in time is nearly guaranteed, but output during that time is not, which is why two employees on the same wage can deliver very different value. His benchmark: a $30-per-hour worker producing $100 per hour of output is a strong model, while one producing $30 per hour is a wash.
 
The episode also makes the case for automation over adding headcount. As Brandon puts it, you don't need more labor; you need to make the labor you already have more efficient. A CNC machine empowers existing workers instead of replacing them.
 
The show opens with real viewer questions. Brandon confirms the ShopSabre laser alignment tool is the Wi-Fi version, not Bluetooth; explains that ShopSabre CNC tables do not have vacuum built into the tabletop but offer an optional vacuum table with vacuum pumps; and names the biggest mistake CNC buyers make, which is shopping on price instead of researching value.
 
ShopSabre is an American manufacturer of CNC routers, plasma tables, and fiber lasers based in Lakeville, Minnesota. This episode is for cabinet shops, metal fabricators, and small manufacturers weighing whether to hire or automate.
Discover all our CNC machines and accessories: https://www.shopsabre.com/ 
Follow ShopSabre for daily updates, tutorials, and expert tips: 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopsabre
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopsabre
Twitter/X: https://x.com/ShopSabreCNC 
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shopsabre 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shopsabre-cnc/ 
00:00 - Why Every Business Owner Miscalculates the Cost of Labor
04:02 - Customer Questions: Wi-Fi vs Bluetooth Laser Tool, Vacuum Tables, and the Biggest CNC Buying Mistake
09:46 - What a $25-an-Hour Employee Actually Costs: Taxes, Benefits, and the 25 to 50 Percent Markup
12:54 - Why You Hire Time, Not Tasks: Clock-In Is Guaranteed, Output Is Not
20:28 - How Labor Cost Drives Your Pricing and Margins, and Why a $50 Minimum Wage Backfires
25:33 - The Real Goal Is Maximum Output Per Labor Dollar, Not Fewer People
29:31 - Why Small Inefficiencies Scale, and What Happens When You Value Your Time at $0
37:24 - Roosevelt on Work Worth Doing, Plus Why American-Made CNC Makes Sense
#CNC #SmallBusiness #ShopSabre #CNCRouter #CNCPlasma #FiberLaser #Manufacturing #CabinetMaking #MetalFabrication #Automation #BusinessGrowth #MadeInUSA #TalkinShop #CostOfHiring

Since 2000, ShopSabre CNC has delivered high-quality CNC routers, plasma cutters, and laser engraving machines built in the USA to businesses and hobbyists worldwide. Subscribe for more insights on CNC technology, project builds, and industry-leading machine performance.