What’s the Secret Sauce for a Smoother Shop? Hint: It’s Not Just Coolant | 32
Running a machine shop means juggling jobs, customers, employees, and the unexpected—usually all at once. For years, Stuard of Monarch Manufacturing tried to keep everything in his head and on scattered spreadsheets. But as his shop grew, so did the chaos.In this episode of the Impractical Machinists Podcast, Sam joins us to share how implementing an ERP system from ECI gave him something every shop owner craves: control, visibility, and peace of mind. With the system in place, Sam’s team gained clarity on scheduling, job tracking, and profitability—while customers got more transparency and confidence in the work being done.Sam opens up about what life was like before ERP, the lessons learned while scaling a shop, and how freeing himself from constant firefighting changed the way his business runs. If you’ve ever wondered whether an ERP system could actually make a difference in a small-to-mid-sized shop, this conversation is a real-world look at how it can transform not just operations—but the day-to-day life of an owner.Connect with Sam here.🔔 Subscribe, Rate, and Review to never miss an episode. Your feedback helps us bring you the content you love!Drop your comments or topic ideas in the forum here:https://www.practicalmachinist.com/forum/categories/the-impractical-machinists-podcast.102/Or listen to our podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxzIM06jyJCYTCMGUQLgKXNtpq-HqvV2QConnect with the hosts on Instagram:Patrick Mcclintock: IG: https://www.instagram.com/job_shopper_tn/ or PM@Job Shopper TNCameron Graves: IG: https://www.instagram.com/machiningiscool/ or PM@MachiningiscoolBradley Thomas: IG: https://www.instagram.com/marvelmachining/ or PM@MarvelThanks for listening!!!
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He Started in a Basement… Now He’s Machining for the Medical Industry | 31
From wrenching on South Bend lathes in his basement to running Maple Lane Machine & Tool, Brad Jacob has lived just about every phase of the machinist’s journey. In this episode, Brad sits down with us to talk about how he went from BMX-riding shop kid to shop owner serving the medical industry. We dig into restoring old iron, the grind of starting a business out of your garage, and what it’s like to see your parts end up in life-changing applications. If you’ve ever hauled a Bridgeport down a set of stairs, wrestled with woodworking dust, or wondered whether manual machining really makes you better at CNC, you’ll get a kick out of this one.Connect with Brad here:YouTube: @BasementShopGuy IG: maplelanemachineandtool 🔔 Subscribe, Rate, and Review to never miss an episode. Your feedback helps us bring you the content you love!Drop your comments or topic ideas in the forum here:https://www.practicalmachinist.com/forum/categories/the-impractical-machinists-podcast.102/Or listen to our podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxzIM06jyJCYTCMGUQLgKXNtpq-HqvV2QConnect with the hosts on Instagram:Patrick Mcclintock: IG: https://www.instagram.com/job_shopper_tn/ or PM@Job Shopper TNCameron Graves: IG: https://www.instagram.com/machiningiscool/ or PM@MachiningiscoolBradley Thomas: IG: https://www.instagram.com/marvelmachining/ or PM@MarvelThanks for listening!!!
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3D Printed Cutting Tools?! Yep, It’s Real Ft. ISCAR | 30
Ask any machinist about chip control, coolant, or indexable vs. solid, and you’ll get five different answers. In this episode, we dig into all of it with Tom Raun from ISCAR.On this episode of Impractical Machinists, Tom Raun from ISCAR hangs out with us to talk cutting tools—how they’re made, the ideas that actually changed the game, and where things are headed next. We get into everything from inserts that made parting faster, to 3D-printed drill bodies, to the kind of factory automation most of us never get to see. It’s full of takeaways you can bring right back to the shop.🔔 Subscribe, Rate, and Review to never miss an episode. Your feedback helps us bring you the content you love!Drop your comments or topic ideas in the forum here:https://www.practicalmachinist.com/forum/categories/the-impractical-machinists-podcast.102/Or listen to our podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxzIM06jyJCYTCMGUQLgKXNtpq-HqvV2QConnect with the hosts on Instagram:Patrick Mcclintock: IG: https://www.instagram.com/job_shopper_tn/ or PM@Job Shopper TNCameron Graves: IG: https://www.instagram.com/machiningiscool/ or PM@MachiningiscoolBradley Thomas: IG: https://www.instagram.com/marvelmachining/ or PM@MarvelThanks for listening!!!
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He's Been Fixing Machines Since He Was a Kid | 29
Aaron Morrill has been fixing CNC machines since he was a kid—literally. In this episode, we sit down with the Spokane-based repair tech to talk shop life, leveling myths, and what really matters when your machines go down.From growing up doing service calls with his dad to running a multi-division repair business today, Aaron shares the hard truths about downtime, bad installs, questionable machines, and when not to call a tech.🔔 Subscribe, Rate, and Review to never miss an episode. Your feedback helps us bring you the content you love!Drop your comments or topic ideas in the forum here:https://www.practicalmachinist.com/forum/categories/the-impractical-machinists-podcast.102/Or listen to our podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxzIM06jyJCYTCMGUQLgKXNtpq-HqvV2QConnect with the hosts on Instagram:Patrick Mcclintock: IG: https://www.instagram.com/job_shopper_tn/ or PM@Job Shopper TNCameron Graves: IG: https://www.instagram.com/machiningiscool/ or PM@MachiningiscoolBradley Thomas: IG: https://www.instagram.com/marvelmachining/ or PM@MarvelThanks for listening!!!
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How Much Time Should You Spend Measuring vs. Cutting? | 28
"How much time should you spend measuring vs. cutting?"That’s the question we’re digging into in this episode. It’s something every shop deals with—do you stop to check everything or just trust the process and keep the spindle running? We talk through how we each handle inspection, what’s worked, what’s backfired, and how we try to strike a balance without slowing things down.Along the way, we also get into:Shop temps and late-night work sessionsCourier horror stories (and some surprisingly good ones)The weird turns that led us into machiningHow we quote jobs—especially when it’s a new customer and you’re debating whether to eat tooling costsWhy good shop culture matters more than policies👇 We want to hear from you How do you handle inspection in your shop? Do you trust your process, or check everything by hand? Drop a comment and let us know what’s worked (or gone wrong) for you.🎉 And stay tuned to find out who won our one-year giveaway!🔔 Subscribe, Rate, and Review to never miss an episode. Your feedback helps us bring you the content you love!Drop your comments or topic ideas in the forum here:https://www.practicalmachinist.com/forum/categories/the-impractical-machinists-podcast.102/Or listen to our podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxzIM06jyJCYTCMGUQLgKXNtpq-HqvV2QConnect with the hosts on Instagram:Patrick Mcclintock: IG: https://www.instagram.com/job_shopper_tn/ or PM@Job Shopper TNCameron Graves: IG: https://www.instagram.com/machiningiscool/ or PM@MachiningiscoolBradley Thomas: IG: https://www.instagram.com/marvelmachining/ or PM@MarvelThanks for listening!!!
Welcome to The Impractical Machinists, a podcast for machinists’ who are creative, innovative and a cut above the rest. Join hosts Bradley, Cameron, and Patrick as they discuss everything from CNC machining, tool innovations, shop floor challenges, business strategies, and the latest trends and techniques shaping the industry. Our episodes provide valuable insight and actionable tips from real machinists that you can apply in your own shops. Whether you’re a veteran machinist or just starting out, tune in and turn up the productivity on your machining operations.
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