Advertise on podcast: The Impractical Machinists

We flip the script on Dylan Jackson — co-owner of Proteum Machining and host of the Within Tolerance podcast — and dig into how he actually got here. Dylan didn’t follow a clean, traditional path. He struggled in engineering school, stumbled into machining through community college, and slowly found that the shop floor made more sense than the classroom ever did. From running parts for free just to learn, to buying a used CNC before he even had a real shop, to building Proteome into a high-end prototype job shop, his story is messy, real, and very relatable. We also talk about what it’s really like running a two-man shop, why prototype work is a completely different mindset, and how Dylan ended up becoming one of the most trusted voices in manufacturing through his podcast. Find Dylan here: Proteum Machining's Instagram or Within Tolerance Podcast's Instagram. 🔔 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. Or listen to our podcast on YouTube Connect with the hosts on Instagram: Patrick Mcclintock: IG or PM@Job Shopper TN Cameron Graves: IG or PM@Machiningiscool Bradley Thomas: IG or PM@Marvel Thanks for listening!!!

What happens when a finisher ruins a $20,000 part — and nobody wants to take responsibility? In this episode, we dive into the real, unfiltered side of running a machine shop. From late material deliveries and unreliable suppliers to finishers damaging parts and offering little more than excuses, we talk through the situations that quietly cause the most stress, lost time, and financial risk in manufacturing. From there, the conversation widens into shop operations and industry reality: How busy (or slow) shops are right now in different regionsWhat tool reps and machine sales tell us about the manufacturing economyERP systems, scheduling, and material planning in small shopsThe challenges of hiring, training, and getting a shop to run without constant oversightOrganization, unfinished side projects, and the never-ending push to improve shop efficiencyWe wrap things up by reflecting on last year’s goals, what actually got accomplished, and what each of us is trying to focus on moving forward — from better systems and organization to reducing daily chaos on the shop floor. 🔔 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. Or listen to our podcast on YouTube Connect with the hosts on Instagram: Patrick Mcclintock: IG or PM@Job Shopper TN Cameron Graves: IG or PM@Machiningiscool Bradley Thomas: IG or PM@Marvel Thanks for listening!!!

He bought a Bridgeport to make better welding fixtures. That Bridgeport led to YouTube videos. Those videos led to a $7,000 CNC mill. That mill led to a full machine shop. Ty Neff never planned to become a machinist—but once he discovered CNC, he found his thing. Now he's running five-axis parts in LA with a completely self-taught approach. Ty's Impractical Tips: Invest in zero-point work holding—even the budget options pay for themselvesBuild CAM templates for every common operation (especially threaded holes)Connect your machines to Ethernet and stop wasting time with USB drivesCommunicate early and often with customers—it saves jobs and builds loyaltyFind Ty 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. Or listen to our podcast on YouTube Connect with the hosts on Instagram: Patrick Mcclintock: IG or PM@Job Shopper TN Cameron Graves: IG or PM@Machiningiscool Bradley Thomas: IG or PM@Marvel Thanks for listening!!!

He started machining at 12 — and after working in over 1,000 companies, he’s still learning. In this episode, Donnie talks about what decades in machining across countless shops actually teaches you — and why experience isn’t just about time on the clock. From growing up in his dad’s shop to walking into unfamiliar machines with no perfect setup, he shares how perspective changes once you stop seeing the industry from only one place. The conversation gets into real shop realities: solving problems with whatever tooling and machines are on hand, why machinists argue online (and why both sides are often right), calling BS on tool and software marketing, and what it’s really like being an applications engineer who has to make things work under pressure. No theory. No ideal conditions. Just real-world machining. If you’ve ever thought, “That wouldn’t work in my shop,” this episode explains why that might be true — and why it might still work somewhere else. 👇 How much does perspective matter in machining: time in one shop, or experience across many? Connect with Donnie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donnie_hinske/ YouTube:  @donniehinske   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnie-hinske-824599196/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donnie.hinske.2025 🔔 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. Or listen to our podcast on YouTube Connect with the hosts on Instagram: Patrick Mcclintock: IG or PM@Job Shopper TN Cameron Graves: IG or PM@Machiningiscool Bradley Thomas: IG or PM@Marvel Thanks for listening!!!

It’s been a weird year for a lot of shops, and we ended up talking about all the stuff you only bring up with other machinists. In this episode, the guys compare how things have been going in their own shops — slower months, surprise rushes, work coming back from overseas, and the kind of quotes that make you shake your head. They swap stories about tariffs, reshoring, customers chasing the cheapest option, and what it actually looks like when parts hop between countries before landing back on your bench. There’s plenty of real shop life in here: first machines, castings that needed rescuing, side projects that turned into lessons about global manufacturing, and a lot of “yeah, same here” moments. It’s just an honest conversation about what’s been happening in the trade — nothing fancy, just the real day-to-day most machinists will recognize. Chat with Ian here, or connect with him on LinkedIn. 🔔 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. Or listen to our podcast on YouTube Connect with the hosts on Instagram: Patrick Mcclintock: IG or PM@Job Shopper TN Cameron Graves: IG or PM@Machiningiscool Bradley Thomas: IG or PM@Marvel Thanks for listening!!!

Another week, another pile of machining problems we didn’t ask for but somehow ended up dealing with anyway. In this episode, the guys dig into Instagram questions and end up covering everything from engraving tools to CAM strategy to finding work for a new shop — all wrapped in the usual chaos of real machine-shop life. They talk about jobs that show up already late, material that’s the wrong size (but you don’t find out until it’s on the machine), tooling that mysteriously disappears right when you need it, and customers who expect parts before they even send the drawing. If you’ve ever assumed something was correct only to find out you definitely shouldn’t have, you’ll feel right at home. Drop your best “something went wrong in the shop” story in the comments — we’ll read some next episode! Timestamps: 01:34 Being Behind on Work 16:47 Engraving Techniques 20:30 3D Contour Finishing Tips  35:13 Finding Work When You’re a New Shop 49:27 Improving Shop Efficiency and Workflow  01:20:00 Tip Of The Episode 🔔 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. Or listen to our podcast on YouTube Connect with the hosts on Instagram: Patrick Mcclintock: IG or PM@Job Shopper TN Cameron Graves: IG or PM@Machiningiscool Bradley Thomas: IG or PM@Marvel Thanks for listening!!!

Pat Foreman was 18 years old when someone told him he'd never be able to afford a CNC machine. So he quit. Walked out. Called a sales guy on his way home. Three days later, he had a mill sitting in his parents' garage. No family shop. No machining background. Parents were teachers. He learned everything from YouTube and Google. In this episode, Pat walks us through the whole story: stumbling into a machining class that turned out to be a jail diversion program, calling 1-800-HAAS with $300 to his name, and setting up his first mill in his parents' garage. He talks about the day he crashed a probe while drinking at work during COVID (yeah, really), and how that mistake turned into the ProbeHalo—a product that sold 400 units in two hours and has now moved over 10,000 pieces. We get into the real stuff: running a shop from home, never answering the phone, not knowing G-code, not owning a lathe, and still making it work. Pat's brutally honest about the yayhoo jobs he used to take, why he doesn't care if his machines sit idle, and how he's built a business around having free time instead of chasing growth. This one's for anyone who's thought about going out on their own, anyone who's been told they can't do it, or anyone who just wants to hear how someone figured it out without following the traditional path. 🔔 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. Or listen to our podcast on YouTube Connect with the hosts on Instagram: Patrick Mcclintock: IG or PM@Job Shopper TN Cameron Graves: IG or PM@Machiningiscool Bradley Thomas: IG or PM@Marvel Thanks for listening!!!

We’ve all tried to make a lathe do something it probably shouldn’t. But where’s the line? In this episode, Patrick and Brad get into the real talk about pushing machines past their limits, and why knowing when to level up (your tools and your shop) can make or break you. From shop hacks that kinda work to those that really shouldn’t, the guys share stories every machinist will recognize — the overused end mills, the “temporary” setups that become permanent, and the customers who turn every job into a test of patience. It’s a mix of laughs, lessons, and shop-floor honesty — with a few solid reminders about knowing when it’s time to move on, learn more, and sharpen more than just your tools. 🔔 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. Or listen to our podcast on YouTube Connect with the hosts on Instagram: Patrick Mcclintock: IG or PM@Job Shopper TN Cameron Graves: IG or PM@Machiningiscool Bradley Thomas: IG or PM@Marvel Thanks for listening!!!

What happens when a 29,000 lb horizontal machining center reaches the end of its life? In this episode, we talk about tearing one down — what parts we salvaged, what went to scrap, and how much it was actually worth in the end. We also share the messy reality of what you find inside a decades-old machine and how we handled the teardown without expensive rigging help. But before (and after) that, there’s a lot more going on in this episode. We talk about costly mistakes — like scrapping parts due to a threading error — and the lessons that come with resetting tooling and redoing work. We also get into forklift talk, DIY rigging, carbide recycling tips, machine cleaning routines, and how we keep the shop running efficiently. And then we wrap things up with one of our favorite new segments: Yayhoo or Nayhoo — where we judge some of the dumbest and most questionable shop hacks we’ve ever seen. From sketchy vise tricks to cigarette paper shims, we give our honest takes on whether these hacks are clever shortcuts or disasters waiting to happen. 🔔 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. Or listen to our podcast on YouTube Connect with the hosts on Instagram: Patrick Mcclintock: IG or PM@Job Shopper TN Cameron Graves: IG or PM@Machiningiscool Bradley Thomas: IG or PM@Marvel Thanks for listening!!!

Every machinist knows the two worst kinds of headaches: when your threads don’t come out right, and when it’s time to clean the coolant tank. In this episode, the guys swap shop stories about snapped taps, thread engagement gone wrong, and the endless debate of form tapping vs. cut tapping. Then it’s on to the dirty side of the shop — coolant tanks, chip mess, and the cleanups nobody wants to deal with. 🔔 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. Or listen to our podcast on YouTube Connect with the hosts on Instagram: Patrick Mcclintock: IG or PM@Job Shopper TN Cameron Graves: IG or PM@Machiningiscool Bradley Thomas: IG or PM@Marvel Thanks for listening!!!

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. Or listen to our podcast on YouTube Connect with the hosts on Instagram: Patrick Mcclintock: IG or PM@Job Shopper TN Cameron Graves: IG or PM@Machiningiscool Bradley Thomas: IG or PM@Marvel Thanks for listening!!!

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. Or listen to our podcast on YouTube Connect with the hosts on Instagram: Patrick Mcclintock: IG or PM@Job Shopper TN Cameron Graves: IG or PM@Machiningiscool Bradley Thomas: IG or PM@Marvel Thanks for listening!!!

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. Or listen to our podcast on YouTube Connect with the hosts on Instagram: Patrick Mcclintock: IG or PM@Job Shopper TN Cameron Graves: IG or PM@Machiningiscool Bradley Thomas: IG or PM@Marvel Thanks for listening!!!

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. Or listen to our podcast on YouTube Connect with the hosts on Instagram: Patrick Mcclintock: IG or PM@Job Shopper TN Cameron Graves: IG or PM@Machiningiscool Bradley Thomas: IG or PM@Marvel Thanks for listening!!!

"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. Or listen to our podcast on YouTube Connect with the hosts on Instagram: Patrick Mcclintock: IG or PM@Job Shopper TN Cameron Graves: IG or PM@Machiningiscool Bradley Thomas: IG or PM@Marvel Thanks for listening!!!