The Impractical Machinists

Michael is 20 years old and runs his own machine shop in Idaho. He bought his first CNC at 17 while still in high school, taught himself machining entirely through YouTube, and has never spent a dollar on advertising.
In this episode, Michael shares how he went from building RC airplanes to hand-coding G-code on a vintage Swiss lathe, why he moved his entire shop from Tennessee to Idaho, and how he stays up until 4 AM when customers need parts delivered on time.
We talk about his equipment (Haas DM-2, S20Y lathe, Citizen B-12 Swiss, and a new Mazak 5-axis), his approach to finding work through relationships instead of marketing, and his plans to add robots before hiring employees.
If you're curious about starting your own shop or wondering how someone builds a manufacturing business from scratch with zero industry connections, this one's worth a listen.
Follow Michael on Instagram or YouTube.
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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 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.
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Drop your comments or topic ideas in the forum.

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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 regions
What tool reps and machine sales tell us about the manufacturing economy
ERP systems, scheduling, and material planning in small shops
The challenges of hiring, training, and getting a shop to run without constant oversight
Organization, unfinished side projects, and the never-ending push to improve shop efficiency
We 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.
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Drop your comments or topic ideas in the forum.

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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 themselves
Build CAM templates for every common operation (especially threaded holes)
Connect your machines to Ethernet and stop wasting time with USB drives
Communicate early and often with customers—it saves jobs and builds loyalty
Find 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.

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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!!!