The Impractical Machinists

Practical Machinist

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.

  1. 6d ago ·  Video

    “I Wanted a Shop That Could Run Without Me” | 60

    Taking over the family machine shop means figuring out what to keep, what to change, and how to get everyone on board. Especially when your dad has been running it for 50 years. In this episode of The Impractical Machinists, Dave joins us to talk about growing up cleaning out screw machines, coming back to the family business, and eventually taking the reins. We get into the changes that helped his team keep track of jobs, learn from expensive mistakes, and keep things moving without him watching over everyone’s shoulder. Along the way, Dave shares how ECI’s JobBOSS² became part of the shop’s daily routine, why he bought everyone a shop phone, and how he’s using AI to build tools that fit the way his team works. His goal? Be able to sit on a beach in Hawaii, drink a piña colada, and know the shop is doing okay. And yes, he actually got there. Could you take a vacation without worrying about your shop? Let us know in the comments. 00:00 Intro 03:03 Growing Up in the Family Machine Shop 11:56 What Do You Charge for a Job You Don’t Want? 14:08 Quality Management Is More Than Inspecting Parts 25:03 Why Everyone in the Shop Got a Phone 33:26 Are You Making Quality Too Complicated? 42:16 Taking Over the Shop and Moving to JobBOSS² 53:18 What Happens When the Numbers Don’t Tell the Truth? 1:02:13 Getting the Shop to Run While You’re Away 1:06:14 Advice for Getting Started With Shop Software 1:09:48 Building Custom Shop Tools With AI Learn more about ECI JobBOSS² here: https://www.ecisolutions.com/products/jobboss2/ or connect with them at YouTube:  @ECISoftwareSolutions   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ECISoftwareSolutions LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/557215/ Find Dave DeVandry at https://deking.com/ or connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ddevandry/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dekingprecision/ 🔔 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!!!

  2. Oct 6 ·  Video

    Things Are Changing in Our Shops… Fast

    The guys are back from IMTS, and it’s time to get back to reality. In this episode of The Impractical Machinists, Patrick, Cameron, and Bradley look back at their week together at IMTS 2026, from doing live sessions in front of a real crowd to meeting people who actually listen to the podcast (still a little weird). Then it’s back to what’s been happening in their own shops. Patrick talks about what life has been like since going full-time with his shop, including his first late payment, a big job that seemingly disappeared, and dealing with the reality of making mistakes. The guys also get into customer relationships, knowing when it’s worth standing your ground, hiring help, keeping up with shop maintenance, and all the little things that start piling up when you’re busy making parts. And, naturally, there are plenty of completely unnecessary side conversations along the way. Basically, IMTS was fun. Now it’s back to running machine shops. What’s been keeping you busy in your shop lately? Let us know in the comments. 🔔 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!!!

  3. Sep 22 ·  Video

    We Took The Impractical Machinists to IMTS… Here’s What Happened | 58

    What happens when you get The Impractical Machinists together at IMTS for their first-ever live, in-person episode? A lot of shop talk, a little chaos, and more machines than anyone has time (or money) for. Pat, Cam, and Brad sit down live from IMTS to talk about what caught their eye on the show floor, the machines and technology they didn’t even know existed, and the tools and workholding they could actually see themselves using back at the shop. But as impressive as the equipment is, some of the best parts of IMTS have nothing to do with machines. It’s finally meeting the people you’ve talked to online for years, putting faces to usernames, swapping shop stories, and realizing just how big the machining community really is. They also get into shop life, what they’d actually spend money on, Pat’s big move to running his shop full-time, and, of course, a little machining trivia along the way. Welcome to The Impractical Machinists, live from the show floor at IMTS 2026! 🔔 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 Took The Impractical Machinists to IMTS… Here’s What Happened | 58

  4. Sep 8 ·  Bonus Video

    My First IMTS… What Am I Getting Myself Into?

    Learn more about The Machinists' Hub here! IMTS is almost here, and the guys are getting ready for a very busy week in Chicago. Patrick, Cameron, and Bradley sit down before the show to talk about what they’re looking forward to, what they actually want to see on the show floor, and what might be a little overhyped this year. From workholding and inspection to automation, AI, and all the unexpected stuff you stumble across at a show this big, there’s plenty on the radar. For Patrick, it’ll also be his first time at IMTS, which means finally meeting a lot of the machinists and people he’s known online for years. And this year is a big one for Practical Machinist too. The whole crew will be at the Machinists' Hub with live sessions, trivia, meet-and-greets, happy hours, and the first-ever in-person episode of the Impractical Machinists Podcast. If you’re heading to IMTS, come find us in the West Building, Level 3, Booth 432638. See you in Chicago! 🔔 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!!!

  5. Sep 1

    He Built His Shop With Tormachs. Would He Do It Again? | 57

    What makes a “real” machine shop anyway? Justin Webb didn’t come up through the traditional machining route. He dropped out of high school, eventually went back to earn an engineering degree, and started Zealous Manufacturing almost by accident. He was designing parts for customers until one of them finally asked, “Can you make these too?” There was just one problem: Justin didn’t know how to machine. So he bought a Tormach, figured it out as he went, made plenty of mistakes, and slowly built a working machine shop around the equipment he could actually afford. In this episode of Impractical Machinist, Justin joins Ian to talk about that journey and why, years later, he’s still running the same kind of machines some machinists told him he’d eventually “outgrow.” They get into what smaller machines can teach you, engineers vs. machinists, knowing when you actually need more machine, the temptation to compare your shop to everyone else’s, and why the fanciest equipment isn’t always the smartest business decision. It’s a conversation about Tormachs, but even more so, it’s about building the shop that makes sense for you instead of the one everyone else thinks you should have. 🔔 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!!!

  6. Aug 25

    We’ve All Blamed the End Mill. But Was It Really the Tool? | 56

    When an end mill starts misbehaving, the cutter usually gets blamed first. But Scott Walrath says the real problem may be the toolholder, the runout, or the way the whole setup is working together. In this episode, Scott joins us from CERATIZIT USA to talk through what he has learned from more than 40 years in the cutting-tool industry. We get into carbide prices, tungsten supply, tool life, reconditioning, high-performance milling, and why small changes in setup can make a big difference at the machine. It’s a practical conversation about getting more out of your tooling and figuring out what is actually causing the problem before you reach for a new end mill. 🔔 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!!!

  7. Aug 4

    92 Hours Between 2 Jobs?! The First Week Nobody Prepares You For | 55

    Planning to attend IMTS? This year, IMTS is celebrating manufacturing with a 6-week giveaway. Through August 14, they're releasing a new limited-edition hat patch every week. The first 100 people to register for IMTS using that week's promo code will receive the matching hat. Register here: IMTS Registration, then check IMTS or Practical Machinist's social channels each week for the latest promo code and that week's hat design. This week felt different. After years of talking about someday owning his own CNC machine, Pat finally spent his first full week making real customer parts on one. It wasn't smooth. There were long nights, missing tooling, scrapped parts, last-minute hardware runs, and more than a few moments of wondering what he got himself into. But somehow, after putting in 92 hours between his day job and the shop, he wouldn't trade it for anything. The guys talk about what that first week was really like, the mistakes nobody tells you about, and why having good people around you makes all the difference when you're getting started. Later, Cam shares the next big step for his business as his shop prepares to move into a much larger building. From planning machine layouts and inspection rooms to figuring out how to relocate an entire operation without bringing production to a halt, it's a real look at what growth actually looks like behind the scenes. They also talk IMTS, what they're looking forward to, and where you'll be able to find the Practical Machinist team during the show. If you're planning to be in Chicago, come by the booth and say hello. 🔔 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!!!

  8. Jul 21

    Machinists Sent Us Their Worst Shop Stories, These Were Brutal | 54

    Brad Jacob from Maple Lane Machine and Tool joins Patrick and Cameron as guest host for this episode. They catch up on what has changed at Brad’s shop, how the VF-2 is working out, and why he has been considering a different CAM system. That leads to an honest discussion about software support, unexpected updates, five-axis programming, cutter compensation, modeling around tolerances, and the amount of work you can lose when you leave a system containing years of programs and models. The second half is built around stories submitted by machinists. There is a new machine that supposedly needed nine tons of concrete—but actually needed one setting changed. A young programmer who thought he had nothing left to learn. Perfectly good threaded parts rejected by questionable gauges. A rush job made from material the customer later admitted was wrong. Four long shafts, sixteen-hour days, and a baby due at any moment. And a batch of good parts rejected because the inspection room was too hot. We’d like to hear how other shops handle these situations. Have you ever switched CAM systems, challenged a rejected part, or accepted a rush job you later regretted? Share what happened—and what you learned from it—in the comments. 🔔 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!!!

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About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Practical Machinist
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    61
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Impractical Machinists
  • Show Website
    The Impractical Machinists

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