Swarfblog
To Share or Not Share
This is an unpaid, unprompted shout-out to the Precision Machined Products Association’s (PMPA) Listserve. Every day, members jump on the association’s email forum with technical problems they encounter. It’s esoteric [...]
The Shift from More to Better
I’ve closely studied two recent auctions of screw machines and ancillary equipment – Anderson Fittings in Chicago and MTTM in the Twin Cities last week – for indications of market [...]
The Davy Crockett of Screw Machines
Tim Haendle was pleased with himself when I talked to him Wednesday. He had bought 100 carbide inserts – used of course – for a hundred bucks at a Hoff [...]
Turning Iron Into Gold
I love the used machinery business because it is a competitive treasure hunt every day. It asks us for impossible calculations about realizable values for illiquid, flawed, sometimes rickety, filthy [...]
I’m Distracted
So many nights I go home discouraged and numb, with the sickening feeling that I accomplished nothing and wasted my workday reading emails and contemplating my navel. Recently, I read [...]
He Gave His Father “The Talk”
Sometimes the line written for a laugh rings true as a bell. The most recent Dos Equis beer ad ends with, “he gave his father ‘the talk.’” I heard the [...]
Inside the Medical Tent at Boston
Martin is so skilled at waterskiing he seldom uses the skis anymore. He prefers the challenge of barefoot skiing on Lake Hopatcong that hugs his summer residence in New Jersey. [...]
Observations from PMTS 2013
A few observations from the 2013 Precision Machining Technology Show (PMTS) in Columbus. 1) Attendance at shows is dwindling, which does not mean PMTS was a weak event for those [...]
Inflation? Not In My Neighborhood.
I have an unusual vantage point to observe the housing market as the pundits fret about the housing “bubble” they imagine is bulging. I live in a housing refrigerator, Olympia [...]
Hard Hiring Decisions
One of the good things about buying out my brother at Graff-Pinkert was being asked by lenders to study my costs. What I found out, among other things, was that [...]