About this episode

Jamie and Curt discuss the challenges of running a machine shop while dealing with illness and share insights on productivity and product development.

This week on the Lone Machinist Podcast, Jamie discovers that running a machine shop while fighting off a brutal cough is a lot like running production with a worn-out end mill—you'll get there eventually, but it's going to make some unpleasant noises along the way. Curt spends most of the episode wondering whether he's going to catch the illness through the internet, while Jamie repeatedly reaches for the mute button to save everyone's ears. Despite feeling like he'd been hit by a freight train, there's still plenty happening in the shop. Keel Clamps are finally back in stock, another batch of Barnacles is making its way through production, anodizing is underway, and an elusive APO machine issue is proving that CNC controllers always know the worst possible time to misbehave. Meanwhile, Curt has been battling relentless storms while grinding through production work and shares one of those brilliantly simple workshop discoveries that makes you wonder why you didn't think of it years ago. The guys swap stories about productivity, shop organization, software, and the reality that every problem you solve immediately introduces two more. Later in the episode, they compare approaches…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jamie Peacock, Curt Van Filipowski

Topics covered

• production challenges
• machine shop
• product development
• shop organization
• CNC controllers
• workflow simplification

Keywords

• machine shop
• production
• CNC
• product development
• workflow
• shop organization
• anodizing
• Keel Clamps
• Barnacles

More episodes of The Lone Machinists

• Ep. 81: Teaching Engineers to Talk with Al Whatmough · July 15, 2026 · 1h 29m
• Ep. 79: Month-End Is a Contact Sport · July 1, 2026 · 1h 13m
• Ep. 78: Marketplace Finds and Questionable Decisions · June 24, 2026 · 1h 5m
• Ep. 77: Break Glass in Case of Feelings · June 17, 2026 · 1h 19m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Lone Machinists podcast page.