John Grimsmo
An amazing knife maker, an inspiring entrepreneur and someone I’m proud to call a great friend. John and I both started with Tormach CNC milling machines (well, technically we both started with smaller machines before the Tormach’s!). John has built Grimsmo Knives into a world-renowned knife company with a passionate following. His obsession to detail is inspiring. He pushes me to embrace lean manufacturing, learn new technologies and consume anything and everything machining and manufacturing entrepreneurship.
Tyson Lamb
Tyson is a self-taught machinist who has created an amazing product and amazing company: Lamb Crafted. Mixing raw machining talent with uncanny craftsmanship to make world class Golf Putters that have caught the attention of celebrities and professional PGA players. His hunger, drive, and social media skills are a great example for anyone thinking about starting a product-based machining business. Manufacturing entrepreneurship at its finest!
Rob Lockwood
Rob is amazing at CAM – and machining parts. An expert at digging into the details of exactly how CAM engines like Fusion 360’s HSM Works CAM kernel works. He rocks a day job doing advanced 5-axis model making and machining and also makes darn nice pens, knives and other machined products at www.lockedtool.com. He actively pays it forward on the Autodesk Fusion 360 and HSM Forums and on his YouTube channel.
Tim Paul
Tim is a former aerospace and motorsports machinist who may give Rob Lockwood a run for his money when it comes to CAM excellence. Tim has used various CAM packages and operated countless mills and lathes and made numerous parts that are orbiting this very earth. He’s now part of the team at Autodesk helping change the world with Fusion 360. Tim’s creativity, knowledge and experience with *both* CAM and machining makes me want to absorb anything he’s putting out – whether YouTube videos or live demonstrations.
Jay Pierson
An entrepreneur in every sense of the world, Jay is the founder and leader of Pierson Workholding. Jay left a college engineering program and abandoned his pursuit of a college degree in order to accelerate his learning of the CNC and machining trade. He bought the textbooks, taught himself, bought a HAAS CNC mill and never looked back. Jay’s can-do attitude, calm perseverance and his uncanny ability to implement lean manufacturing remains inspiring. Touring his facility has been a life changing experience for understanding how to better make business decisions, handle growth and embrace ‘lean’ the *right* way.
Ken Spaulding
Balancing his own shop making BMX parts and knives while making military/defense parts at his day job, Ken is, to be blunt, a damn good machinist. A bootstrapping entrepreneur, Ken is the guy who lives for finding old Mori lathes or Sunnen Hones or double disk grinders. His Fusion 360 CAM skills are incredible. When I’m stuck, he’s always got the answer.
Amish Solanki
A second-generation machinist who originally pursued a different career, Amish returned to the shop after a family crisis. He figuratively and literally re-built his shop and his customer base. He made those tough decision about what to keep and what to sell. He learned how to sell his skills and does a great job – whether machining huge parts on his HAAS VF7 or amazing, intricate small parts on his DMG Mori 5-axis machine. He runs SSCADCAM as a traditional job shop – and that’s a tough one-man-band job, as he quotes, sources, CAM’s, ships and cleans.
Paul DeBolt
A local mentor, Paul completed a traditional machining apprenticeship and career before starting his own Job Shop and company that is world-renowned for their model engines and kits (casting, machined or assembled)! Paul has helped us on numerous machining and technical challenges and enjoys paying it forward by helping encourage youth machining. He is the president of the local high school machining advisory board and has always been willing to help us film videos on topics like Feeds & Speeds, Surface Grinding and Shop Tours!