Use Up The Tooling. Wear Out The Machines. Big 8-inch Laps For More Flatosity A special surprise visit LIVE from Stan Zinkowski at the Bar-Z Summer Bash "X" !!! Your Questions, Comments, Updates ----- Raw lap material: https://www.mcmaster.com/8588T25/ Example - 3 micron diamond lapping slurry: https://www.mcmaster.com/4857A47/ ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for products/designs mentioned are at pfg.gg/links Follow me on Instagram at "spence...
Jun 29, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Season 2025Ep. 629
Hey... Can We Torque? - Why We Measure It NASA's Definition Of "Snug" https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20170003491 ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for products/designs mentioned are at pfg.gg/links Follow me on Instagram at "spencer_webb_nh". ("PFG Stones®" is a registered trademark of Kinetic Precision) Local Elevator by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/...
Jun 22, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 2025Ep. 622
We're Gonna Need Bigger ... Everything - A customer request for precision hand lapping of 6-inch platens forces bigger flatosity. Thoughts on what's different from 3-inches. Report On My Visit With Russell Optics - A trip to Vermont yields a new tool for the shop, and new friends in another Flat Cave. Giveaway Drawing, Your Questions and More! - We pick the winners for the four McMaster Catalogs. ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for products/d...
Jun 15, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 2025Ep. 615
Guest: Adam Balogh, Laney College! Diamond Turning and Micromachining Updates, Giveaways, Questions, And More! ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for products/designs mentioned are at pfg.gg/links Follow me on Instagram at "spencer_webb_nh". ("PFG Stones®" is a registered trademark of Kinetic Precision) Local Elevator by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/...
Jun 08, 2025•1 hr 24 min•Season 2025Ep. 608
When P1 = R1: The Cost Of Prototyping - When you only have one shot at building it, you kinda wanna get it right the first time. What are some strategies to do that? When to recognize that prototyping may be cheaper than computer simulation, and when it is not. Thoughts On Process Tuning - How many variables do you control? Is it really optimal to change only one thing at a time when searching for the optimal process (not product)? Another McMaster Catalog Giveaway - Yes, we are doing it again, ...
Jun 01, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 2024Ep. 601
Your Lathe Is Killing Your WiFi - Let's Fix It Never Use This Hand Tool In The Shop Your Comments, Questions, and More! ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for products/designs mentioned are at pfg.gg/links Follow me on Instagram at "spencer_webb_nh". ("PFG Stones®" is a registered trademark of Kinetic Precision) Local Elevator by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4...
May 04, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Season 2025Ep. 504
We are joined by Brandon from Inheritance Machining! If you haven't watched his videos you need to. His channel is https://www.youtube.com/InheritanceMachining . Come join us and celebrate the start of Spring! ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for products/designs mentioned are at pfg.gg/links Follow me on Instagram at "spencer_webb_nh". ("PFG Stones®" is a registered trademark of Kinetic Precision) Local Elevator by Kevin MacLeod is licensed u...
Apr 27, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 2025Ep. 427
Polyvinyl Acetate: It's Not Just For Elmer - For the first time, I experimented with PVAc, as supplied in the Bambu Lab "glue". I was pleasantly surprised, and came up with a way to use it without guesswork. More On IR Temperature Measurement - Yeah, Doug's right. There is more to it. Reflectance, Absorbance and Transmission. What's it all mean, and why do we care after we spent all this money on cool instruments? ChatGPT: LLM, Yes. Expert System, No. - It's not a panacea, and it also should not...
Apr 06, 2025
A Scalable 3DP Farming Module - A client's needs converged with KP needs, and 3D printing capabilities have expanded. And can expand more. Thermal Imaging - A New Tool, Many Uses - An antenna-related project suggested that a thermal imager would be a good tool. Then we found many other uses. Do you have old wall warts with transformers in them? Yah.... tune in. What Is Emissivity? - Before you trust the temperature measurements from your brand new thermal imager, or even your "laser thermometer"...
Mar 30, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Season 2025Ep. 330
Standards And Calibration In The Small Shop - How calibration works, and how to get traceable to NIST. Where do Standards come from? What is good enough? Starting A Business: How Much To Charge? - We discuss some guidelines and pitfalls of setting rates. The most common mistakes of the new business owner. 3DP Update, Your Questions, And More... ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for products/designs mentioned are at pfg.gg/links Follow me on Ins...
Mar 23, 2025•1 hr 27 min•Season 2025Ep. 323
Big Machine, Tiny Tools - I was asked by a friend of mine to do a repair of a transaxle for his truck, in which a bolt had been broken off. Of course, the transaxle was less than three inches long. Navigating Turbulence - A lesson from my flying history. Keeping the shiny side up and the rubber side down. Seems appropriate. Bevels, Washers, Centers.... Oh, My! - We clean up some loose ends, and start trouble in smaller doses. ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links pag...
Mar 16, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 2025Ep. 316
Shop Organization: Pieces, Paths, Power - How do you organize your shop? We discuss various systems. McMaster-Carr Catalog Drawing - Who will win? Did you get your entry in? Follow-ups, Your Questions, and More... ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for products/designs mentioned are at pfg.gg/links Follow me on Instagram at "spencer_webb_nh". ("PFG Stones®" is a registered trademark of Kinetic Precision) Local Elevator by Kevin MacLeod is licens...
Mar 09, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Season 2025Ep. 309
Countersinks: Oh, What A Relief It Needs! - I bought a set of countersinks that... well... sucked. So I learned how to re-grind them with my equipment, and learned a bunch. Then, I had a failure with a known-good one... and learned MORE!! Successful Teeny-Weeny Form 4 SLA Parts - For one of my antenna consulting gigs, I needed some little parts which I figured I can make on my FormLabs Form 4 resin printer. I was right!! McMaster-Carr Catalog Giveaway Details! - We explain how to enter the givea...
Mar 02, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Season 2025Ep. 302
Soldering: Alloys, Eutectics, Fluxes Planning For Not Crashing Your Questions, Comments, and More... ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for products/designs mentioned are at pfg.gg/links Follow me on Instagram at "spencer_webb_nh". ("PFG Stones®" is a registered trademark of Kinetic Precision) Local Elevator by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Feb 16, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Season 2025Ep. 216
Two Guys And A Pencil - The Problem Process No. 1 Robin Renzetti and Tom Lipton are presented with a problem they have not seen in advance. We have the privilege of watching them solve it, or at least try to. ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for products/designs mentioned are at pfg.gg/links Follow me on Instagram at "spencer_webb_nh". ("PFG Stones®" is a registered trademark of Kinetic Precision) Local Elevator by Kevin MacLeod is licensed un...
Feb 09, 2025
Cyanoacrylate Management - An awesome tool in the shop, cyanoacrylates have some do's and don'ts, and ways to optimize their use. Spencer's CA management trays. Safety tips. Know Your Envelope Of Action - Ask a machinist about their milling machine, and you will no doubt hear about it's work envelope. How about your's? Upcoming Events, Your Questions, & More... - Do we finally have a date for the awesome event called the "Problem Process"?? Tune in! ----- Recommended videos: Goobertown Hobbi...
Feb 02, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 2025Ep. 202
Collet What You Will: The Many Types - With all the different collets available, it's confusing. Isn't the good ole' 5C collet all you need. Um, no. A Blivet In Three Ops: Engineer vs. Machinist - Boy you should hear the arguments between the engineer upstairs and the machinist downstairs. They have the same goal, don't they? Specialization: Was Heinlein Right? “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balan...
Jan 19, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 2025Ep. 119
Focus Is Critical - It's critical for laser cutting, and it's critical for YOU and your business. When Vendors Get Acquired, Beware. - The story of vendor relationships, and it has a happy ending. Resistance is not futile. New Toys, Your Questions, And More... - We get a new toy for the shop, it finally snowed, and hope... there is always hope. ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for products/designs mentioned are at pfg.gg/links Follow me on Ins...
Jan 12, 2025•59 min•Season 2025Ep. 112
Laser Lessons Learned - Getting the job done with not enough power, Scotty. The Optimization Process - It gets complicated quickly. The Gentle Art of Getting a NO - How I turned a brush-off into new shop capabilities, and more money in MY pocket. Your Questions, And More... ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for products/designs mentioned are at pfg.gg/links Follow me on Instagram at "spencer_webb_nh". ("PFG Stones®" is a registered trademark of...
Jan 05, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Season 2025Ep. 105
Lasers: CO2, Fiber, Diode... How To Choose - There are many choices in lasers for the shop and sometimes it's not clear what is appropriate. We discuss the types, the physics behind them, and how they interact with various materials. Engraving, Cutting: In-House Or Outsource? - Sometimes it is better to send it out than to do it in-house. What is the ROI on a laser? What services are available? Your Questions, And More... ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, b...
Dec 15, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 2024Ep. 1215
Shop Batteries We Need, Prefer, And Avoid - Primary vs. Rechargable, Alkaline vs. Lithium, Duracell vs. Energizer... There are a lot of choices. Let's look at history, facts, and experience. Shipping: Is Shippo A Win? Canada Strike - Yep, some problems solved and some delivered to our doorstep. There is a little bad news, and a whole lot of good from the shipping department. Your Questions, And More... ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for prod...
Dec 08, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 2024Ep. 1208
Is Hard-Milling Hard? - We Ask Adam - Adam Demuth helps us get started in hard-milling. Machine, tool, and workholding considerations. When does hard-milling make sense? Why I Dumped ShipStation, And Like Shippo - You ever go to a doctor who insists that you use his prescription drugs instead of over-the-counter solutions, and doesn't even understand the science? (I did and... I fired him.) You ever use a product from a company, and when you have a problem the Customer Service department doesn't...
Nov 24, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 2024Ep. 1124
The Many Lubricants In The Shop - Seriously, how many different ones do we have?!? Do we really need all of them? Can we get Clutter Credits by clearing some out? Recipes Are Your Business - You can read that two ways, and they are both correct. And no, patents are NOT the answer. Dryness Update, Your Questions, And More... ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for products/designs mentioned are at pfg.gg/links Follow me on Instagram at "spencer_we...
Nov 17, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Season 2024Ep. 1117
EDM Is Not Just For Dancing. Amazing! - A beautiful gift from a member of our Discord community, LanceK, inspires us to learn more about EDM. Magnetism and Aluminum: Don't Panic. - This ain't your grandfather's refrigerator magnet. There is a lot more to magnetism than we thought. Dry Updates, Your Questions, And More... - What does the very slow race to dry look like? We reveal the latest data and discuss. ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for...
Nov 03, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 2024Ep. 1103
[This is an edited version of the locally recorded PFG.Live. The YouTube stream broke for unknown reasons, but all the good stuff is here. Enjoy! - Spencer] Lapping: Finally Making Flat Mirrors! - After a discussion in the After-Party Round table with Robin Renzetti, I tried a version of what he suggested and started getting some really nice results: mirrors. I am bringing that recipe in for a landing. Dry-Storage Experiment: Surprising Results! - What we thought would work great, seems to not b...
Oct 27, 2024•58 min•Season 2024Ep. 1027
First Humidity Data Points! - A long-ish term experiment has completed it's first week, and the first data points are ... interesting! 1-Micron Diamond Laps Initialized - A set of hand-laps for 1-Micron diamond have been made ready to work, and we discuss the process and preliminary results. Problem Solving in the News - Yes, SpaceX stuck the landing(s), but the real story is why their problem solving is different. ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. L...
Oct 13, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 2024Ep. 1013
Your 3D Model's Great. Got Drawings? - With all the new tools available for designing solid objects, we mustn't lose the skill of making good drawings that show Design Intent. The Problem Process Needs You! - Tom and Robin will return in a special segment called The Problem Process. But, we need YOUR input to prepare. Dry Filament Experiments Update - Quantified measurements are underway to characterize cost-effective strategies to battle moisture in our 3D filaments. ----- Save $500 at FormLabs...
Oct 06, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 2024Ep. 1006
First, we wrap up the EINSTAR scanner project with intern Shaylie. Parameterizationalism in Fusion - Parameters can save your bacon. How to use them, test them, and best practices... in one man's humble opinion. Filament Dryness Epiphanies - It was right in front of us the whole time. We figured out that dry filament is good. We figured out how to get it dry. Now let's keep it dry... there are some surprises. Shipping Sometimes Sucks - Several stories of how shipping, especially internationally,...
Sep 22, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 2024Ep. 922
Special Guest - Tom Zelickman of Tormach - We catch up with Tom, who's been a friend for a long time. We learn about the new Tormach machines, and where they fit in the journey of machinists and makers. First Bambu X1C Crash! - Yep, it had to happen. I was messing around with some custom g-codes, and... well... we survived to tell the tale. IMTS Wrap-up, Your Questions, And More... ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for products/designs mentione...
Sep 15, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 2024Ep. 915
Tucker of Tuck's Garage ( @tucksgarage7614 ) reports from IMTS... LIVE! ----- Save $500 at FormLabs by using my referral code at the Links page, below. Links for products/designs mentioned are at pfg.gg/links Follow me on Instagram at "spencer_webb_nh". ("PFG Stones®" is a registered trademark of Kinetic Precision) Local Elevator by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Sep 12, 2024•52 min•Season 2024Ep. 911
