Graff-Pinkert - Screw Machines, Hydromats, CNCs

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity.”

This was the famous opening line of Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities, but it could be said of America and the world 175 years after being published.

In a parochial way, it applies to the machining world I have inhabited for so many years.

Every week I talk to somebody who is frustrated, fraught with defeat, and ready to “hang it up.”

Chris Armstrong has saved me more times than I can count—helping us at Graff-Pinkert through tough machinery deals, especially when it comes to Swiss machines. Citizens? He’s our guy.

But today’s podcast isn’t just about technical know-how. After years of driving coast to coast fixing machines and solving problems most people wouldn’t touch, Chris is shifting gears—rebuilding how he works, the kinds of parts he makes, and how he makes a living.

I met today’s guest, Mike Pelham, completely by chance — over breakfast at the hotel bar during PMTS in Cleveland.

He knew who I was from the podcast. But I didn’t know him. Kind of strange when that happens — but it’s really cool. After we talked for five minutes, I started thinking he could be a good interview.

Born with no intention of becoming a machinist, Greg Knight says he was drafted into “indentured servitude” at age 16 when his father started a Brown & Sharpe machine shop in their garage. Despite his initial distaste for manual labor, fate had other plans for the psychology, philosophy, religion, and sociology major.