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.

How My 80-Year-Old Business Started

Yesterday, March 5, was my father Leonard’s birthday. He was born in 1917, the youngest of four–a younger brother had died at four years old.

From everything he told me, it was a malfunctioning household. His dad, Louis, who I never met, told him often that his wedding day was the worst day of his life.