New vs. Used: Understanding Where the Real Value Is | Ep 257
Talkin Shop with ShopSabre
Should you buy a used CNC machine or buy new? The price tag says one thing. The next five years of ownership say something completely different. In Episode 257 of Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre, Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters take on the question every shop owner eventually has to answer. Not just about CNC machines either. Your next truck, your next piece of equipment, your next major investment. Same trap, every time. Here is the part nobody tells you. Price is what you pay today. Value is what you actually receive over the life of what you own. Those are two...
info_outline
Is Avoiding Risk Hurting Your CNC Shop? | Ep 256
Talkin Shop with ShopSabre
Think playing it safe protects your CNC shop? It might be the most expensive decision you never made. In this episode of Talkin' Shop, Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters break down how real business owners weigh risk against reward, and why the shops that grow are the ones willing to move before every question has an answer. You will hear the questions every owner wrestles with. Should you finance or pay cash for that next machine? How do you know when it is time to add a second CNC? Is the "safe" choice to wait actually leaving work and profit on the table? Brandon and Nick answer real...
info_outline
What Does an Employee Really Cost You? | Ep 255
Talkin Shop with ShopSabre
How much does an employee really cost a small business beyond their hourly wage? In Episode 255 of Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre, hosts Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters answer that question directly for shop owners and small manufacturers. The short answer: an employee's true cost runs well past base pay. Once you add payroll taxes, workers' compensation, health and dental benefits, a 401(k) match, paid time off, training time, onboarding, tools, and software, a worker's real cost can land about 25 percent above their wage, and in extreme cases up to 50 percent higher. A $25-per-hour...
info_outline
The ROI Math Most Shop Owners Get Wrong | Ep 254
Talkin Shop with ShopSabre
When does buying a CNC machine make more sense than hiring another employee or outsourcing the work? On this episode of Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre, hosts Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters answer that question for shop owners weighing automation against labor. The conversation breaks down how to calculate the real return on investment (ROI) of CNC automation — and why most shop owners get the math wrong. Brandon explains the difference between calculating ROI literally (only the time a task takes) and "paralysis by analysis," then reframes the core question every owner asks. It isn't "how...
info_outline
When Is It Time to Automate Your Shop? | Ep 253
Talkin Shop with ShopSabre
You already know the answer. You're just waiting for someone to say it out loud. If you've ever stared at a job you turned away, a backlog you can't beat, or a stack of repetitive work eating your week alive, this episode is the gut check you've been avoiding. Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters get real about the single most expensive decision growing shops keep putting off: when to stop doing things the manual way and start investing in automation. They break down the exact warning signs that you've outgrown your process, why "we'll just work harder" quietly kills your margins, and the...
info_outline
Stop Making Excuses & Build Momentum | Ep 252
Talkin Shop with ShopSabre
What is the difference between a challenge and an excuse in business? On Episode 252 of Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre, hosts Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters explain why challenges require a response while excuses only require justification — and why that distinction determines whether a manufacturing business grows or stalls. Brandon outlines the concept of business momentum and why it functions like a machine: once it's running, it stays efficient, but once it stops, restarting requires significantly more energy. He argues that momentum in business is built through daily decisions,...
info_outline
Why Wasting Time Costs Your Business Big | Ep 251
Talkin Shop with ShopSabre
Why is wasted time the most expensive cost in business? In Episode 251 of Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre, hosts Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters explain why time — not broken machines, material costs, or competition — is the single resource a business can never recover once it's spent. This episode covers the real-world cost of poor follow-through in manufacturing and the trades: unanswered quote requests, ignored emails, missed meetings, and delayed decisions. ShopSabre is an American CNC manufacturer based in Lakeville, Minnesota that builds CNC routers, plasma tables, and fiber...
info_outline
Stop Competing on Price (Do This Instead) | Ep 250
Talkin Shop with ShopSabre
Every customer wants the best quality, delivered yesterday, at the lowest possible price. So why does chasing all three destroy businesses from the inside out? This episode of Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre breaks open the truth behind the "good, fast, cheap" triangle — and it might change how you price, produce, and position everything in your shop. Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters get real about the trade-offs that every CNC shop owner, cabinet maker, sign builder, and fabricator faces daily. Whether you are quoting custom jobs, managing lead times, or fielding price objections from customers...
info_outline
Private Label CNC Machines: What They Won't Tell You | Ep 249
Talkin Shop with ShopSabre
What happens when you strip the covers off two "completely different" CNC machines and find the exact same frame, the same gantry, and the same components from the same overseas factory — just with different stickers? In this episode of Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre, Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters break down the private label import CNC machine cycle — how one Chinese factory builds a single CNC router or plasma table design, distributes it to dozens of companies worldwide, and each one slaps on their own logo, picks a paint color, and markets it as their own proprietary product. If you've...
info_outline
The Customer Is NOT Always Right | Ep 248
Talkin Shop with ShopSabre
What if the most famous phrase in business is actually destroying your shop from the inside out? In this episode of Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre, Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters tear apart the myth that the customer is always right and rebuild it into something that actually works for real business owners. If you run a CNC shop, a fabrication business, or any kind of service operation, you already know the truth: not every customer is right, and bending to every demand is a fast track to burnout, quality issues, and losing your best employees. Brandon witnessed an explosive customer meltdown...
info_outlineStep into the leadership role you were meant for by learning the lessons most shop owners only discover the hard way.
In this episode of Talkin' Shop, Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters dive deep into the personal side of building a business. Leadership isn't just about making decisions or telling people what to do; it’s a learned skill that often requires facing uncomfortable truths. Brandon shares six pivotal lessons he wishes he knew before he started leading, ranging from the importance of setting the tone for your team to understanding that accountability must always start at the top.
Beyond the leadership deep dive, the guys answer critical technical questions for anyone looking to optimize their CNC performance. We break down whether rack and pinion systems truly move faster than ball screws and why gantry clearance is a "king" metric for industrial engineering. We also touch on the ShopSabre motto: "Buy your second machine the first time," and why cutting costs upfront can often be the most expensive mistake a business makes.
Whether you are managing a team of two or twenty, or just trying to decide on your next machine investment, this episode provides the roadmap to grow with intention.
[00:00] - Welcome back to Talkin' Shop with Brandon Bombardo & Nick Peters
[04:48] - Technical Q&A: Is Rack and Pinion Faster than Ball Screws?
[06:15] - Engineering for Success: Why Tall Gantries and Clearance Matter
[07:49] - The ShopSabre Motto: Buy Your Second Machine the First Time
[10:01] - Leadership Lesson 1: Not Everyone Will Think Like You
[12:03] - Leadership Lesson 2: As a Leader, Your Presence Sets the Tone
[17:25] - Leadership Lesson 3: Accountability Starts at the Top
[20:59] - Leadership Lesson 4: Responsibility Over Popularity
[25:11] - Leadership Lesson 5: Growing Outside Your Comfort Zone
[26:51] - Leadership Lesson 6: Why You Don't Need All the Answers
[33:42] - Inspiring Others to Reach Higher: Final Motivational Thoughts
[38:40] - Brandon's Duck Call and Keeping it Fun in the Shop
Discover all our CNC machines and accessories: https://www.shopsabre.com/
Follow ShopSabre for daily updates, tutorials, and expert tips:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopsabre
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopsabre
Twitter/X: https://x.com/ShopSabreCNC
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shopsabre
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shopsabre-cnc/
Since 2000, ShopSabre CNC has delivered high-quality CNC routers, plasma cutters, and laser engraving machines built in the USA to businesses and hobbyists worldwide. Subscribe for more insights on CNC technology, project builds, and industry-leading machine performance.