Explore past newsletters, podcast episodes, and shop-floor insights from the CNC Underground community.

Latest from the Underground

The newest stories and conversations from CNC Underground.

The 90-Day Problem with Andrew Brown

The skilled trades may have a hiring crisis, but they also have a 90-day problem: too many new hires leave within weeks or months. This episode explores what retention really takes, from stronger mentorship and bridging generational divides to rethinking workplace expectations and making the trades a true “option A.”

#64 – IMTS, Gun Drilling, and Programmer Mistakes

This week, we’re breaking down common mistakes new CNC programmers make and what separates a worthwhile trade show trip from an exhausting one. We’re also gearing up for IMTS and sharing a GibbsCAM tech tip on setting up gun drilling, from creating the pilot hole to dialing in speeds, feeds, depths, and spindle controls.

The Underground Archive

The $150,000 Hiring Mistake
Confidence that Creates Scrap
Apprenticeships & Reshoring
The Kid With The Basement Lathe
Can You Automate Accountability?
Automation Repeats Chaos
The Real Experts Are On The Floor
One Missed Decimal Teaches Fast
When Toolpaths Turn Into Gambling
America’s Manufacturing Bet
Rest Machine – No Air Cutting
Live Tools & Shift Conflicts
Simplify Your Fixtures
The Tool Library Vanished
Smarter Way to Set Chip Load
Program Multi-Turret Machines
Handoff that Wrecks a Spindle
Inconel Punishes Programmers
M-code Mistake Shops Make
Riskiest Moment in a Turning
Engineering Communication
7 Ways to Program 5-Axis
One Small Miss, One Big Crash
Finish Tips, Rush Jobs, Terafab
A Near Career-Ending Mistake
7 Ways to Automate Busywork
End Tool Chaos, Smarter Inspection
Rebuilding US Manufacturing
Smarter Roughing, Shorter Cycles
CAM Trends & Tribal Knowledge
That One Button No One Touches
Machine Thin Features w/o Chatter
Everyone Saw It. Nobody Stopped It.
Rough Faster w/o Breaking Tools
Machine Orders Up, 2026 Outlook
MIT’s New Program & Deburring Tips
Tool Life, Safety Tech, Ransomware
Boeing, Mitotec & a Killer CAM Tip
Real-Time CNCs & Smart Toolpaths
Hybrid Mfg & Laser Lathes
Cybercabs, CAM tricks, & CNC Jobs
Microsoft’s Warning 2 Manufacturing
Fixe Bad Finishes
Turning Point for U.S. Manufacturing
Toolpath Fighting Your Machine?
The $6.5B Bet Reshaping U.S. Mfg
Confidence, Auto, & STEM
AI, Gen Z Recruiting, the Utah Boom
Manufacturing Can’t Shake It
The U.S. Just Bought 10% of Intel
MIT’s $500K Manufacturing Club
Billion-Dollar Manufacturing Shift
Automation, Labor, & Reshoring
Made in the USA
Fix Multi-Turret Bottlenecks in CAM
What Most CNC Pros Miss
Will AI Replace Your CAM Job?
Mistake Shops Make With Old Files
One CAM Tip Could Save Your Part
CNC Putter Wins the U.S. Open
U.S. Manufacturing Isn’t Back Yet
AI Knows What….
The people behind the machines

Voices from the underground

Catch every episode of CNC Underground: Afterhours on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.


The Underground Runs on People Like You

Shop story worth telling?

Share your crash, lesson learned, or shop-floor moment. The best ones might be featured in CNC Underground.

Be A Guest

If you work in machining, manufacturing, tooling, or CAM and have something to share, apply to be a guest on the podcast.

Follow and Join

Follow CNC Underground & Afterhours on LinkedIn and subscribe to the newsletter for weekly insights from the shop floor.