Built on Saying Yes: Inside a One-Man Machine Shop, 525

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Some shop owners are born into machining. Others stumble into it through YouTube, side jobs, and a little bit of “sure, I think we can fit that D11 dozer cylinder on the mill.” Leighton Hill’s story has a little bit of all of it.

In this episode of MakingChips, we continue our Gen CNC series with Leighton Hill of Hillco, a young shop owner from the Kansas City area who grew up around manual machines, learned CNC through hands-on experimentation, and is now building a real business from nights, weekends, Facebook groups, local relationships, and whatever work comes through the door.

Leighton shares how his dad’s hobby shop sparked his interest in machining, why he originally had no interest in CNC, and how a used Hurco mill changed the direction of his life. From a cramped two-car garage to a 40×60 shop, he’s been slowly turning a family passion into a serious business opportunity.

We dig into the realities of starting small: pricing jobs without overcomplicating it, finding work through word of mouth, learning from YouTube, quoting overflow work, considering job boards, and deciding when it makes sense to invest in new equipment. Leighton also talks about his goal of going full-time, possibly moving into a larger shared shop, and eventually building a small team around production and aerospace work.

Because if you’re not learning, quoting, building relationships, and making chips, you’re not making money.

Segments

• (0:00) How a Facebook machinist group unexpectedly led to a real customer
• (0:35) Introducing Leighton Hill of Hillco and the Gen CNC series
• (2:16) Leighton’s journey from manual machining to learning CNC
• (7:02) Starting Hillco as a side business and building momentum
• (8:55) Expanding into job shop work and growing into a 40×60 shop
• (10:20) Why we love the quality of SMW Autoblok’s workholding
• (11:06) Hillco’s current machine lineup and capabilities
• (13:10) Learning machining through YouTube, mentors, and hands-on experience
• (16:40) Finding early work through word of mouth, neighbors, and Facebook groups
• (18:19) Considering job boards and overflow work as a learning opportunity
• (21:13) How Leighton approaches pricing, quoting, and simple job estimating
• (23:46) Exploring AI-assisted quoting and CAM tools like Toolpath
• (29:02) Why we created Hire MFG Leaders (and why you should use it)
• (30:34) Starting the LLC with low overhead and support from family
• (32:12) Thinking through ROI before investing in a CNC lathe
• (33:26) Leighton’s goal to take Hillco full-time within the next year
• (36:35) Taking on any work early, then learning what to specialize in
• (37:27) Why walk-in repair work can lead to long-term production customers
• (41:54) Get a free report of sales opportunities in your area from FacturMFG.com/chips
• (43:00) Advice for young machinists who want to get started
• (44:55) Leighton’s five-to-ten-year vision for Hillco
• (47:19) Building credibility with a website, Google profile, and customer reviews

Resources mentioned on this episode

• Why we love the quality of SMW Autoblok’s workholding
• Why we created Hire MFG Leaders (and why you should use it)
• Get a free report of sales opportunities in your area from FacturMFG.com/chips
• TITANS of CNC
• Toolpath
• CloudNC

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