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

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/making-chips-podcast-for-manufacturing-leaders-439170/built-on-saying-yes-inside-a-one-man-machine-shop-525
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/making-chips-podcast-for-manufacturing-leaders-439170/built-on-saying-yes-inside-a-one-man-machine-shop-525.md
Podcast: [Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders](https://stenobird.com/podcast/making-chips-podcast-for-manufacturing-leaders-439170)
Published: 2026-06-08T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://makingchips.libsyn.com/built-on-saying-yes-inside-a-one-man-machine-shop-525
Audio file: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/pscrb.fm/rss/p/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/makingchips/MC525.mp3?dest-id=237805
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/making-chips-podcast-for-manufacturing-leaders-439170/episodes/built-on-saying-yes-inside-a-one-man-machine-shop-525
Duration seconds: 3057

## Resource

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 40x60 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 40x60 shop (10:20) Why we love the qua…

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