Ep 113: My Cocobolo Romance

• David returns as their first repeat guest to share the wild story of how he fought to get his company back after selling just 15 percent to a partner whose lawyer secretly worked against him in what sounds like a business nightmare straight out of a thriller movie

• The heartbreaking loss of Speed the retired cop who was Davids right hand man at the shop in 2020 changed everything and forced them to completely rethink how they operate and train people since some folks are just irreplaceable legends

• Moving a machine shop from Atlanta to Vegas involves lag bolting heavy equipment directly to rental truck floors and using forklifts to pull 7500 pound machining centers off trailers in the most terrifying way possible while praying nothing drops in the parking lot

• Woodworking used to be an affordable hobby where you could get decent plywood at Home Depot but now young people are priced out unless they have serious cash or are trying to make it their career which has shifted Gearharts customer base

• The battle between branding irons and laser marking comes down to authentic human touch versus sterile factory perfection with David arguing that people crave something with actual soul and character instead of mass produced Amazon cutting board vibes

• Customer service involves lots of graphics fixing since people send everything from napkin drawings to low resolution photos while trying to balance being helpful without being condescending about basic design mistakes

• Quick fire questions reveal David wanted to be a hobo as a kid and actually rode freight trains plus he would teleport to South America and wants a Vangelis soundtrack for his life

• The demographic conversation gets real about how materials and costs have changed so dramatically that casual hobby woodworking is basically dead for most young people who also have limited space

• Safety glasses everywhere is the golden rule after David got a hot brass chip to the eyelid and realized he was doing safety squints like an idiot so now he bought 96 pairs and scattered them around the shop like guitar picks

• Family chaos provides the perfect soundtrack with crying children in the background proving that even successful business owners are just trying to survive parenthood while running companies and moving heavy machinery