CNC West Oct Nov Web

CNC WEST October/November 2018 www.CNC-West.com 43 ever,” describes Nate. “Standard Abrasives was bought by 3M, but we manufacture shafts for their abrasive department the same as we did in the 50’s. Most of the parts we manufacture are pretty basic. For example, one of the 3M parts is a shaft they mold the flap wheels on to. It is a part that is perfect for all my Brown and Sharpe machines. +/- 10 all day, every day.” Raymond’s son only worked a little on and off at the shop before becoming a butcher, but his grandson David Donaldson really took to the screw machine business. “My dad, David took over the day to day operations in the early 80’s,” tells Nate. “He loved the shop, the Brownies and was satisfied in how they manu- factured. I worked on and off for him over the years and knew a little about ma- chining. When he got sick I was working in aerospace as a Tig welder. That was nine years ago. I took over the day to day operations and tried to learn as much as I could, but he passed away only six months after I took over.” Nate found that most of his struggles had to do with the ownership side of things like accounting, vendors and customer management. The machining came easy, but that was only one part of being a business owner.