In this episode of the Whatcha Makin podcast, hosts Alex Duffey and Alex Adams welcome special guest Peter Capar of Ptree's Workshop. Pete shares his journey from restoring secondhand tools in his garage to running a successful small-scale manufacturing shop powered by an army of Prusa 3D printers and a massive Laguna laser.

The guys catch up on what's on their benches, including Alex Duffey's Dungeon Crawler Carl loot boxes and pocket cribbage boards, Alex Adams' hickory CNC projects and 3D-printed Spoodermans, and Pete's adventures in small engine repair.

For the main topic, "Risky Business," the trio dives into the leaps of faith required to grow a making business. They discuss the realities of investing in expensive equipment, the value of making "small bets" to test the market rather than going into debt, and the biggest risk of all: knowing when to step back from the grind to prioritize your family and mental health.

Plus, maker shoutouts, a farewell to the lumber side of Burl n' Grain, and thoughts on Bambu Lab's newly announced 55W CO2 laser.

It’s an episode about nothing—which means Alex and Alex get right into the weeds of shop projects, tool troubleshooting, and prep for the busy fall season.

• On the Bench: Alex Adams runs a marathon print session making giant pop-culture popcorn buckets and 5x-scale Lego minifigs, while Alex Duffey doubles his production of Dungeon Crawler Carl boxes and harvests homegrown Wine Cap mushrooms grown in CNC sawdust.
• Whatcha Breakin': An all-out battle with 3D printers. Duffey essentially rebuilds his entire printhead assembly after repeated jams, while Adams hunts down elusive layer shifts and loose hotend screws.
• Whatcha Sellin': Winding down farmers markets, weighing consignment vs. monthly booth rent in local shops, and the realities of holiday inventory planning.
• Community Spotlights: Mind-bending miniature room pranks by @AndrewVideo, life-size Dragon Ball Z pods from @CosplayCorp, wooden lightning bug fixtures, and ice cream churned from wild wood by Justin Davies.

Upcoming: Catch Alex Duffey teaching at the Texas Woodworking Festival this weekend

Hosts & Guest: Alex Duffey and Alex Adams are joined by scroll-saw artist and DIY renovator Patsy Dobbs (@dobbsdesignco).

• On the Bench: Patsy is crafting a maker-themed bicycle for Maker Camp with saw-blade wheels and an anvil seat. Alex Adams is batch-sanding 3D printer stands and creating backlit lithophanes. Alex Duffey is finishing 100 game boxes, building Dungeon Crawler Carl loot crates, reviewing Vectric Spark for Mac, and 3D printing Mecha Chameleon shop figures.
• Shop Mishaps: Duffey broke four CNC bits pushing roughing speeds and fixed two 3D printer jams. Adams stripped his CNC spindle mount, fought clogged nozzles, and frankensteined two dead robot vacuums from spare parts. Patsy dealt with a contractor nightmare fixing her house's chimneys.
• Maker Shoutouts: Highlights include @badlands_dwellers (carved wood Pokémon), @gehajdukcreations (curved home decor), @rfosterdesign (sci-fi wall art), @rickytevee (retro TV builds), @thesoftasylum (marbled silk scarves), and Andy Bird’s Will It CNC? testing bone and soap.
• DIY Projects: The crew discussed upcycling and home builds, including Duffey’s porch dragonflies made from fan blades and banisters, Adams’ painted log jack-o'-lanterns and DIY garage solar backup, and Patsy’s vintage dresser-to-vanity bathroom flip.
• Community News: Peter has left Another Woodshop Podcast after six years (and will guest on Whatcha Makin' next month). Upcoming events include the Texas Woodworking Festival in Austin, the Vectric User Group in Nashville, and Maker Camp in the Catskills.