American Made: How VICE HARDWARE Created Their Own Products | Machine Shop Tour

Join us on an inspiring journey with Cory from ‪@vicehardware‬, a brand that started from humble beginnings and evolved into a CNC powerhouse.
From the first terrifying purchase of a mini mill that cost more than a truck, to developing and selling high-quality, titanium-based wallets and tools, this story is a testament to entrepreneurial spirit and technical prowess.
Watch as we explore the intricate processes involved in machining, from dealing with titanium's challenges to laser engraving and anodizing. Learn about the journey from outsourcing to bringing production in-house, and the critical decisions that fueled the brand's growth.
To learn more about Vice Hardware, visit vicehardware.com/
or follow them on social media:
Facebook: / vicehardware
Instagram: / vicehardware
Pinterest: / vicehardware
KZbin: ‪@vicehardware‬
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[@jcx5663]

A lot of these success stories seam to kickoff around 2020

[@anklebiterwoodworks2818]

So much of what was addressed in this in his shop touched on what my journey. Built my CNC from scratch, taught myself CAD and CAM in Fusion360 from KZbin. Love seeing such small shops and people who put themselves out there and do it because of their passion. So much fun learning about other peoples' journey. This is why we do it.

[@xyzspec82]

Bro is humble and deserves all success. This is so cool 😊

[@OhHeyTrevorFlowers]

I'm in a very different product space (retrocomputer miniatures) but most garage shop folks are on the same path. Thanks for sharing this inspirational story.

[@BlueOceanDesigns]

Hats off to Corey (and seems to be a great dude too). Love these shop tours/interviews. Keep it up :)

[@iansandusky417]

He certainly is! Thank you very much for checking it out!

[@55418und]

Very nice garage setup. Very nice.

[@adamb2619]

What I find most interesting is that Cory was able to start making a product at a time when material supply went into absolute chaos in the world. I would love to hear him touch base on lessons learned and anything else he manages in regards to material supply.

[@vicehardware]

That was was a wild time for sure! lol

[@allenklingsporn6993]

Considering that the finished goods are very small, it doesn't take a lot of raw materials to keep this shop supplies for months on end. It helps that raw materials didn't have nearly as much trouble as components and finished goods/consumer goods in 2020. I never had issues getting my castings, but I couldn't get a $0.10 washer to save my life.

[@living9377]

Good man, nice story. Made in the USA 🇺🇸Congrats for following your dreams! Stay humble! 🍻

[@suzylarry1]

This is nice to see a small shop start and run . It appears to be uphill but he is making it ! good job !

[@ItsAnAddiction]

There he is!!! I got mine in my pocket EVERY day, such a great product and top notch machining. F22 lets go

[@tadpoleshow]

Bridgeport $1000. Wow nice comeup. Congratulations on your business endeavor. Im jealous as a 40 year machinist not having the nerve to go out my own. I even developed and manufactured a few products that sold well but i quit because of my commitment to my full-time job. Working till midnight and going to work 5 hours later was to stressful so i gave up. Scared of losing benefits and the gamble.

[@PatrickWolf-tl5wq]

Love this dude, living from the heart! Feels like the calling i feel. Dont have a product yet tho 🤷‍♂️

[@madmolle1]

This is really cool to see. I'm a machinist as well. My friend and I bought a 3D printer last year and have just been designing and prototyping. Pretty awesome that you started in the same place and the hard work is paying off

[@bluegroovemodelsports9650]

Great video and great interview. Nice shop layout , great business vision . Thanks for sharing

[@iansandusky417]

Thank you very much for checking it out!

[@mackduffy2076]

Awesome video and really cool product

[@High_Road]

Thumbs up, great video. Corey - thanks for sharing your adventure and I will check out your website to grab an item or two.

[@JCCustomsCNC]

Amazing story! Love to see it! Corey seems like a awesome dude.

[@tylergilbertson4086]

That reminds me a lot of how I got my start at well. Just keep on the grind, pick up side jobs when needed and keep moving forward!

[@iansandusky417]

Couldn’t agree more!

[@jmooch59]

Made in the USA baby!! Great job man!

[@ranjandangol1299]

Amazing job, it's just what I want to do.

[@Petertje94]

5:31 great rescue😆

[@bojangles5226]

a CNC router table with a 0.5in aluminum bed would be perfect for running 50+ parts at a time and they have auto tool changers. You can also get them with coolant misters on them. you'd just need to build a enclosed to keep the shavings contained. You can machine in threaded holes for fixturing your parts to and depending on the machine you could have anywhere from 30inx40in to 4ft by 8ft of workable machining area.

[@AlChemicalLife]

Man... i used to live close by and didnt know about this guy. Maybe next time im in town i can say hi ! Thats a cool ass shop and his story is pretty inline with mine except i dont have the HAAS yet. Also not the EDC stuff and more specialized, custom , non sparking tooling for the explosives industry.

[@pinkeye00]

He glitters like a machine shop magician.

[@mediaburn2]

This is what the right attitude looks like.

[@jbrownson]

Awesome story and shop, thanks for the vid

[@iansandusky417]

Thank you very much for checking it out!

[@mntoddster]

What are you using for a rotary phase converter

[@Bullock4317]

I love mine! Incredibly durable too.

[@iansandusky417]

They’re so sick, I use mine almost daily!

[@vicehardware]

That you brotha, we appreciate you!

[@chrisfrisch1347]

that bridgeport, they just dont make tools like that anymore, would love to have one

[@A8AWD]

Great story Cory. Recommend checking out DCC clips over ulticlip for the knives. Swapped out everything I own with them and never going back

[@vicehardware]

I appreciate that, I'll give it a look👊

[@woodworking_automation]

very cool, good job Vice!

[@fan-i-am]

Did this guy start BEFORE ridge wallet?

[@clutch2315]

Great question. You got me wondering now too.

[@crazytrutas]

This is great. Good luck to him.

[@TrPrecisionMachining]

good video Ian

[@freedomenergy6644]

Thanks for sharing. What 3 d software did you learn to use?

[@vicehardware]

Started on Solidworks then over to fusion 360.

[@stout890]

No matter what you tell us about his success story, it will still summarize into " I ROLLED THE DICE"

[@stout890]

and also you need a contract to float you through till you dice roll pays off

[@OhHeyTrevorFlowers]

and keep your day job until the money works

[@vicehardware]

@@OhHeyTrevorFlowers Yes!! haha

[@tannersword1]

22:27 Easy bake oven had me laughing hard

[@returnedfrompanama]

How many square feet is the garage?

[@anthonyoregan1651]

You should look at a DMG DMP35 5 Axis for these products with a Siemens control.

[@user-jg8vg7bc6f]

What brand laser is it?

[@BluCoastPrecision]

Just purchased a mini mill for the garage!

[@gtiguy1992able]

Waiting on that American flag colorway and it will be time to buy

[@woodmanengineering9708]

If you dont have 3 phase how are you converting to run the haas?

[@quickturn66]

I have a 5hp 3 phase motor in my basement, spin it up with a pony motor then send 2 wire 220 to it and it will accelerate up to speed. The third wire will now have an output. Send the 3 wires to my garage to run my machines. Been doing it for 25 years. The third wire will be somewhat out of phase and high on voltage and the motor on your machine will only have about three quarters of its stated output but that rarely matters.

[@woodmanengineering9708]

I have a phase converter. I built it. works great. But using it to power a haas mill or a high load Lathe is a different story. BTW, A weak third leg is no bueno.@@quickturn66

[@bradelford363]

Phase converter. Had one in my house to run a commercial walk in freezer

[@douglassmith2055]

Get a real rotary phase controller with voltage monitoring. Your machines will last.

[@quickturn66]

@@douglassmith2055 my machines have been happily running for 25 years

[@gpav1]

A grand for the Bridgeport …. Whatttttt

[@ProvokedTomcat]

Harvey, OSG, Walter worth the money.

[@returnedfrompanama]

How does he run 3-phase power?

[@amjadmohmood6391]

HAAS mini mills can run off single phase. The super mini mills are 3 phase I believe

[@donavinnezar]

i have a similar product i want to make also related to one of my vices . but all i have access to is manual lathes at work so its hard to find time and material to make anything , ive been itching to get a minilathe . or a second hand proper lathe like a colchester student but i just have to get more education or get a new job elsewhere so i can acctually afford to get something

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Epic

[@albongo3949]

That’s the dream, hope the pay off will be worth it.

[@kenwgoins]

Did he say when the Brass Cigar Tray will be released?

[@PaulG.369]

How cool! What software is that @ 20:50 ?

[@vicehardware]

Ez cad 👊

[@TheInterflex]

Had a look at the web site. He sells a product called a B2 bomber and I still have no clue what it does or what it is. It looks really well made though.

[@drmvh]

I believe it's a weapon that one could also use to break safety / auto glass

[@grantguy8933]

❤❤

[@VACatholic]

How tall are you? You make all the other guys look tiny.

[@iansandusky417]

Haha just 6’4!

[@douglassmith2055]

Height is wayy overrated.

[@iansandusky417]

@@douglassmith2055100%, I hit my head a LOT

[@OhHeyTrevorFlowers]

I'm the same size and yeah, fitting into small cars and airplane seats is rough.

[@SeamlessFab]

Oh look another metal clip wallet. Profound.

[@slimdog72]

Rad

[@wallybiv8045]

Did they call each other first and plan on dressing the same ? Hey man I’m wearing a black hat backwards, a black t-shirt and some jeans. What are you wearing ? Response: Same

[@somanathpradhan256]

Hello namaste 🙏. I want work with u. Give me a job. I am cnc programmer turning and milling.

[@truthsearcherforever3211]

Solution to dropping cost is people need to plant their own FOOD!!! Money(1 eye) needs to end. The only reason why we work were we do it’s just to provide 3 things .... Food, house, clothing. That’s it!! Everything else is extra. How the 1 eye system ends is claiming your land n planting your own food. More then 80%!of earths problems will stop. Crime will drop. Hunger will stop!! Trash will go down. Pollution will be tremendously less. Plant plant plant ur own food. N make your cars run in HHO GENERATOR. Water is the future.

[@sentineloffreedomforever1381]

lol.... Must be nice holding tolerances to .002 try .0005

[@RedLakeArchery]

Hardware for.... anything? Or.. im lost here.. I have to watch to find out what this is about. I rather know in the title.

[@HenryOCarmichaelSmith]

Who tf puts a bridgeport on wheels "Hey bro, what precision machinist level did you use to level this mill?" me: "wheels bro. wheels"

[@OctoRon]

Yeah I’m sure he needs .000000001 accuracy when drilling a hole 🤡

[@valkman761]

@@OctoRon with that setup he can't even trust the thousands

[@vicehardware]

​@valkman761 You have alot of Opinions

[@valkman761]

@@vicehardware isn't that what the comments section is for? .. and not for something that's completely irrelevant like your comment

[@Zt3v3]

eh, my home mill and lathe are both on leveling wheels. I understand the limit of my tools.

[@4rnorthwest]

7:55 he said it right there! And THAT is REALLY what this video is about! Your attention is your most valuable asset. KZbin is a shit show....UNLESS you know how to pay your attention well! You’ve got 16 waking hours in a 24 hr period. DONT WASTE IT! don’t wast your attention on anything that you don’t get a return on your time for!

[@juansalgado6212]

Sad to see that Go Woke Go Broke tag. Was loving this guy before that. Damn, the swamp got him.

[@valkman761]

All that's missing is the tattoos and these guys could be twins... what's with the fab and machining community being all gangsta, bad ass dudes with beard and headwears? At least they were proud of their appearance in the early days.

[@iansandusky417]

Sorry, I'll bust out the tuxedo for you next time dad

[@valkman761]

@@iansandusky417 shop coat is enough, you know, those offering some protection, too.

[@vicehardware]

​@@iansandusky417bro we should have done tuxedos, Step brothers style😂

[@Ghostworks999]

@@vicehardwarelol😂

[@OhHeyTrevorFlowers]

Tats are expensive and painful so I'm guessing that they're proud of them,. probably more than a pair of khakis.

[@hartfordsignpost589]

Can't watch this video. I am so sick of the "punk look". Nerds getting tattoos and wearing their hat backwards doesn't make you cool. Try being yourself and stop trying to act like an ex-con.

[@iansandusky417]

Thank you very much for the fashion advice, I'll book my tattoo removal for this weekend. I hope I can make it up to you.

[@hartfordsignpost589]

You're welcome cool dude.@@iansandusky417

[@vettepicking]

Promoting smoking! FAIL! GROSS