My Story

I’m not a professional woodworker
by any stretch of the imagination.

First, I’m always asked what L3 stands for. My initials are LLL - so growing up I was jokingly called L-Cube. I always signed my name with just my initials so when I set up this little business I wanted to use my initials in some way. So L3 it was. Then if you look at the logo it is 3 L’s put together to look like a cube.

My dad carved things in wood most of my life. Later in life, he started carving birds and things from wood and got very good at it. He tried and tried to teach me but I did not have the patience for it. But I have always loved working with wood. I’ve always wanted a nice shop to play in but never had the space or the time.

I’m now getting ready to retire from the company I started and have run for the last 35 years sitting at a desk. I know that I need something to do to keep me busy and to stay out of my wife’s hair so I don’t bug her all day. So, my idea was that I would finally get my shop.

I set up a small shop and wanted to play but never really did - until I went to visit my son Josh in Phoenix. He had a CNC machine and showed it to me. I was fascinated by what he could do. He mostly used it to make parts for his hobby race car and parts for his drone’s and camera equipment. But I saw what I wanted to do - so I went home and ordered the same machine he had. My youngest son Chris came and helped me build it, then Josh came up and we got it running. I’ve been hooked ever since.

I was amazed at what I could make this CNC do. I started playing with different signs, crosses and anything else I could think of. And people seemed to like these things and started buying them. My wife found a metal cross she liked and asked if I could make it out of wood. Of Course - and I did. I showed it to friends and they liked it and said I should try selling them. That’s when I set up my Etsy store and started selling more than I ever thought possible. Still not a lot, but for my little business it keeps me busy.

The next big addition to my shop was my lathe. WOW, what fun this is. Although the CNC is amazing, it is mostly computer design and the machine does the bulk of the work. However, with the lathe, I get to be as creative as I can and design things with my hands as I make them. I’m so hooked. I can’t believe how much fun it is. All the bowls, candles, and tea lights are shown in the picture above are my first creations for friends and family for Christmas of 2021.

I can’t wait to see what else I can do in my shop now. I’m currently making most things with my CNC and Lathe but want to expand out to other items as well. So if there is something you’d like made, please don’t hesitate to send me an idea and I’ll let you know if I think I can do it or not.

Thank You for taking the time to visit my online store and for reading my story.