My Story

My name is Rob Baker and I am a bona fide Legacy customer. To begin with, I was a municipal police officer and wore a traditional eagle badge for a number of years until the department replaced it with a modern shield (Figure 1). I always felt tremendous pride wearing the symbol but was thankful to have retired so I could get back to my family heritage of woodworking. My father was a cabinet maker who later built homes and complete neighborhoods. My paternal grandfather hailed from Indiana and eventually owned his own cabinet shop in the Pacific Northwest. You could say a passion for woodworking was in our blood.
Once my wife and I retired to North Carolina, I started amassing quality, woodworking tools. I thought I was going to get into custom, one-off furniture making as a hobby. I held that mindset until I happened across the ever-addictive world of CNC woodworking.

I am a tad bit of a perfectionist with just a hint of obsessive-compulsive
disorder so the precision of CNC machining absolutely intrigued me. I
knew right away that it was for me and that I wanted to get into carving badges and military regalia. Did I mention I am a former Marine?
I began looking at small, desktop CNC machines and doing my research only to hear people say, “Go bigger!” This theme resonated in a number of postings in a lot of forums so I thought there must be some credence to it. I quickly changed my focus and started looking at larger, free-standing machines.
I don’t remember how I happened across Legacy Woodworking and the Maverick 3×5 but I was instantly sold. The machine had its own turning center, was fully welded, and just looked impressive. Did I mention I was in the USMC and that perhaps it had been the scarlet red paint that drew me in? 😉😉
I put my personal feelings for the machine aside and told myself to keep shopping for the best machine in my price point. I did and I always came back to the Maverick for a number of reasons (customer service and free training were toward the top of the list).
One Saturday I took some time and met with Legacy Associate Lee Meador of Lynchburg, Virginia who gave me an all-day tour of his Maverick 3×5 and Vectric Aspire. I was SOLD with the hands-on experience and Lee’s awesome creations with his machine.
I ordered my first Maverick CNC and Aspire CAD/CAM software in the spring of 2018. The software came quickly, and I began experimenting with it right away. By the time my Maverick arrived, I had taken a few of the basic software classes offered by both Legacy and Vectric. The very first thing I did when my machine was operational was carve the Marine Corps’ Eagle, Globe, and Anchor in 2D. OohRah!
My first carving was followed by signs for my son-in-law and daughter’s wedding and a US Navy plaque for my swabbie son. This was of course followed by a ton of bric-à-brac spread around the home. My first paying job was the creation of a sign for a local business and it came within months of receiving my machine and I hadn’t even advertised.

By December 2018, I had gotten comfortable with my Maverick and decided a badge that I had been carving and tweaking was good enough to offer for sale to my former colleagues (Figure 2). I posted a picture of the finished badge on a private Facebook page, found a good price point to sell it, and the orders rolled in . . . like a tidal wave.
Word quickly spread within my former department and then trickled out to other surrounding agencies. This prompted a number of special requests for other badges. I could not keep up with the requests and orders, so I employed additional artists to help me with the creation of new models. I now have a nice library of models (Figure 3) and a host of completed sales.
My Maverick is paying its own way, and then some. The process has also helped me to improve my skills resulting in 100% customer satisfaction. What more could a hobbyist woodworker ask for?

Cheers and happy carving!
Rob Baker

Rob,

Your actions and work inspire us.  We thank you for your service to this country and to your community.

Thank you,

Legacy Woodworking Machinery