Woodworking outlet

For 42 years, Robert Fritz created custom cabinetry, installing his first set at just 9 years old in his parents’ home in Wyatt.

A back injury in 2007 marked the end of Fritz’s career in cabinetry. Two of his vertebrae disks had slipped while hanging overhead cabinets, making it nearly impossible for him to lift any weight. Looking for a new outlet, Fritz turned to arts and crafts, creating decorative poles which held flower pots and bird feeders.

At an arts and crafts show, Fritz noticed some woodworking, done with the use of a laser machine. Having worked with wood his entire life, the art enticed Fritz. He had found his new path.

“I said by the end of the month, I would own a laser and do my own thing. And that’s what I did,” said Fritz, who has been displaying his wares this week at the Tri-State Antique Engine and Tractor Show at Jay County Fairgrounds.

The cabinetry company he had started on his own, Wood Bob’s Custom Cabinets, had found a new role – Laser Bob’s Custom Crafts.

Fritz started the business with his son, Danny, shortly after his new woodworking venture began.

Today, Laser Bob’s Custom Crafts can be found in 90 different stores throughout the United States, and he attends 17 exhibition shows every year.

Aside from traveling the country, “I enjoy the people and bringing my artwork to them, and, obviously, there’s the money,” said Fritz.

Fritz has been showing his woodwork at events for 13 years with the help of his wife, Betty. They spend up to a month at a time at exhibition shows, such as at the Delmar County Fair in San Diego, with Robert driving their full-sized RV and Betty hauling the work trailer behind her pickup truck.

“When my trailer pulls up to a show, we have about $100,000 on there … worth of product and equipment,” said Fritz.

His VersaLaser accounts for one-fifth of that pie.

The VersaLaser cuts wood using a carbon dioxide laser, etching designs Fritz creates on his computer. Using the CorelDRAW program, he is able to both use existing designs, such as the U.S. Marine Corps mascot, and create designs, such as a cartoon figure giving the bird. After the wood has been cut, Fritz puts his artwork together, creating wall art, picture frames and other souvenirs.

His favorite piece is a nightlight, which features two horses standing in front of a forest of intricately carved branches.

“Everything is just so fine,” Fritz said about the woodworking.

The nightlight, along with 600 others and various other wooden decorations, are for sale at the Laser Bob’s Custom Crafts tent, located near the grandstand across from the Lionburger stand, where they have been for several of their seven years attending the Tri-State show.

“We have a lot of fun here,” said Fritz, “It’s a very nice show and the people are normally nice.”