CNC router accelerates custom van business

CNC router accelerates custom van business June 12, 2026 | 10:44 am CDT

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Video

Woodworking Industry News

CNC router accelerates custom van business

By

William Sampson

June 12, 2026 | 10:44 am CDT

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TJ Gaskill says CNC automation was the right choice for his small custom van interior business.

There's a huge misperception that automation is only for big production shops. A small California shop that makes custom van interiors went from cutting everything by hand to using a CNC router, and owner says it dramatically moved his business forward.

In a recent YouTube video presented by Laguna Tools, TJ Gaskill of GT Vans in Long Beach, California, talks about his journey into CNC automation that began with talking to another small shop owner who was using a Laguna CNC to build skate ramps. Gaskill saw the potential for van interiors and moved a Laguna Tools SmartShop M CNC router into his shop.

GT Vans built this custom interior for a local television news station and even put the station's channel in a lighted feature in the ceiling.

He says the machine was easy to learn and they use it for a wide range of projects in making custom van interiors. He shows off a recent project building out a van for a local television news station, complete with custom lighting details.

Gaskill said he wishes they would have gotten the CNC sooner, and he recommends other shops, "Just go for it."

Watch the video for the full story.

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Automation and New Technology

About the author

William Sampson

William Sampson is a lifelong woodworker, and he has been an advocate for small-scale entrepreneurs and lean manufacturing since the 1980s. He was the editor of Fine Woodworking magazine in the early 1990s and founded WoodshopBusiness magazine, which he eventually sold and merged with CabinetMaker magazine. He helped found the Cabinet Makers Association in 1998 and was its first executive director. Today, as editorial director of Woodworking Network and FDMC magazine he has more than 20 years experience covering the professional woodworking industry. His popular "In the Shop" tool reviews and videos appear monthly in FDMC.

Read more articles from this author

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