Board keeps "walking" away from edge

[bergerud]

Virtual board refers to the board in Designer.

Crank the head of your machine near the top and compare the sides to see if it looks level. Go up just under the flats of the posts. (I wonder since it sounds like the walking was caused by the right edge of the board not being parallel. Maybe it is getting more force on the right side than it should.)

[johnsonswamp]

A vast majority of the stuff I cut out when I used the machine was 48"+, my machine is VERY picky with boards that long so I learned to run them through the table saw to square it up and put tape on roller edge before even attempting a carve. I have had some boards from the lumber yard and big box's be off by 1/4" width in spots and/or on one end. Without running them through saw 1st mine would walk nearly every time. Head pressure being right becomes very noticeable on longer board cut outs also. I got to where I'd make the machine measure 2-3 times to ensure board was staying lined up before letting it cut. It gets brought up a LOT, but if you have sand paper belts and doing lots of long cuts do yourself a favor and cut 1/4-3/8 off the inside edge as that sucker can and will roll up on you quickly.

[lynnfrwd]

Also on long boards, check your outfeed tray height and then anything over 3' needs additional outfeed rollers. These must also be a the correct height, so that the board does not "lift off" of the tracking roller when it hits the outfeed roller. The 7" rule is very important in carving & cutting a long board as it can "lift off" of the tracking roller or "tilt" when it pops out from under that 80-90 lbs of pressure the rollers are holding it down with.

Long boards can be done, but you need to be aware of potential points of failure. The longer the board the more potential for miss-tracking.

Heavy duty traction belts and TAPE will also help improve the odds of good tracking!

Who used to say "It's all about the roller."?

[Digitalwoodshop]

Also on long boards, check your outfeed tray height and then anything over 3' needs additional outfeed rollers. These must also be a the correct height, so that the board does not "lift off" of the tracking roller when it hits the outfeed roller. The 7" rule is very important in carving & cutting a long board as it can "lift off" of the tracking roller or "tilt" when it pops out from under that 80-90 lbs of pressure the rollers are holding it down with.

Long boards can be done, but you need to be aware of potential points of failure. The longer the board the more potential for miss-tracking.

Heavy duty traction belts and TAPE will also help improve the odds of good tracking!

Who used to say "It's all about the roller."?

Who is on first.... ?

[Bigtyme]

I carved a 10 foot long oak 1 x 12 earlier this year and it was all about the right support. I was very nervous about the long carve and actually carved the same size board out of pine first. They both came out well and I know the machine can handle them as long as they are supported properly...