I'm a home/hobbiest "power-user". Been thinking of buying a CarveWright since I saw the Sears version many years ago. Lately, I've had to revisit this, as several "projects" I've been asked to do for friends have involved some custom sign making.
However, I have to be honest, reading a lot of the reports/reviews on these units has me outright spooked. I don't mind dropping $4k (I'd buy the 'ultimate' package) for a new tool I'm going to get a lot of use out of, but after spending some time reading various reviews and "horror" stories from people on the 'net, I wonder if my $4k would be better spent somewhere else. Honestly, I've even been shocked by some of the treatment posters w/ problems have received in this forum.
Now, I understand the concept of "garbage in/garbage out", and as a "hobbiest" and not a professional woodworker I understand that oftentimes people's problems are the result of their own doing, either thru ignorance, misunderstanding, or just plain stupidity. I also understand that the "squeeky wheel gets the grease", and generally the only time you hear someone complaining is when they have a complaint -- you rarely hear someone speaking up when they have heaps of praise to throw.
For these reasons, I don't want to dismiss such a purchase outright, but I'm definitely skiddish and would like to assay my concerns if at all possible. I was wondering if there were any owners on this forum in Massachusetts (I'm south of Boston) who wouldn't mind me stopping over for an "in house" demo and some honest chit-chat about the units, their benefits, pitfalls, etc. If so, drop me a message... I'd love to see how this product works first-hand and get some honest feedback.