Recarving

[Frederick_P]

So I was reading a thread about how it was not a good idea to open the cover to pause a carve (something about electrical arcing in the switch) but to use the stop button instead. One push pauses the carve, a second push cancels.

Well, the carve I am doing is a seven hour carve (optimal setting) where I am carving a large piece of purple heart that is bordered by 2.5" oak on the sides and 3.5" oak at the ends, all joined with biscuits and thickness planed to make it a nice flat board for the machine. It will eventually become a raised panel for one of our kitchen cupboard doors. So you understand, this is not a scrap piece of pine we are talking about.

Yup... you guessed it. I pulled a Homer Simpson and accidentally hit the stop button twice while the carve was about 60% finished. DOH! But in my defense, when I hit the stop button the first time the cut motor didn't stop, and so I thought I had not pushed it hard enough. Wrong!!!!

So now what to do? There is no way to get the machine to pick up from where it left off and building a new piece to carve is expensive and time consuming. So I decided that I would just start the carve over using the same piece and hopefully the machine would be accurate enough to exactly trace over where it had gone before, leaving no evidence of the first doomed encounter.

The results?? PERFECT! My respect for the machine just took a huge leap forward!

[dbfletcher]

Actually there kinda is. You can add another carve region and set the depth ot 0 over stuff that has already been carved. Search to forum... I know ther were a few techniques for getting around this. You may have to add some masking tape to fool the machine.. depends on your carve.

Doug Fletcher

Whoops.. didnt see you already just reran the project. Great to hear it worked.

[James RS]

Fredrick,
I had the same thing happen I tried the stop button and the machine wouldn't stop.

[robbrigg2]

Here is a redneck way I've used.

If the carve was done prior to the cut out I simply delete all of the carved regions off of the file (save it as a different file) and then re run it with only the cut outs.

If the carve was partially finished and still had more to do I have put a piece of paper over the board for the start up. It allows the board sensor to get an acurate reading, then I restart the carve. The only time I have had problmes with this is when the carve has been too close to the edge of the baord (at the front of the machine) in this case when it is finding the surface prior to carving it will go to deep unless you fill the void with some scraps.

Of course you have to take all of this stuff out before you begin (except for the paper but I would still remove it).

I hope this helps.... I know it's redneck but when your talking about a piece of expensive wood like PUrple heart desperate times call for deparate measures.

Redneck Rob

[Frederick_P]

Well, as the saying goes.... "Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me!" So this is my last 7 hour carve for the cabinet door panels. The carve has been successfully interrupted for dust collection a few times and now it's about 90% done.

I press the stop button. The cut motor keeps on spinning. Do I press the stop button again? Noooooo!! I learned my lesson from last time! No way I am going to make that mistake again!

So I opened the lid.

The cut motor stops and the keypad menu mocks me with the words "1. Project Menu". DOH!

But now, armed with new knowledge imparted to me by the sage carveguru Doug Fletcher, I calmly shut the machine down and remove the memory card. Well.... OK.... maybe there was a little swearing, stomping and crying like a baby, but after that, I swear I calmly removed the card.

As instructed, I covered the already carved regions with a zero depth carve region, loaded the board into the machine and proceeded to run through the initial steps to initiate the carve. Then, the ominous message popped up: "Center on Length?"

My finger quivered over the green enter button as the two sides of my brain did combat. In my mind I am visualizing the project layout with all but the uncarved end showing. Does this mean that this uncarved end will now be centered on my board, obliterating the perfectly good carve that was there? I could almost hear the electronic cackle emanating from the bowls of the machine's circuitry.

I shut the machine down and went back to the computer. I pulled one end of the carve region over until just a Vewy Widdle Bit of the underlying pattern emerged. Now confident that I was "made in the shade", I started the carve again with the new pattern. With the exception of a couple of false starts because I forgot that the pattern in Designer was 180 degrees from the way I was looking at my board (DOH!) I finally was able to finish the carve in about 30 minutes.

The results? Not so good. There are distinct steps between the region of the old carve and the carve to finish the pattern. When I ran the carve from the beginning, the results were pretty much perfect. The difference isn't enough to throw away the board. A little sanding, scraping and creative shaping will make the ridges all but invisible, but it has been an educational experience.

So the lesson I have learned is that, regardless of what the risk may be, I will pause my carves by opening the blasted lid! But now... back to the drawing board to work out the ULTIMATE Carvewright dust collector so I won't have to open the lid at all!

[James RS]

Fredrick that is exactly what happened to me, except I said the heck with it and started over.
My piece wasn't that big

[dbfletcher]

Sorry the hear it zero depth carve region didnt work out so well. I have done it both ways.. just a recarve of the whole thing and the zero depth method... a have also just 'hide' stuff that has been carved. Most of the time any of the methods work fine.

Another thing you can do (possibly), is set the jog to touch option to on, and using a dremel or some other tool.. take a couple of thousands off the top surface of the board (in a scrap area).. and then when it prompt to find surface, jog to that new 'lower' area. This basically lets you run the whole project again, but just taking a few more thousands off the entire project. I've been able to save some boards that way too.

Doug Fletcher

[robbrigg2]

Sorry the hear it zero depth carve region didnt work out so well. I have done it both ways.. just a recarve of the whole thing and the zero depth method... a have also just 'hide' stuff that has been carved. Most of the time any of the methods work fine.

Another thing you can do (possibly), is set the jog to touch option to on, and using a dremel or some other tool.. take a couple of thousands off the top surface of the board (in a scrap area).. and then when it prompt to find surface, jog to that new 'lower' area. This basically lets you run the whole project again, but just taking a few more thousands off the entire project. I've been able to save some boards that way too.

Doug Fletcher

Doug, this is a great suggestion I had not thought of but one I can absolutely working. Thanks for sharing it.

[dbfletcher]

One thing I should add.. and I dont know if this is absolutely required... but it's cheap and in my mind it makes sense.... if I have an aborted carve (for whatever reason) I always put a strip of masking tape down the middle of the board where the sensor measures looking for the end of the board. I dont really know if you have to do this... but i can't see it hurting and it seems to measure better that way. I have had a few with deeper regions, and the machine decided that must be the end of the board instead of where it really was. Perhaps some with thousands of hours on their machine can let us know how they do it.

Doug Fletcher

[Frederick_P]

Doug,
Thanks for all the great advice. It's people like you that make phoning tech support the second idea instead of the first.

[Wilbur]

I have done this twice and not knowing the Tec workings.
I just started over leaving the board in place.
I watched the bit to see that it started in the same place it did on the first carve.
It ran just like it was carving the first time and when it got to the part that was not carved it started.
Turned out just fine.
I have learned that for me, it is best to not stop the machine when it gets started until it is done.

Wilbur

[TIMCOSBY]

14 hour carves without stopping to clean it out. it was designed to do it that way. try it you'll like it.