First project a failure

[chirotla]

I purchased a refurbished Craftsman. The coin caddy was my first project. The carving portion went well, but when it goes to "cut out" the project it seems to "lose" its mark. The first portion (scrolls) it does well, the second item is cut into about 1/8" and then the last portion (bank/coin holder) is about 1/4" into the project. I have done the project twice with the same results. The second time I used a board 2" longer than recommended and it did a better job of cutting the project out (created tabs) but it still got off track. Is this a machine problem or software? Thanks for the help

[SteveEJ]

Hello and Welcome,

A couple of things.

1 - Make sure the board is the length of the project in Designer + 7 inches (Unless you build that factor into Designer) to make sure it stays under the rollers.
2 - Place a strip of masking tape on the board that goes face down on the keyboard side of the machine. This will make sure the board makes good contact with the brass roller.
3 - Make sure there is a rubber 'O' ring on the brass roller.

If all these are OK and it still happens then the experts here will have to chime in..

Good Luck,

[SAA3840]

Steve, you cannot build the extra seven inches into Designer. Whatever the length of the board in Designer is, you have to add the seven inches to that. If you program a twenty inch board in Designer, you have to use a twenty-seven inch long board AND tell the machine to stay under the rollers.

[dbfletcher]

Steve, you cannot build the extra seven inches into Designer. Whatever the length of the board in Designer is, you have to add the seven inches to that. If you program a twenty inch board in Designer, you have to use a twenty-seven inch long board AND tell the machine to stay under the rollers.

Thats not entirely accurate. You create the project in designer.. and if you answer YES to stay under rollers the board you load has to be at least 7 inches longer than the board in designer. OR.. you can add the 7 inches to the board in designer, and then you can safely choose "NO" when it asks to stay under rollers. This will also insure the board stays under the rollers during the project.

I beleive if you dont add the 7 inches in designer, then you have to "center" on board... choosing place on end will not insure the project always stays under the rollers if using the first method. (Not 100% sure on this point becuase I never do it that way.. but i'm sure someone else will clarify)

I believe this is also why LG (and others) reccomend always adding the 7 inches within designer itself and then saying "no" to the stay under rollers prompt.

Thanks,

Doug Fletcher

[Woodhacker]

I have had excellent results by making the virtual board in Designer the exact size I want the finished product to be. Then tape or hot glue a 4" piece to one end. By putting the untaped end into the machine first (pointing to the left when looking at the keyboard), you can safely tell it to NOT stay under the rollers and to place the carving on the end (corner). The extra 4" piece of wood taped on gives you the safety factor you need. Hope this helps.

[dbfletcher]

I have had excellent results by making the virtual board in Designer the exact size I want the finished product to be. Then tape or hot glue a 4" piece to one end. By putting the untaped end into the machine first (pointing to the left when looking at the keyboard), you can safely tell it to NOT stay under the rollers and to place the carving on the end (corner). The extra 4" piece of wood taped on gives you the safety factor you need. Hope this helps.

If you are only adding the 4" piece at one end, doesnt that allow the possibility of the other end to come out from under the roller?

Doug Fletcher

[SteveEJ]

Add a 3.5" rectangle to each end of the board in designer and place work area between that. You can glue, tape or have a solid continuous piece and select the proper options on the machine.

More than one way to carve a board.. :-)

[chirotla]

Thanks for the info...I did check and there is (one) rubber gasket around the board sensor, but it feels like there should be two...??? I will try the tape on the board to see if that is the problem. I find it odd that both times the machine made the same error if it is a board slippage problem.

[dench]

in my view the the simple way is to do your project in designer like 10x20and the board you going to use 10x27 when ask stay under roller no it will be anyways

[SteveEJ]

Thanks for the info...I did check and there is (one) rubber gasket around the board sensor, but it feels like there should be two...??? I will try the tape on the board to see if that is the problem. I find it odd that both times the machine made the same error if it is a board slippage problem.

You would be surprised. Masking tape on board or sled where the tracking roller makes contact solves a lot of issues.

Al has stock in 3M for masking tape! :-)

[SteveEJ]

in my view the the simple way is to do your project in designer like 10x20and the board you going to use 10x27 when ask stay under roller no it will be anyways

I have done them both ways and both are effective.