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View Full Version : I am thinking of buying



avboy5000
01-15-2007, 09:28 AM
I am thinking of buying on of the machines, but I trying to figure out if it would be worth it. I have downloaded the free trial of the software and that is pretty simple to figure out. But I have seen mixed reviews from everyone, some people really love it and some people really hate it.

What I am thinking of doing with the machine is making plaques are such to sell at the flea market or something like that. I am a college student who has some money in savings and dont really want to start dipping into it and I was just wondering if I would be able to make extra money with the machine (of course after it paid for itself).

BobHill
01-15-2007, 12:09 PM
Avboy,

Like every entrepreneur, you make a start and do your best and take your chances (just like the CarveWright people are doing). It's then up to your business acumen, the public and a touch of Lady Luck. There are no guarantees in this world. Having said that, if you don't try, you'll never know or certainly never gain what's potential. The machine is up to it if you are.

Bob

steevo
01-15-2007, 12:23 PM
Hold off my friend. Reading these posts and experience I have had with my machine since I got it friday tells me it is not quite ready for prime time. It is in v 1.0 now it seems - wait for service pack1 so to speak. I would wait for the next generation - on the edge of bringing mine back. Waiting for tech support to call me back - this will be a pivotal call..

BenCraig
01-22-2007, 04:12 AM
Having said that, if you don't try, you'll never know or certainly never gain what's potential. The machine is up to it if you are.

One thing that I love about this forum is the amount of optimism. I am a very optimistic person. I tell people with the glass half empty mindset the following:
'No reason to be pessimistic. It probably won't work out for you anyway.'

BC

Greybeard
01-22-2007, 04:34 AM
Hi Ben.
And you think you are optimistic ?
Over on this side of the pond, I don't yet have the possibility of getting a machine until they design a 240volt version !
But I'm hanging in here, because, even though I'm still working on building my own cncs(note the plural!) I can see that the cw is exactly what I need for some of my projects, and it will be a lot less frustrating than to have to build my own, never mind the software problems as well.

By the way, what gets you up at this time of day ? I assume your home time is in the early hours at the moment.
Regards
John

BenCraig
01-22-2007, 05:35 AM
By the way, what gets you up at this time of day ? I assume your home time is in the early hours at the moment.
Regards
John

A horrible case of insomnia here lately. I'm an Insurance Catastrophe Adjuster. So, sometimes I'm on the road for months at a time, working my butt off. Then there are times like these... Where I sit at home... Just me and my tools. lol. I am a third generation wood smith, and I am excited about bringing increased technology into the family legacy.


I don't yet have the possibility of getting a machine until they design a 240volt version

Is there a transformer that could convert the 240V to the proper voltage? Another possibility would be a generator that would give the correct voltage output.

BC

HandTurnedMaple
01-22-2007, 10:24 AM
There is probably a frequency issue also. In the US we run 60 Hz and in Europe they run at 50 Hz (or used to). When I was on my way to Riyadh in 1990, I stopped over night at RAF Mildenhal. I thought I was real smart because out of the 10 of us going on that flight, I was the only one who brought an alarm clock. Since we stayed at the on-base billeting (hotel) the outlets were 110V. So I told everyone I would set my alarm and wake them all up. I ended up waking on my own 20 minutes before the bus to the airfield arrived. The digital clock was working, except it kept slower time.

My understanding is that the digital circuitry uses each cycle on the AC sine wave to mark off a specific amount of time. Since the US system cycles 60 times a second and the Euros ticks 50 times a second, I lost a 1/10th of a second every second. Therefore I lost 1.2 hours in just 12 hours of having it plugged in.

A generator is not a bad suggestion, but I would lay money that the generators available to him also run 50 Hz. And fuel is generally 3-4x the price there, unless that has also changed. We used to pay the same price for a liter when I lived in Italy that the US was paying per gallon.

Greybeard
01-22-2007, 12:08 PM
Hi guys.

Don't think I didn't try all sorts of pleading with the CW team when I first found this site.
With my background knowledge that stretches across a mixture of sciences and crafts, (I have also had 5 years in the army looking after electronic/mechanical equipment), I could see that the provision of a supply to match the US was no great problem.
However the team saw no way of providing the standard of support that is evident on these pages across the pond, so even my assurance that I would purchase on the basis of no physical support, only electronic(email etc) was not enough to persuade them.

So my long wait will be partially occupied by becoming a whiz with the software ! :)

John

menewfy
01-22-2007, 12:53 PM
i saw that there was one on fleabay so maybe if you were willing to take one without warrenty that might be an option altough shippping might be a tad expensive.

tim

Greybeard
01-22-2007, 01:31 PM
Tim - can you give me the item number. I can't find it at the moment.
Regards
John

BenCraig
01-22-2007, 01:32 PM
I found it under a search for 'compucarve'

http://cgi.ebay.com/Craftsman-CompuCarve-Compact-Woodworking-Machine-T2239_W0QQitemZ140075884147QQihZ004QQcategoryZ4641 3QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item14 0075884147

Item # is 140075884147 & the auction closes today @ around 4:30 CST.

HandTurnedMaple
01-22-2007, 01:33 PM
Its a CompuCarve: 140075884147.

ChipMonk
01-22-2007, 01:34 PM
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140075884147&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:US:12

Although at > $1,900.00 I think you might want to consider the Craftsman Club sale in a couple of days at $ 1,699.00 that would at least have a warranty ;)

HandTurnedMaple
01-22-2007, 01:35 PM
It only ships to US, Greybeard.

ChipMonk
01-22-2007, 01:39 PM
Yep. Sorry about that Greybeard. I did not realize you were in UK.
From looking at the recent post of people getting theirs from Sears they seem to have a lot of issues so maybe waiting until some of the bugs are worked out might be a plus.