Carving a Bar Top...

[jdlink01]

Hello,
I have done a lot of projects on my machine, but have yet to post on here. I am about to start my first "large" project. A friend of mine asked me to carve a bar top for him. I am slightly intimidated by this project, since he already has the piece of wood he wants to use and the wall built. It measures 72"x14"x1 1/16". Its a solid glued up piece of oak. I am hoping that it is not too heavy for the machine. I am wondering if anyone has any ideas about how to get this right the first time. Though the piece is "replaceable", I really do not want to be paying for a new piece of wood. I know given the length of the board I will probably need to put it on a sled to keep it under the rollers, I figure I can do this with a few 1x8's planed down and joined. I also am planning on making a "draft copy" out of some decent 2x8s I plane down and glue together.
Here are a few pics of what I plan on carving. I am putting his Name in the middle, but for privacy reasons I removed it.
Any Ideas or help is appreciated!
Thanks,
Josh

[TerryT]

I have done a couple of signs from 6 to 8 feet long. But they were cedar and redwood. Oak may verywell be too heavy. Long boards will have more of a tendancy to "move" and make the traction belts travel and roll on the edge so you have to be very careful that the board is tracking straight. Use roller stands on both infeed and outfeed to support the weight. Let us know how it goes.

[chief2007]

Use a roller stand on each side to support the weight, anytime you are carving something more than 3 feet you should use roller stands.

[jdlink01]

Thanks TerryT,
The weight is my biggest concern. I will use the outfeed rollers and keep and eye on the belts.
Josh

[lawrence]

Well first off- welcome! Your friend likes the right teams :)

Here's a couple of resources I used
http://www.woodworkerssource.com/board_foot_calculator.php
http://www.csgnetwork.com/lumberweight.html

I would be VERY concerned about weight issues. Your top is approximately 10 board feet which is on average going to weigh around 50 lbs. You could perhaps get away with it if you use rollers to support some weight, but I would still be worried that your tracking roller would give you an error as heavy wide objects really can cause some problems. I would suggest you carve the top in several sections using a sled and then re-glue the top back together. Take this advice for what it is worth as I have not ever attempted something this large personally- I'm just saying that I would be quite concerned at any weight over the LHR weight limit of 20 lbs.

I can't wait to see the project finished and look forward to hearing about/seeing more of your work

Lawrence

[jdlink01]

I would love to cut the board in half then reglue it together, the problem is that he already had a local cabinet manufacturer glue the pieces together, and I am hesitant to cut that joint apart. I already had to replace my X drive gear once, I have a new one on reserve that I do not want to have to use. I am going to have to try to just support the board from both sides as much as I don't want to have to do that. I do appreciate you taking the time to do the "tough" math for me, I will keep this in mind. I may talk to him about what might have to be done.

On a side note, why doesn't LHR develop an Industrial sized machine for large scale stuff? Anyone else wonder this? I have found that I am doing way more work on the machine than I initially thought. My wife thinks that stuff is wearing out too fast, I attribute it to over use. I know that I am doing more projects in a week than the designers anticipated.

Thanks for the help, I will post the finished products as soon as they are done! (Hopefully)

Josh

[mtylerfl]

Hi Josh,

I think that mass of wood is really pushing the machine's designed capabilities (weight limit exceeded). However, if you are "brave" and want to try it anyway, it will be interesting if you are successful!

The most challenging part on a long hunk of wood like that (besides the excessive weight of this particular one) is to align your outfeed support PERFECTLY. Gravity pulling down on several feet of the piece "hanging out" beyond the machine's pressure rollers and tables when carving at one end or the other will be a concern for something this heavy. Any "tipping" during the project run can ruin the piece and/or force an abort, so take your time when setting up the outfeed supports.

As far as "why doesn't LHR develop an Industrial sized machine for large scale stuff", I believe that has always been a consideration on their part, but there are plenty of machines already available for that purpose. For example, the ShopBot I use is called the "Buddy" and it operates almost exactly the same way a CarveWright does...the material is physically moved along the x-axis, just like my CarveWright machines. The Buddy can be configured to cut an area from 2' x 4', 4' x 4' and 4' x 8' depending on what options you purchase (i.e., length of the Power Stick extrusion assembly). If you were to duplicate my current Buddy configuration (4' x 4' carve/cutting area) it will cost you around $18,000.

I'm confident a large-format CarveWright could certainly be made also, but it's anyone's guess at what the price would be if it were made comparable to something along the lines of what is already available. My guess is they could make a machine that would come in a very attractive price point. I still think "it's a miracle" how capable the existing CarveWright machines are - especially at such a fantastic bargain/price!

Keep us posted on how you make out with this project!

[jdlink01]

Thanks for the info. I am considering using an outfeed table, instead of just a roller. I have a work table that is a modified hospital bed table, the kind that the wheels roll under the bed, it has a larger top on it. I am thinking about using it for one of the out feed tables, it should offer about 4 feet of support.