My carvewright is junk

[mountaingirl]

Hello,
We have sent this back to the TExas factory twice for repairs which costs $150 round trip. We also had it upgraded for $500 when that came out. Sure enough we get it back and its the same **** different day, "door latch needs repair" even though we sent it back for that and one other time John talked us through it after having to pay for parts again. Now as it carves it going along well and all of a sudden it stops, picks itself up and moves over and inch and starts carving again, what is that about. This is about to turn into a $2500 throw away toy not including the $100s of dollars in repairs. This machine now sits and collects dust for 1.5 yrs....what a shame. The company instead of saying we might have gotton a lemon won't replace it because the warranty is off. Very sad experience with this company and we tell everyone who asks.

[lynnfrwd]

Welcome!

Coming here is a good first step. These guys are great for helping you figure out what is wrong and cheering you on to become a success with your machine.

[Digitalwoodshop]

I see you joined in Feb 2012 so you knew about the forum. WELCOME !!!! First Post. Sorry you had trouble with the machine. The Short Answer to why your machine moved most likely in the X or Length of the Board Direction is that the board lost contact with the brass roller that is behind the keypad and between the 2 sand paper belts. The Board uses the Brass Roller to keep track of the position of the board with the Encoder inside the brass roller. In other words... The Motor moves the board but the computer keeps track of where it is moving by the brass roller...

SO if the board looses contact with the brass roller the motor will keep moving the board until the brass roller is indicating the correct location... Hence.... A Blank Un Carved space along the X Axis or length of the board.....

SO WHY?

#1 reason is that your Sand Paper Belts (IF you have them?) are rolled under at the keypad side and usually just the one under the cut motor. THIS raises the board due to the double thick sand paper and the brass roller can loose contact...

#2 is a defect in the bottom of the board EDGE where the Brass Roller is touching.... as in a Knot or just a dent..... I always suggest running a strip of masking tape along the edge of the board where the brass roller rides. After cutting you will see indentations where the brass roller teeth cut in... This acts like a Rack and Pinion and will not slip.

#3 is the 7 inch rule of wood.... The 2 rubber rollers holding the board to the sand paper belts are 7 inches apart. It is 3.5 inches too the bit from each roller... IF the board is only being held by one roller the board can tip up.... Causing the Brass Roller to loose contact and give you the exact problem...

So enough of the easy answers.... WE call what happened to YOU "Pilot Error" as in more than likely your project crashed due to a procedural error rather than a actually Casualty or Machine Problem.... A Rolled Up Belt would be a Machine Casuality.... A Knot in the under side of the board or a dent is Pilot Error..... Things you learn as you go on with the machine..

WE have all gone through the same problems.... At least the carving problems.... And I own 4 "A" 2007 Machines and they have ALL had the upgrade... So what you got was a better machine in return for your $500.00 bucks....

If you have not... Go to the CarveWright Site and read the TIPS and TRICKS..... Written by US for New Carvers to READ and learn from Our Mistakes.... You have a upgraded machine... It's now up to YOU to take the time and read hundreds of Troubleshooting Posts and Tips and Tricks to KNOW how to do it right.... You will become a HAPPY CARVER....

My website is on the bottom of my post and my phone and email can be found on my site. I welcome Troubleshooting Calls when you are stumped... I get at least a call a week... I am the Un Official CarveWright Fix It Man... and I am FREE...

I depend on making stuff with the CarveWright Machines as almost everything I sell has a CarveWright Connection.... Except Metal Signs... I made almost $20K in Gross Sales last year. So it is a very dependable machine.... And YES, my first machine made 2 trips to Texas before "I" learned to fix them... WE were all new once...

AL

[chebytrk]

Hang tuff Mountain girl. Like Al said, we've all been there and it can be frustrating at times, but with this forum... you can't go wrong. Tons and tons of help out here. We kinda take it personal when someone is having problems so we jump in and troubleshoot all we can to get you up and running. Some people have even shipped me parts as "loaners" just to get me up and running right away. So hang tuff and try to be as detailed as possible when describing your problem(s). And if ever possible, pics (even from your phone) can help out a great deal in finding the solution. I'm like Al, except I only have 2 "A" machines (upgraded both of them) and I keep em' as clean as I can and try as much as possible to use the Maintenance guidelines that we put together by members of this Forum.

[Smoken D]

Like JerryB said, if at all possible yagot to really learn the machine. My first year was a complete disaster.Tried even to just sell the machine, but was so much a loss I wasjust ready to take it out back and introduce it to another machine Ihad called the 12ga. Only fix I could think of. But finally began tounderstand the language the guys on the forum had and started takingthis thing apart to learn it. Got the rock and Ring Neck Blues DCSystem and took care of all my problems. Yep, I had once paid itmyself to ship it back for fixing while under warranty, got it backand three weeks later yep, same problems. But now it's a one finerunning machine. Listen to these guys, learn the language, understandthis dang machine, maintenance, maintenance, maintenance, Al's neverending masking tape and his great advice. Then if all else fails,always the 12ga fix:roll:

[TerryT]

Hello,
We have sent this back to the TExas factory twice for repairs which costs $150 round trip. We also had it upgraded for $500 when that came out. Sure enough we get it back and its the same **** different day, "door latch needs repair" even though we sent it back for that and one other time John talked us through it after having to pay for parts again. Now as it carves it going along well and all of a sudden it stops, picks itself up and moves over and inch and starts carving again, what is that about. This is about to turn into a $2500 throw away toy not including the $100s of dollars in repairs. This machine now sits and collects dust for 1.5 yrs....what a shame. The company instead of saying we might have gotton a lemon won't replace it because the warranty is off. Very sad experience with this company and we tell everyone who asks.

Ok, just to be clear did it do these things and has now been sitting for a year and a half, or was the carve you are talking about a recent one? Also if you could post a picture of the board you were carving and the MPC it would help alot. Maybe we can help you find the cause.