Biggest Carve for me....

[Bigtyme]

A friend of mine has a place on Lake Huron in the NE corner of Michigan Lower Peninsula. He is finishing his basement and had an idea for a piece of trim, so he asked me if I could help. I said why not, so we put this design together. It isn't really fancy or complicated except the board to be used is a 10 foot long 1 x 12. I had read somewhere that a Carvewright can handle a 20 foot long board, so today I carved a test piece in a 10 foot long pine 1 x 12. The final piece will be a 10 foot long oak 1 x 12 that I really didn't want to mess up of it didn't work. It actually came out pretty well. I spent a lot of time making sure it was supported properly at all times and the machine didn't seem to labor too much moving it along the carve. Looks like it will be time to use the oak piece in a few days. I hope it goes as well as the pine....


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[peep]

Just finished a 22 hour carve in hardwood. The machine can do it. Just check in on it often.

[want2b]

Looks great, your effort to support the board is what makes it work. Have done several 8 ft carves without any problem. The support to eliminate the pressure on the rollers in the carver is foremost and using rollers vs sawhorses/fixed support allows the drive belts to do their job. Looks like your friend will be the owner of a unique piece of trim.
Rick H.

[mtylerfl]

I believe the limit is a 12ft. board and it must be under 20 pounds.

[Digitalwoodshop]

Get a Smoke Detector and mount it above the machine... My Smoke Detector went off when my Flex started to smoke and melt years ago.. I was 10 feet away with my back turned.....

And a wireless intercom...

AL

[Bigtyme]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. The test carve in pine went just fine. It was only a 3 hour carve set at "normal". I think I will do the oak carve set at "best". My shop is attached to my garage and house and I do have a wireless intercom to keep track of it if I go in for a bit. I never let it run more the 30 minutes on its own without physically checking and only if there are no issues such as a warming flex shaft. My flex shaft has been running absolutely cool to the touch which I am grateful for, but don't take for granted. When the test carve was done and I set it on some saw horses and stood back, all I could think of was "Man, that is one big carve" :) ....I think the oak piece will look good in my friend's finished basement built into the trim.

[dbemus]

Nice work! Be sure to show us the final carving in oak.

Also thanks to AL for the smoke detector suggestion. I will install one tomorrow.

[Bigtyme]

I took the leap and carved the piece of oak this weekend. It came out just fine. I have a little clean up sanding to do and then I will post a picture of the final product. Until then, I did take a picture of the set up. I don't know of many CNC machines that could have done this. I think my friend will be extremely happy with the results. It was a little nerve wracking to have an $80 piece of oak in this type of setup, but I did figure I had the other side of the board if something happened :)...

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[Dale]

Glad it worked out. Can't wait to see the finished project.

[Bigtyme]

Well, here is the finished carve. I think my CW handled this big piece of oak pretty darn well. I am not sure I want to make a career out of carving 10 foot long boards, but it is good to know I can if I need to.


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[fwharris]

You did good Sir!

[DickB]

Looks good!

[eelamb]

NICE John. Bet that was a nail bitter, until it was finished.

[Bigtyme]

Thanks for the kind words guys. It was a nail biter for sure, Ed. I was very impressed, though how the CW handled the long board. No doubt that support is important, but even the flattest board has some play when it is that long, so I was watching the supports very carefully....

[tierman]

Great job John, looks terrific!

[Bigtyme]

I just received these pictures from my friend of the completed carving installed in his house on Lake Huron. I am proud of my Carvewright for being able to carve a 10 foot long piece of oak. My friend is very pleased with how it came out and I am getting a fair amount of referrals from his interior designer. I just hope we keep the long carves to a minimum... :)


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[dbemus]

Congratulations on a project well done! Thanks for sharing!

[peep]

real nice job done their

[chypes]

How long did the final Oak carve take in the "Best" setting?

[RogerB]

Nice work glad things worked out for you. Referrals will be a big help and a good boost for you.

[Bigtyme]

Thank you for all the kind words. The carve really didn't take too long to carve. I believe it was a little less than 2 hours in the "best" setting, but it was a nervous 2 hours :)