Hi Santa left me a Carvewright.

[DonCP]

Hi,

I am new to the world of CnC carving but am an avid scroll saw person. Being a retired Control Engineer the CnC thing sounded like fun.

I am local to Carvewright so I figured I could go there for help if needed.

I did and they are great people. I am having more fun and doing things I could not with the saw, but see a lot of ways to combine the two.

My surprise so far is that I do not know how to do staining and painting. Have tried but not close to what is being done here.

So many opinions, do not know where to start.

[mikemi]

Don,

Welcome to the CarveWright world and the forum. There are many quite qualified members on the forum that are willing to help with questions, you just have to ask.

Mike

[blhutchens]

Hi,

I am new to the world of CnC carving but am an avid scroll saw person. Being a retired Control Engineer the CnC thing sounded like fun.

I am local to Carvewright so I figured I could go there for help if needed.

I did and they are great people. I am having more fun and doing things I could not with the saw, but see a lot of ways to combine the two.

My surprise so far is that I do not know how to do staining and painting. Have tried but not close to what is being done here.

So many opinions, do not know where to start.


Welcome Don,

Don't worry about the paint stuff. You will have lots of firewood to practice on until you catch on to the carving part.
Most of my stuff I wipe the stain and let it dry, then just lightly sand the surface areas to lighten it a bit, then clear coat.

[zan29]

Welcome to the world of Cavewright Don. The forum is will become your best friend I'm sure since people here are so helpful and encouraging.

A good way to start Don woud be to buy a project. I sell projects for Carvewright which includes all the patterns, instructions with photos and finishing process.
They are available at http://www.rasterclip3d.com/index.php/pay-per-file-collection/suzanne-corner
and will soon be available at the Carvewright store http://store.carvewright.com/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=57

You can also get a VIP membership which gives you access to all my projects (300$ worth) for 99$ at www.suzannewoodworking.ca

Have fun with your new toy!
Suzanne

[Smoken D]

Welcome to the forum. As far as finish it's what works for you. It can be very integrate, or something as easy as Danish Oil dipped in a can of paste wax and spread on with #0000 steel wool. Good luck and lets see some photo's of finished work.

[Bigtyme]

Glad Santa was good to you, Don. Finishing really isn't too difficult. Painting on the other hand ...:) . I would suggest using a good oil based stain such as minwax. Wipe it on, let it dry about 15 minutes and then wipe it off. Once it is totally dry, try a good wipe-on poly. It gives a very nice finish and is super easy to apply. A little 0000 steel wool between coats helps give it a smooth finish. There are many other ways to finish, but I think this is a good place to start...
All the best.
John

[Proctorw]

Best tip I received is to first stain your piece. Once you like the finish (for me usually 2 coats), use a spray lacquer to seal the wood (I use 3 coats). The reason for sealing is when you paint, if you spill/drip, the paint does not soak into the wood and you can wipe up with a damp cloth. When finished painting I put on 2 more coats of lacquer. I finished the signs here with this method. Prior to using this method, I created the Marriage Sign and the Marine sign without sealing. I spend many hours finely sanding/scraping unwanted paint, then re-staining. Not fun. Hope this helps.

[Mike1]

Hi Don, you are in for a great time., so many talented people here and very willing to help. Read as much as possible of the tips and tricks as well as *Ask Bud*, good luck

[Canemaker]

Welcome Don, since you are local, don't miss out of some of the greatest advice... every year CW hosts a conference in the Houston area and it is the greatest place to meet, greet and information sharing experience. It's usually around June or July so watch your calendar. In the mean time as everyone else has stated don't hesitate to ask upon anyone here in the forum.
John

[fwharris]

Welcome Don!

Even though you are local to CarveWright (lucky you) make sure to study up on all of the tips and tricks news letters and all of the software/hardware tutorials. Lots of great info to help you out.

[edsingletary]

The frame type plaques, are these from a pattern, sure would like to use one or all.

[bjbethke]

The frame type plaques, are these from a pattern, sure would like to use one or all.

Hi Don; welcome to the CW Forum. I enjoy my CW unit. It keeps this old man's mind active. Edsingletary; Making Frames for Plaques is very easy to do, "make a drawing"; and then I use my ShaderMap program to give the drawing a 3d look.

You need the Grayscale image to make the "Z" Truck work. Any program that gives you that kind of an image will work with the CW Unit.

[edsingletary]

Guess I need to buy Shader Map. I used the trial version and can't make heads or tails out of it. Another software to conquer. But would be well worth it. I just spent 30 bucks this morning on 3 plaque patterns. Best get busy studying.

[edsingletary]

I bought shadermap 2.1.1 and the screens look nothing like the screen shots you posted. I'm playing with it but man, it is giving me a headache. Gonna quit for a day or so..

[bjbethke]

I bought shadermap 2.1.1 and the screens look nothing like the screen shots you posted. I'm playing with it but man, it is giving me a headache. Gonna quit for a day or so..

Hi, that's the up-dated version, I have both of them, I'll try to make a PDF file for you on that one. That is a Map program to make depth map patterns. You only need the parts of the program to make the displacement map for the CW Unit.

[cestout]

Get yourself a 220 grit 6" double sanding mop. If you do a lot of hard hardwood, you will also need a 180 grit. CarveWright sells mops, but I like the ones from the inventor of them, RJR Studios. He sells them thru Sears online, Stick one in your drill press or lathe and most of your prep for finishing can be handled that way. A good way to learn is to get projects from the Pattern Store here on the CarveWright web site. Sort of like training wheels.
Clint

[edsingletary]

BJ thank you, I assumed the displacement map was what I needed, still doing a bit of experimental stuff, like getting past the first screen. Iv a ways to go.

[fwharris]

Just a heads up to please keep on topic (see header title) so we do not jumble up what the post is about. If you want to continue on the second topic line please start a new post..

Thanks in advance! :)

[edsingletary]

Sorry, never thought about that FW

[DonCP]

Boy, I will say one thing, everyone here is very excited about the Carvewright. Thanks for all the input. Looking forward to future discussions.