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View Full Version : Now that the conference is over, What did YOU learn.



fwharris
06-28-2016, 11:40 AM
Since I was not able to make this years conference I thought I would get this started to let those who did make it share some of their learnings and thoughts about the conference. I have chatted with a couple of people who did and they had some great comments about some of the topics and the group.

normrichards
06-28-2016, 01:06 PM
What a great idea, love to hear from those who went as well. Maybe pictures or videos?

Sliverfoot
06-28-2016, 01:10 PM
I'll second that, or maybe third.
I couldn't make it this year either but would LOVE to hear about it.
Next year.

fwharris
06-28-2016, 09:22 PM
I guess those that went do not participate on the forum! :(

SteveNelson46
06-29-2016, 10:30 AM
I guess those that went do not participate on the forum! :(

Lately, it seems like there has been very little participation from anyone. Carvewright claims that it is because times are good. I'm not so sure.

lynnfrwd
06-29-2016, 11:42 AM
We are still here....no need to spread rumors and unsubstantiated concerns.

Most people ARE finding their answers online under Support or just not having any issue.

lynnfrwd
06-29-2016, 11:44 AM
My camera wasn't working, so I didn't get any photos. Joe is trying to gather photos that people took to put together a follow up.

Please send photos to marketing (at) carvewright.com

Connie

mtylerfl
06-29-2016, 11:58 AM
I'm still playing "catch up" after the trip! I did send photos to Joe yesterday. I didn't take as many pics at the conference as I usually do - but I took a ton of photos of the 24' x 50' library at Chris' house! It is amazing - all carved with the CarveWright. So much Oak...so much intricate carved detail...every wall with a hidden panel. And, my goodness, the hidden elevator behind a sliding bookcase...awesome!

The library is certainly an inspirational testimony to the capability of what the CarveWright machine can do! I'm sure Joe will be posting some pics soon. To do it justice, a professional photographer would be the ticket, though.

Sliverfoot
06-29-2016, 12:12 PM
I was fortunate to see the library last year still under construction. I would love to see photos of now that is completed.

lynnfrwd
06-29-2016, 12:20 PM
I was fortunate to see the library last year still under construction. I would love to see photos of now that is completed.


You could stand in there for hours and still not see every detail.

mtylerfl
06-29-2016, 12:51 PM
You could stand in there for hours and still not see every detail.

Ain't that the truth!! I visited it 4 nights in a row this trip, and still haven't seen every detail! It's unbelievable.

Here's 3 photos to drool over...

universal-sasquatch
06-29-2016, 01:06 PM
The conference gave me a better understanding of the software tools I had and was not using correctly and convinced me to get some others.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

SteveNelson46
06-29-2016, 01:16 PM
We are still here....no need to spread rumors and unsubstantiated concerns.

Most people ARE finding their answers online under Support or just not having any issue.

I'm not trying to spread or start any rumors. Just voicing my opinion and observations and thought it would stimulate more posts. With comments like this I think I am starting to understand why the post count is diminishing.

bergerud
06-29-2016, 02:02 PM
Ain't that the truth!! I visited it 4 nights in a row this trip, and still haven't seen every detail! It's unbelievable.

Here's 3 photos to drool over...

That fireplace is really beautiful. What a work of art. I can only dream of making such a fireplace.

lynnfrwd
06-29-2016, 02:04 PM
Ain't that the truth!! I visited it 4 nights in a row this trip, and still haven't seen every detail! It's unbelievable.

Here's 3 photos to drool over...


Michael...is that story panel the one that they used red blood cells as the textured background? Is that the Biology one?

mtylerfl
06-29-2016, 02:17 PM
Michael...is that story panel the one that they used red blood cells as the textured background? Is that the Biology one?

Yes, I believe it is! I forgot about that - lots of details are subtle. You almost need a book with a chapter on each panel telling the "whole story".

I don't know if viewers are noticing all the 3D-carved heads. Each head (except one) is a real person that relates to each "story panel" above every book shelf section. The one head that is an unknown person is the Viking head.

Each divider between the book sections (and the gun collection sections), is adorned with detailed carvings of vines. As I recall, Chris told us each divider project took about 12 hours on BEST to carve. I think each divider is at least 8 feet long.

normrichards
06-29-2016, 06:16 PM
The two statutes on the sides of the fireplace seem to exceed the depth that the carvewright can carve. Can anyone say how these were carved? The small heads I am assuming were carved with the rotary attachment or maybe the deep bits, but the tall statutes seem to be deeper or thicker than what I thought could be done. I would love to see and learn more about this project.

normrichards
06-29-2016, 06:21 PM
I'm not trying to spread or start any rumors. Just voicing my opinion and observations and thought it would stimulate more posts. With comments like this I think I am starting to understand why the post count is diminishing.

Wow Steve, I am surprised at the response from LHR, especially since you are usually one of the LHR cheerleaders. You jumped on me once for criticizing and usually I am the critic.

mtylerfl
06-29-2016, 06:49 PM
Everyone seemed to enjoy the conference and I believe learned quite a lot. A question I often ask attendees is, "What is your CW Forum username?". Many will tell me they don't regularly participate in the forum (did not know it existed or just plain forgot about it). Naturally, I explain that the forum is one of their best resources for help with answers to just about any questions they may have and a great place to post pictures of their projects for their fellow carvers to enjoy! I hope some (or all) of them will participate in the forum in the future.


People appreciated the live, hands-on demonstrations (scanning setup, using various jigs, options for place on corner, live carving, dust collection tips, machine maintenance tips and so on). I heard positive feedback galore over the three days. This always makes me feel good for them! I also try to make contact with each attendee at every conference at least once to "check-in" with them, find out what they use their CW's for and answer their questions. Sometimes it's easier for folks to ask things one-on-one. I love it, and am always glad to help when I can. I encountered only one (very nice) fellow who confided in me that he felt he was "too dumb" to comprehend everything. Of course, I encouraged him that this was not so, and recommended he augment the teachings by going to the CW Support site and watch appropriate tutorials to help "lock in" what was taught and demonstrated at the conference. I know he will "get it"!


I presented techniques for creating, finessing and then incorporating scanned models for use with CNC projects. This included creating full-3D models via photogrammetry and I think this garnered the most attention (mainly because it is FREE and anyone can do it). I made good use of the CarveWright Pattern Sculptor software to show how to make good-looking relief models from full-3D models. Joe showed some of his techniques the day before too, so this dove-tailed well in the flow of learning. I actually heard a few "ooh's and ahh's" coming from the audience when they saw how simple it can be to go from 3D model to a PTN relief for carving using Sculptor. I've been thinking I need to create a video tutorial or two on this topic. It is certainly a fun and useful technique to learn!

mtylerfl
06-29-2016, 06:53 PM
The two statutes on the sides of the fireplace seem to exceed the depth that the carvewright can carve. Can anyone say how these were carved? The small heads I am assuming were carved with the rotary attachment or maybe the deep bits, but the tall statutes seem to be deeper or thicker than what I thought could be done. I would love to see and learn more about this project.

Chris and Joe came across a pallet of 2"-thick Oak a few years ago. They determined to use that for creating the massive fireplace carvings. They sliced large 3D models into 2"-thick (or less) slices, carved them and then glued the slices back together. It's a common technique used by many of us, but especially in the film, sign, theme park and stage prop industries.

EDIT: I should mention that carving these thick slices required the use of the 1/8" Deep Carving Bit (http://www.carvewright.com/2-deep-carvings/) (and I think they used the 1/16" Deep Carving Bit here and there, as well). Deep carving capability is a feature of the Designer Pro (https://store.carvewright.com/home.php?cat=399) software (i.e., the upgrade to Designer Basic that comes included with every machine).

DonCP
06-29-2016, 07:04 PM
I would just like to say that Michael's presentation was very informative and was obvious that it took
a lot of preparation to put together.

Thank you Michael !!!

mtylerfl
06-29-2016, 07:21 PM
I would just like to say that Michael's presentation was very informative and was obvious that it took
a lot of preparation to put together.

Thank you Michael !!!

Thank you very much, Don!

mtylerfl
06-29-2016, 07:58 PM
Ok. I have to tell my little story...

The day before my presentation, a friend of mine (Jim Uroda) brought in some hand-carved items he wanted to show me. These had nothing to do with CNC machining, but Jim knows I love to see the carvings he does by hand. One item was a Bear that he carved from a roughed out blank he bought at a hand-carver conference (I think he said it cost him about $20 for the blank).

That got me thinking whether or not I could create a rough blank using the CarveWright Rotary Jig. So, I asked Jim if I could borrow his Bear for a few minutes. I didn't tell Jim what I was up to, but I took his Bear, went into the CarveWright show-and-tell room, set up a pedestal using a table I borrowed from the hotel foyer to place the bear and took a series of about 60 photos all around it to create a photogrammatic 3D model from.

I returned to the conference room, gave Jim his Bear and proceeded to upload and process my photos whilst David Jochim was giving his presentation (sorry David!). Took about 22 minutes to get the model completed and downloaded from the cloud. Unfortunately it was a complete failure. When taking the photos, some people walked into the room and unintentionally altered my background of the photos. That was enough to throw off the photo-model stitching process.

So, I asked Jim if I could borrow his Bear AGAIN (he still didn't know why). This time I took the bear up to my hotel room, set an overturned trash can on the coffee table, moved a couple lamps to get some good lighting without severe shadows and started to take another set of photos (I think around 50 or so this time). During my photo-taking, I had a knock at my door. It was the maid service and two of them were looking into the room with wide eyes, seeing my trash can "pedestal", my iPhone in hand and lamps re-arranged in the middle of the floor. I told them as soon as I finish taking photos of my bear, they can come in and clean the room. After closing the door, I heard quite a lot of chatter (in Spanish) outside the door and intermittent laughing from the two maids. I'm sure they thought I was some kind of nut! (I guess I probably am.)

Anyway, that set of photos worked perfectly and I got the 3D model. The next day, I showed it during my presentation to "prove" you can do this stuff at a moment's notice. I didn't create the full-3D rough blank for the rotary until I got home, but did briefly explain how it could be done in a few minutes using the free program MeshLab and the CarveWright STL Importer. I also explained how that model could make a nice relief carving using Sculptor (just like my horse example).

fwharris
06-29-2016, 08:20 PM
My camera wasn't working, so I didn't get any photos. Joe is trying to gather photos that people took to put together a follow up.

Please send photos to marketing (at) carvewright.com

Connie

Well I thought something was amiss with our normal photo bug since you were not posting any of the normal activities that were going on. I kept looking but was not seeing anything.. ;)

fwharris
06-29-2016, 08:37 PM
Well maybe I was just a bit early with my asking about the conference results. It does take a day or two to get back to normal after a long weekend of carving brain overload. ;)

Michael,

Thanks for sharing parts of your presentation. Now I do really feel bad for not being able to make it this year. It looks like some great information and techniques that opens up more possibilities. Looking forward to seeing more on this.

SharonB
06-30-2016, 12:30 AM
I think any of us that have attended the Conference in the past and was not able to attend this year are jealous of those of you that attended this year. It's been several years since I had the pleasure of seeing the Library and look forward to seeing any and all photos of it now. And Michael, I would have loved to attend your demonstration as I learn so much better seeing rather than reading about it. I do hope other share what they learned.

mtylerfl
06-30-2016, 08:04 AM
Sharon and Floyd - I (we) sure did miss you two! Maybe next year will work out better for your schedules. Plus, I really wanted to meet Steve N. and many others in person too. It's hard to fit everything in our busy schedules these days!

SteveNelson46
06-30-2016, 10:04 AM
Wow Steve, I am surprised at the response from LHR, especially since you are usually one of the LHR cheerleaders. You jumped on me once for criticizing and usually I am the critic.

Well, actually Norm I am usually the dissenter and I didn't use the right wording to express myself. Consequently, it was misinterpreted. Also, about being critical of you, sometimes I express my point of view a little more emphatic than necessary. We are all supposed to be friends here and I certainly do not want to change that.

Sliverfoot
06-30-2016, 11:51 AM
Michael
Please consider making a video or tutorial of your presentation on creating 3d models. I for one would be very interested and I'm sure many others would be too.
It sounds great!

fwharris
06-30-2016, 02:39 PM
The following link is from Joe's blog on the 2016 Conference http://www.carvewright.com/the-2016-carvewright-conference/

Thanks for putting all of this together for those who could not make it.

tierman
06-30-2016, 05:53 PM
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! To Joe for the blog and all others who were involved with the presentations and downloads available on the blog for all of us who could not make it to the convention. I for one have downloaded them and can't wait to take a look at them. Thank you all again, it is very much appreciated. Rog
Oh yea ,I forgot!!! Thanks for the free shipping also!!!! My order is already in!!! Have a terrific 4th of July weekend to all!!!!

dltccf
07-01-2016, 02:34 PM
Some year I will make it to the conference. Thanks for the posts. I too would love to see a video of Michael's presentation

dave

oscarl48
07-01-2016, 06:02 PM
Thanks to all the folks sharing their wonderful experience but especially for the pictures of the mantel. That is gorgeous. Kudos to the designers and builders of it. It is a piece of art.