Question for BETA owners.

[John]

Got a call today from LHR offering a newer machine for $500 and my beta machine, since my beta machine is nearing the one year mark. Would include a new warranty, 1 yr/200 hrs. They said parts are scarce for the beta machines. So, beta owners, what's your thoughts on this??

[pkunk]

Mine was not repairable anymore due to lack of beta parts. My new machine had 2 hrs on it, a few problems (now solved) and is smoother & quieter than the origonal. How are you going to repair yours when it need a fix?

[Dan-Woodman]

John
If you ever have to send it in for repair,and it's not a simply fix, they will tell you they will be sending a newer updated machine , no mater if you dicide to get the 1yr. warrenty or not.
Mine had under 2 hrs. on it also and was dirty with sawdust,but I have done three projects so far with the first two having the check cut motor warning that a lot seem to be getting . It appeared to me that the dust was from them testing it to make sure it was going to run.
It also appeared that they took my origanal top off and put it on the new machine before returning it. (It does say Carvewright) instead of Compucarve.
The only thing I was disapoited in was the round knob instead of my origanal long knob, but thats something I can live with.
Mine had z-axis stall error 246
It appears they have done away with some of the sencers and flags.
This was the first trouble I had had in the year that I had it except for someminor ones when I first got it.

[MAX COX]

I also had several problems with my beta machine. it made several trips to texas. i exchanged mine for a new(reconditioned) with new warranty for
$500.00. have used it for a couple of projects with no problems.

[rmacke]

I got the call this morning also.. I told them my beta machine is working fine now--after haveing it in for several repaires over the last year.
I ask if the offer would be on the table in a couple of months should it need repaires and they told me
" BETA cust will need to upgrade to newer machine next time they send thier machine in for repaires. As their warranty is out and As long as my machine is working keep it. When it quits send it in for new machine and $500.00 to get another year warranty. Also they said right now they had some available , but might not when i'am ready.

[pkunk]

That could very well be the case. Funny, I've had my replacement machine for awhile now, and this morning Hope emailed to try and tell me I needed to replace my Beta machine & that they didn't have a phone # for me. Now, they've called me HOW MANY times? They must have lost some records to. Wonder if they were 33's or 45's. :p

[John]

I got the call this morning also.. I told them my beta machine is working fine now--after haveing it in for several repaires over the last year.
I ask if the offer would be on the table in a couple of months should it need repaires and they told me
" BETA cust will need to upgrade to newer machine next time they send thier machine in for repaires. As their warranty is out and As long as my machine is working keep it. When it quits send it in for new machine and $500.00 to get another year warranty. Also they said right now they had some available , but might not when i'am ready.

rmacke basically sums up the conversation I also had with Hope.

I originally bought mine to test the CNC "waters." Probably when mine dies I will upgrade to a larger CNC machine that is not locked in to proprietary parts and software. Mine has seen little use, waiting for the "pro" version software. If it is (the pro version) many $$ I'll probably just pass and put the funds toward a larger machine even if the CW is still running. I look at spending the money for the beta machine (at the beta price) as a reasonable learning experience before dropping a large sum on something I knew little about. I must say, when I first got the CW, I thought to myself, "this thing is going to sell a lot of shopbots." I recently learned of a company here is MI making a machine similar to the newest shopbot and will probably go that route.

Thanks to everyone responding. Would still like to here other beta owners experiences.

John

[RobertP]

Got a call today from LHR offering a newer machine for $500 and my beta machine, since my beta machine is nearing the one year mark. Would include a new warranty, 1 yr/200 hrs. They said parts are scarce for the beta machines. So, beta owners, what's your thoughts on this??

Personally, I dont like the idea of a $500 charge for the "Beta Testers". The reason I say this is that in my situation, I was never told I was a Beta tester when I bought the machine, I never signed anything saying I was. So, paying an extra $500 to have a machine that will be repairable if something goes wrong in the near future does not set well with me.

[pamjmayo]

For $2,000 we should expect a machine that we can count on, use any time we want, and do what the machine is capable of. I sent mine back and am getting a new one. If this one has the same problem of many breakdowns then I'm getting out. Even though a CNC machine is $10,000 plus, $2,000 was a lot for me to plunk down to try to start a new hobby/business. The $500 is so insulting! If it wasn't for us and our forum and our patience, the company would have much more serious problems. With the amount of labor we've out into these things ourselves, it seems to me we should all get a free one when they get the bugs worked out.

Pam

[fozziebo]

i hesitate to post here again at the risk of being a "whiner" but I also feel the $500 for their convenience is not fair. I was told near the end of last year that us "beta" testers would eventually get a Sears machine to help with their servicing issues. No money was mentioned in the upgrade...in fact, Mr.Lovchick was proud to remind me that this was in appreciation of us 200 "beta" testers input and loyalty throughout his company's growth period. I would prefer a newer machine but adding $500 to my initial $2000 investment is not in the cards for me. They should offer us an even swap to get our "dated" machines out of their system.

[cajunpen]

I just bit the bullet and spent the $500 to upgrade my beta machine. Not an easy task - my debit card kept trying to jump back in my wallet. I am not thrilled about having to spend the additional money for the CW - but having said that - if you think it through, it is actually not that bad of a deal.

Assuming that your machine is a Beta, you are probably either out of warranty or very near being out. When your machine does break - and we all know that it will eventually - you are going to have to pay to ship it back (probably $30-$50), then pay for the parts and labor to repair it. Depending on which part needs to be changed out, AND then pay to have it shipped back to you - you could be ahead of the game by spending the $500 now and getting a new machine, with a FRESH warranty.

We all need to realize that LHR is actually a business - that needs to turn a profit to stay open. Their labor costs have to be high, they have several Techs and support staff - which are probably not cheap. In the end each of us have to decide what is important to us and whether we can afford to spend the additional money. In my case, I buy a lot of woodworking "gadgets" that sometimes work out and other times end up not being used. I would probably spend $500 on gadgets this year anyway - so why not spend it on something that I know is enjoyable to use (most of the time, when I input the correct instructions). Oops, I think I just admitted that I'm a tool junkie

Anway what I guess I'm trying to say, in this long winded post, is to either take advantage of the upgrade offer or don't - but please don't start a long thread complaing about it - it will serve no purpose, except upsetting Paul (pkunk);)

[john B]

I just got a call from lhr yesterday about the new machines, and haven't decided yet. I understand they have a business to run but 500$ was a bit more than i would like to spend for a machine I find with limited use for my work. I have 20 hrs on mine and has been working decent for a while, so I'm reluctant to buy one. but I'm already invested and use it for some of my projects. I asked about the probe, they said they have some but im wondering about the price? and whats the deal with the pro software?
is there a bigger library?
I like the machine and the folks @LHR are great so im thinking yes, but to add another 1000$ to what i already purchased I don't know.
oh and thanks for starting this thread it helps to hear from other folks
jrb.

[pkunk]

Thanks, Bill. Are you bucking for a promotion? :D :rolleyes:
Folks, this is all well and good, but lets not let it get out of hand-OK?

[cajunpen]

Thanks, Bill. Are you bucking for a promotion? :D :rolleyes:
Folks, this is all well and good, but lets not let it get out of hand-OK?
No Paul, I'm actually looking to retire!!! Two more years and I will end a 41 year career as a Police Officer - can't wait - I finally decided that this was not the career for me;)

[bobreda]

I just got my call yesterday and while I am in a quandry in that I have a shopbot and a carvewright, I was wondering that if I went ahead with the exchange if I will have the original software or the one that comes with the sears model. Anyone have any idea on this?

Bob

[pkunk]

I just got my call yesterday and while I am in a quandry in that I have a shopbot and a carvewright, I was wondering that if I went ahead with the exchange if I will have the original software or the one that comes with the sears model. Anyone have any idea on this?

Bob
Bob, you do get to keep your software. The only thing different is a slightly better(different) machine.:D

[Jeff]

Here's my take on it...

I bought an early machine and paid $2000 + tax and shipping. When the production units hit Sears, they were on sale and special promotion, etc. for under $1500. So it has already cost me over $500 to be a beta tester. Now, I'm being asked to pay an extra $500 + tax and shipping. So, the reality is that I will end up paying well over $1000 to be a beta tester. What's wrong with this picture??? And, as I understand it, we are getting a recon unit, as another kick in the teeth...

While I am a huge fan of LHR and their people, service and support, they really stuck it to us. I thought they were going to take care of us.

Jeff

[John]

Hey Jeff, I certainly feel your pain. However, I don't think LHR was trying to stick it to you. I am quite sure the CW/CC is being manufactured by Kmart/Sears contacts in China. Consequently, some aspects of the business are beyond LHR's control.

[pkunk]

I'll say it one last time, folks. Let's not take this in this direction. If you really feel that badly, contact CW/LHR and let them know. If this keeps up I'll close this thread.

[Jeff]

I'll say it one last time, folks. Let's not take this in this direction. If you really feel that badly, contact CW/LHR and let them know. If this keeps up I'll close this thread.

Paul,

One of the best and most impressive things about LHR has been that they allow all opinions to be aired on this forum, both positive and negative. They have been extremely good about that and it allows everyone to express their opinions and experiences without censure.

This thread has not degenerated into anything negative beyond reasonable expressions of opinions. I have no idea why you are threatening to close it. It is a valid issue and needs to be discussed in a mature, reasonable manner. So, what is the concern?

Jeff

[pkunk]

Because I thought this was going in the wrong direction.
"While I am a huge fan of LHR and their people, service and support, they really stuck it to us. I thought they were going to take care of us."
Let's just keep it a little more civil.

[Jeff]

Because I thought this was going in the wrong direction.
"While I am a huge fan of LHR and their people, service and support, they really stuck it to us. I thought they were going to take care of us."
Let's just keep it a little more civil.

It's just an opinion based on my perception. I didn't get nasty. In fact, I think I was very civil.

Jeff

[Jeff_Birt]

I think it's all a matter of how you choose to look at it. I bought a new cell phone last year; it is like a little computer that also makes calls. I paid about $400 for it. Now they are selling it for $200, same model. Did they stick it to me? Well no, but I sure wish that I I had only paid $200. Go buy a new car and see if Ford/Chevy/Toyota will trade you up in a year for 25% of the purchase price. Not likely.

It looks like to me that LHR tried to find a reasonable solution to take care of their customers. You can choose to take advantage of it or not.

[John]

Let me jump in here again.

As I understand it there was a manufacture run of 200 machines. These have/were labeled beta machines. Some bought them knowing they were going to be "beta" and others didn't. When I bought mine I was told they were a "first run" and each machine was being gone over carefully before being shipped. There was a wait time of several weeks between the time I paid for the machine and the time it was delivered. My assumption was that known problems were being taken care of by this post production inspection process. (Bad assumption on my part.) The very first thing that caught my attention was the attempt to cover up the word "SEARS" on the box it was shipped in. Having started my stationary tool collection years ago with Sears tools and slowly having to replace them over the years did make me wonder what I had gotten myself into. When I ran into some problems, some of the fixes included liquid nails and RTV. I wasn't real impressed by some of the suggested "band aid" fixes. One of the things I really found hard to swallow was the suggestion in the owners manual that some of the wear parts in the machine were expected to last the life of the machine / 200 hours. Another thing I found very frustrating was the length of time it took to fix the "oval hole" problem. There are a number of other things I could mention, but I have related enough of the frustration I had/have.

While the experiences I related in the above paragraph have not been very positive, the outcome for me is positive. LHR gave me the chance, at a very reasonable price, to test the CNC “waters.” For that, I am very grateful. My telephone conversations about my machine problems have been limited to one person, the CEO, Chris Lovchick. The very first time we talked he gave me his cell phone number and told me to call anytime. I made every effort instead to use email. He always responded. Sometimes on Sunday!! . The service could not have been better. I guess the million dollar question is, “Would I recommend the CW?” The answer is absolutely yes, with the CLEAR understanding of what you are getting and what your expectations should be. I know of nothing else on the market where you could get a real feel for CNC routing for the price CW is being sold at. You can do all the reading you want (and I have done a ton), but until you actually experience it, you’ll never know if it is for you.


The point of this thread was and still is......Beta owners……..

1) With the experiences you have had with your first machine, are you going to take the upgrade offer from LHR?
2) Do you think you have had a reasonable experience with the Carvewright, and have learned some things about CNC machining, but are not going to upgrade for whatever reason? Maybe that reason is you learned CNC machining is not for you. Or, to much “computerize” / whatever.
3) You are happy you made the initial investment in the CW, but now with the introduction to CNC you would like to move on the bigger and better.
4) You are totally bummed out, and will proceed with caution when the next “widget” comes along.
5) _____You fill in the blank______

So Beta owners only, I, and I think others, still would like to know where you’re at on this….but please…no personal attacks on pkunk, or ANYONE else.

If you’re still reading at this point, thanks for staying with this. John

And Jeff, your comparison isn’t fair. Can you still get parts for you $400 cell phone? Do the automakers have parts for models older than one year? Michigan even has a “lemon” law which may get you a new vehicle if your problems are continuous and cannot be resolved adequately. I bet other states have similar laws. And, there are a lot of cases you can trade up for 25% if you bought right. My Chevy PU (bought new) is 7 years old, almost 140,000 miles and is worth over 25% what I paid for it. Parts not being available for equipment only a year old is not the norm.

Moderators!?!?!?!?!............................... ......................................only joking……please don’t ban me!!

[rmacke]

My answer is:
1) With the experiences you have had with your first machine, are you going to take the upgrade offer from LHR?
**********************************
Just not at this time..My BETA machine is working at this time. I plan on taking them up on there offer around July--if they have any machines then.
Reason begin I figure with having another one year warranty , then I'll get to finish out this summer and still have half of next summer to play with it under warranty.
Anybody NOTICE seems like most of the problems were during the cold months?? My runs better it seems when temps are above 60 degrees...Yes I know computer and all needs heated area in winter.( Just don't have that luxury.)

Reason for Me to Buy this machine was:
1. New Toy ( no one else had one)
2. No-Brainer-(Machine does all the work)
3. While it,s running (I can be doing something else)
4. I get the credit for what a machine does...

All in all I would say, Number 1 was the real reason.
Back to lurking mode.......

[Jeff_Birt]

And Jeff, your comparison isn’t fair. Can you still get parts for you $400 cell phone? Do the automakers have parts for models older than one year? Michigan even has a “lemon” law which may get you a new vehicle if your problems are continuous and cannot be resolved adequately. I bet other states have similar laws. And, there are a lot of cases you can trade up for 25% if you bought right. My Chevy PU (bought new) is 7 years old, almost 140,000 miles and is worth over 25% what I paid for it. Parts not being available for equipment only a year old is not the norm.

Moderators!?!?!?!?!............................... ......................................only joking……please don’t ban me!!


Analogies are never a 100% match. The points are valid though, A: things always get cheaper, B: and, CW did try to find a reasonable solution for their customers. And, as a side note there are many things now days that you CANT get parts for, no matter the age.

And who says that moderators aren't allowed to have opinions too? (Or maybe I'm not and I should ban myself :p )

[Bill]

CW did try to find a reasonable solution for their customers

I don't understand all the complaining ? CW is in business to make a profit.
CW did not only try, they continue to keep trying to find a reasonable solution
for all their customers and to help all there customers in every way possible.

I have never found a company like LHR that has gone out of there way
the way they (LHR) has, not only for myself but for everyone on this
forum that I have seen that has a problem (Not only Beta owners)

[ruggybear]

What Bill said!!!!!

My experience has been very positive with LHR. No other company has the customers satisfaction so high on their priority list and strive to improve on it in every way.

No I am not a BETA user, but one very satisfied hobby user.

[Matthew]

Things sure have changed around these forums. I've been away for awhile and decided to drop by after the call about "upgrading" my machine. I was confused at first by the concern about being banned for expressing a negative opinion, but before I finished this thread I could see where that concern came from. To address that concern, I'd have to say that being banned from a forum that doesn't permit honest expression isn't much of a loss. This forum directly reflects on LHR. Even though they may not be moderating it any longer, they are hosting it and it is about their products; so any sense of impropriety or undue censorship reflects directly upon LHR, whether they intended it or not.

Anyway, on to the topic of this thread. I was also contacted as a beta tester about upgrading my machine since the warranty is about to expire. I was surprised to find that I was a beta tester. (I shouldn't have been surprised since each time I called, the person on the other end was surprised about the description of my machine and I kept hearing comments such as "OH! You've got one of the REALLY old machines!" I heard this comment right after I received the machine.) I thought beta tester's got their machines early in 2006. I didn't get mine until Thanksgiving. This also means I've still got half of my original warranty left. I was not informed that my upgrade would be to a reconditioned machine. Is this true? Can anyone confirm this? I'll give Hope a call to find out directly.
I've seen some discussion that replacement parts won't be available for the beta machines. This is surprising to me since Hope told me the only difference was the bit finder and the new motor (I've already got one of the new motors so I know the new motors will work in the old machine). What parts are in the old machine that can't be replaced with parts from a new machine?

If it is true that the replacement machines are reconditioned machines, then my guess would be that this replacement isn't so much trying to help out the beta testers as it is finding something to do with the returned machines. I've seen a number of posts supporting LHR by saying that they're running a business. Selling reconditioned products at a discounted price is a common business practice. The returned/reconditioned machines cannot be re-packaged and sold as new, so they're basically a loss for the company unless they can find some way to get some money out of them. Easiest way to do that is to sell it at a reduced price or use the parts as repair parts.
I'm not saying this is a bad deal. It probably depends on your particular machine. It may well be a good deal. For my part, I've only had a few hardware problems. Most of my issues have been and continue to be software related.

So, to answer the primary question, I'm going to wait and see. I should still have 6 months on my warranty so I'm not going to throw that 6 months away. I've been reasonably happy with LHR support so far. I am disappointed to learn that I'm a beta customer. Had I known that, I would have waited on the original purchase. The decreased price from Sears doesn't bother me. Asking me to spend an additional $500 to get a "good" machine because there's apparently something wrong with mine doesn't sit too well. Suggesting that my machine will not be repairable once the warranty expires is troublesome. Hosting a forum for customers but prohibiting them from saying anything negative about LHR is very bothersome. I'll just wait and see how things play out. Right now there are a lot of maybes and could bes. Hardly any of this is knowledge or fact. Most of it is speculation. Hopefully we'll soon reach a state of knowledge and the speculation will all be cleared up. In the end, I hope that the apparent negatives for LHR turn out to be false. It's good to have a company that tries to do right by its customers.

[Jeff_Birt]

I was confused at first by the concern about being banned for expressing a negative opinion, but before I finished this thread I could see where that concern came from. To address that concern, I'd have to say that being banned from a forum that doesn't permit honest expression isn't much of a loss. This forum directly reflects on LHR. Even though they may not be moderating it any longer, they are hosting it and it is about their products; so any sense of impropriety or undue censorship reflects directly upon LHR, whether they intended it or not.I would like to put this notion to bed NOW. No, one has ever been banned for 'expressing their opinion', OR saying something negitive about LHR . Concerns or worries about being banned in such a manner are simply unfounded. A big whopping total of two people have ever been banned (for two days) for violating forum rules which had NOTHING to do the expression of opinions. We try to handle the few problems that happen, behind the scenes to not distract from the forum. This means that you are ignorant of most of the facts and making wild assumptions.

<EDIT> This section was geared toward everyone, not the previous poster, who's post other than the above points was fine.
If you have a bone to pick with LHR call them. This is a users forum and bitching at me or anyone else here won't solve a thing. This thread was started to discuss the offer made by LHR to the folks who bought the original 'beta' machines, not to 'whine' but to discuss. If we can continue to discuss and debate the topic then fine. If not the topic will be closed to further input.

Edited sections in blue

[Aaron B]

I got a message saying someone called but I have not returned the call, so this must be what it is about. I know that I am a beta tester and somewhat confused as to why or what is going on with the beta machines. Guess I can call them and find out.

Like others it seems odd that I have to pay for shipping it back and the pay the extra money just to get another one, but maybe my logic is not right.

[Matthew]

Jeff,
My post was not directed at you or anyone else. You seem to have read an awful lot into a simple, thoughtful and accurate post. You'll notice that I didn't make reference to the number of people being banned, only to the expressed concern about being banned. It also seems outlandish that you could read my entire post and think that I have a bone to pick with LHR.

I notice that you've violated Policy #1 under the guidelines and policies. You have just done exactly what you've incorrectly and inappropriately accused me of doing.

[cajunpen]

I got a message saying someone called but I have not returned the call, so this must be what it is about. I know that I am a beta tester and somewhat confused as to why or what is going on with the beta machines. Guess I can call them and find out.

Like others it seems odd that I have to pay for shipping it back and the pay the extra money just to get another one, but maybe my logic is not right.
Aaron,

LHR picks up the shipping for you to send you beta machine back and pays for the shipping of your replacement machine. I just got my shpping label to return my Beta. Hope this clears that up for you.

[Aaron B]

Aaron,

LHR picks up the shipping for you to send you beta machine back and pays for the shipping of your replacement machine. I just got my shpping label to return my Beta. Hope this clears that up for you.

Thanks, I did call them and they told me the differences between the two machines. Feels kind of bad spending another $500 for something I already own, but I will probably do it sometime down the road.

[fstrumpf]

Jeff,

I was prepared to jump into ownership in a big way, multiple machines and training for employees, but, frankly, you've put me off a bit.

I understand your loyalty to the mfg, but your responce to some users who are negative to their experience leads me to believe that perhaps ownership now, would be immature.

I do not question the thoughfulness of the design, the effort by the service department to help the owners, but I do question this forum and some of the responces to negative feedback.

Please take this constructively, I do think you all mean well, but you're ocasionally not helping the cause.

Please PM me if you like.

I'm just another service manager who knows how bad press can effect the cause.

Regards and I look forward to hearing from you.

Fred

[rmacke]

Aaron,

LHR picks up the shipping for you to send you beta machine back and pays for the shipping of your replacement machine. I just got my shpping label to return my Beta. Hope this clears that up for you.

I was told today that I had to pay for the shipping of the replacement machine back to me. They said they would send a shipping label to return the beta machine threw Fedex. Guess I'll call them back tomorrow??

[bobreda]

I went ahead with the swap. In my opinion if I didn't in a month I would be sitting with a $2000 paper weight. I wouldn't even be able to sell it if I wanted to. I was told they would pay to ship my machine back to them and I would have to pay to have the new one shipped to me, I also got a call saying they would have to receive my machine first before they would send the new one.

Bob

[castingman]

How can you tell if you have a beta machine

[BobHill]

Castingman,

Since you don't know if you have a Beta machine or not, I'd guess you do NOT have one. What does the machine have for a brand name and where did you purchase it? If from Sears and it has CompuCarve, then it's not a Beta. If you purchased it from a previous owner or directly from LHR in Texas, then you might have a Beta (although I don't know if they have sold any of the new machines directly, which is why I said "might have a Beta".

Bob

[BobHill]

Fred,

The moderators, including myself, DO NOT work for LHR. We are owners and purchased our machines just like you will/would, although most if not all of us are considered Beta buyers and usually have a longer ownership than others.

Thus, unless you are reading posts from one of the "real" staff of LHR, the direction of the posts and attitudes does NOT come directly from LHR.

I can only speak for myself, as will or do the other Moderators, but except for keeping the language acceptable, and threads pointed to the use and items concerning the CW/CC machines, there is no direct "you will" requirements of the Moderators. Sometimes we, as human beings, tend to put a family attitude personalization to things that we do and own.

Long after graduation from our personal schools and colleges, how many of us tend to cheer on the current teams of our alma mater or "home" teams in sports, or even our favorite brand of automobile, etc. Sometimes we even have a stronger allegiance to that part of our "family" than perhaps an "inlaw" or two. Truely an "American" thing to do.

As for whether you would buy a CC machine now or not should be based more on other things than what negatives might be presented in this forum. Remember that for the most parts, MOST of the buyers of the machine probably don't even read these posts, and most of those that do read them, never post to the forum. Thus the tendency for those to post is more swayed by their personal attitudes than the average. There also is a sort of "family" group thing that early on developed within this forum (and is natural to the Internet) that is a factor.

For purchasing points, note that this forum is pretty active for a product location and does carry many things of interest for the product. For the numbers of machines sold, the negatives are very much in the lower number of machines of the total.

This machine is NOT intended for high production numbers at this time, albeit that some ARE using for such. But then, it doesn't have a high production price either. If high production features is a requirement, then perhaps something in the double or triple digit $$ is what you need. If you wish to have a machine that will do things no other machine in it's price range will do, and it's not going to cripple your bank account, then THIS is the machine that will do some great things for you, and as you should see by now, new ideas present themselves almost daily on what it can be used for ... with or without the occasional problem.

Bob Hill
Tampa Florida

[Jon Jantz]

BobHill, well said. That is right in line with my thoughts on the matter.

I don't have a beta system, but if if I did, I'd probably spring for the new one for $500... in fact, when my NON-beta machine is out of warranty, I'd probably jump at the chance to trade it in for $500. That being said, no-one is forcing anyone to do anything. You can roll the dice and may be able to carve for the next couple years before your machine breaks down... or not.

I think it's a nice gesture from LHR to do this... a lot of companies wouldn't say anything until down the road when you send it in, then tell you it's totalled and to go down to Sears and buy another one.... happened to me with a $7000 vinyl cutter that was only a couple years old, they told me they had changed their supplier on drive motors and could no longer get parts for it, and NO I didn't get a break on my new one....

And on the subject of moderating... this forum is on the LHR website, which above all the other uses such as support, contact, etc... is for ADVERTISEMENT. So I can completely understand if they would ask if this forum would remain fairly positive and the problems you might have be taken up with them on a one to one basis... there ARE a lot of negative comments posted and those people generally are more vocal than us happy ones.

I have emailed back and forth and read in other forums of probably at least 8 - 10 people who have said they will not buy a Carvewright machine because of all the negative posts in this forum. And there's probably many, many more who DIDN'T post their decision not to buy after reading in here.. To all, I have replied that I have been very happy with my machine, and that it's not fair to base their opinions on the comments of a very small percentage of frustrated users... so I'm impressed that the LHR staff and the moderators give as much freedom as they do in here.

Anyway... SORRY... I was just going to post that I hoped they'd give us non-beta users a chance to get a new machine for $500 when our warranty was out.... and ended up writing a book.

[fstrumpf]

Bob,

Thanks for the toughtful reply

Regards

Fred

[castingman]

Bob Thanks, I did buy it from sears, So far i have changed the cut motor and z truck and sent it back 1 time . I find this forum very helpfull. I own an aluminum foundry and intend to use it for sign patterns. I also make pens and am trying to make boxes for them but as i am a foundry rat i will have a lot of qustions THANKS

[BobHill]

Castingman,

This IS the place to come for initial answers to questions and problems. Many such have been experienced one way or another and most can be handled with a little tweak here and there, which you should be very familiar with, in the business you are in. But also, a quick reply to send it off to LHR if, indeed it's that kind of a fix that's necessary would also be found here. The CW/CC should serve you well for what you intend to use it for, I would think.

Bob Hill
Tampa Florida

[Aaron B]

I went ahead with the swap. In my opinion if I didn't in a month I would be sitting with a $2000 paper weight. I wouldn't even be able to sell it if I wanted to. I was told they would pay to ship my machine back to them and I would have to pay to have the new one shipped to me, I also got a call saying they would have to receive my machine first before they would send the new one.

Bob

When I called and talked to them, they said I could wait for my machine to break before I sent it back in. Since I was as beta customer they would honor the deal even if its 2 months from now. Guess I need to start carving more to break it. :D