Centerline FUBAR...

[jwhllh55]

Well, I get the machine back from repair and it runs great.. I carve a few pieces and I think I'm in business again, so I spend a "C" note on Centerline...
It looks Fair, so I sell a job that uses Black Walnut... I put a few carving on it and they came out great, then comes the text...
The machine calls for a 90 V so, I put on in... The motor reels and it starts carving the text, But,,,, OH NO, the text is to small. You could put it on a postage stamp.. Black Walnut, Small Text!!! NOOOOOO...
To make a long story short, 350 buck worth of wood shoot all to hell. Just because I believed all the bull that Centerline was the way to go. Should of saved my money and just painted it on...

[Jeff_Birt]

I can understand your frustration but I don't understand your rush to blame the machine rather than the operator. Let's see, you buy a new feature, and the first real thing you carve with it is on an expensive piece of wood?? That's just silly on your part, ranting on the forum won't help. I'm not trying to be mean, just honest. Personally I like to test new designers, that is something completely new that I have not done before, on a piece of MDF. It's cheap and good enough to let me know if I have screwed the design up or if the machine didn't understand what I was trying to do.

As to center-line, some folks have reported that it does not work well with some fonts. This makes sense as there are 10s of thousands of fonts available there is no telling how they were created and there is no way that all of them could be tested. I seem to recall that some folks were making up sample boards, trying different fonts after getting center-line, to see what worked well and what did not. This would let you settle in on a few font styles that work well and you can stick to them when using center line.

[jwhllh55]

Yep, your right. That's exactly what I did. I thought, if the other fonts worked well the one I chose for this sign would work too. Pressed for time, I jumped head long into a booby trap. Well, it's only money, and well spent if I learned something. MDF is a better wood to test with. Thank you for the cold wash rag in the face. I was so mad, I didn't see the handwritting on the wall. " Dumby". I guess venting my Disappointment on this media, isn't a good idea, but as you can see, it opened my eyes to a better way to think things over.
Again, thank you for the advice.
John Hammett

[Digitalwoodshop]

A trophy shop could make a metal or plastic plate with the size of the messed up text area with your text on it. Covers the hole and put's your text on the board.

AL

[rjustice]

or depending on how deep the OOPS was, perhaps you could create a carve region and recess the area that has lettering?

Ron

[Jeff_Birt]

I guess venting my Disappointment on this media, isn't a good idea, but as you can see, it opened my eyes to a better way to think things over.

Oh, expressing disappointment is a fact of human nature. We just have to follow your lead and turn an unexpected result it into a learning experience. So now, other folks can read your tale and learn from it, make up some sample boards for centerline, etc. That's the great thing about this forum. We get the opportunity to learn from others; we get to learn what works and what doesn't, without trying it all ourselves. After all, I can only screw up so many things a day my self...:p

[castingman]

I have a sign over almost all of the machines in my shop, even hanging on my scrap wood barrel. It is a good way to try out the text, my biggest problem is spelling! Michael

[Julie Coffey]

350 buck worth of wood shoot all to hell. J

I seldom comment on posts like this but I'm fascinated- just what were you carving that a single piece of wood ran 350.00?

I'm sorry for your loss, truly this is not meant as a jab of any kind. Only wood that expensive I know of is either a blank for a high end guitar body or AAAAA gun stock blank.

Any pictures?

J

btw- Jeff's suggestion on the mdf is swell, great way to weed out a good portion of the 'what if's'. I LOVE the sign above the machines in the shop idea too- think I'll bring that one home with me.

[pkunk]

You're right on Julie. I'd like to just once in my life touch a piece of wood small enough to fit in the CW that's worth $350.:p

[bobreda]

Thats nothing, I do that alot. It's usually $25 worth of wood and a $250 speeding ticket when I go to get it

[jwhllh55]

OK, I may have pushed the envelope on the cost of the wood, but It was old growth Black Walnut, rough cut and the grain was perfect. A piece of wood to die for. Anyway, after the steam from my hot head cooled down and reading the feed back, I think I can over cut where the OOOPs happen. Great idea by the way. I'll post an picture when I get it done. Meanwhile, I have to suck up my fears and jump back into the shop... LOL
Thanks all,
John Hammett

OH, let be known that "What you see, isn't what you get" on the designer screen....

[Andy C]

If over carve doesn't work. Take another piece of walnut and carve it as a plaque to go over the fubar area.

Andy

[Gman_Ind]

Mistakes happen to the best, but he best learn from the mistake (as you have) and they figure out how to fix the oops. over cutting a leg joint on an inlayd, hand carved Cabriole leg could be devastating, if someone didn't know know to fix it.