Is anyone else this frustrated?

[lone star]

We are just curious as to whether anyone else is as frustrated as we are. We have had our machine a short time and it has less than 20 hours of carving time. We have already sent it back once at our expense- CarveWright would have taken too long to arrange pickup. As soon as we got it back it developed another problem. CarveWright sent a new sensor. We installed that and another error occurred.

Yikes! Another part is on the way and we have to pay for overnight delivery. Most everyone is very nice but we have spent more time repairing that machine than we have using it. We love the product when it works.

Anyone else having this kind of trouble.

[Jeton]

it's these types of posts that have me worried...i live in AK, so if i have to pay for shipping, it's going to add up fast, as the price to send stuff this heavy isnt cheap

seems like i've read alot of posts of ppl having to send thier machine back, due to something breaking.

it's got me wondering about picking a compucarve up (should be in the store tommorrow) , i'd hate to drop 2k and find out i have to send it off for repairs all the time

[pkunk]

To start with, CW pays for shipping. They'll send you a label if it needs to go back. You want overnight-you pay. You're choice, but not one to complain about. Mostly it can be fixed by you at home with their help and parts.

[rjp736]

First of all, if it's under warranty you don't pay a dime for ANYTHING ! If they want the machine sent back to work on it, they pay for the shipping. If they send you parts they don't charge you for shipping either. Sounds like YOU wanted it over nite thats why they charged you. I have had many parts sent to me and recieved them within 3-4 days from the date they were ordered.

LHR has fantastic people working for them and do an excellent job getting you up and running asap. They know there is problem areas with the machine and are doing a great job in resolving them. Just can't expect them to pay for overnite shipping on items sent to you........They have a fast turn around time the way it is now.

Happy Carving

[Jeff_Birt]

LoneStar, I can understand your frustration. As others have stated (I think everyone is just being factual and not trying to pick on you), CW return and replacement policy is as good as or better than most others. I have been in service business most of my adult life and I have to say that I have been impressed with how fast CW has been able to ramp up support as the product has taken off. While having problems stinks, having a company that will stand behind their product is invaluable. I'm sure that CW will take care of what ever the problem is.

It sounds a bit like your using your machine commercially, as others are. This is a bit of a tricky area, as the machine was not designed and marketed as such. Other folks have invested in two machines which is still a bargain considering the hardware/software costs for the next step up to a small commercial machine will easily run $20,000 for the same functionality.

[lone star]

Not meaning to sound upset, but guess ya'll missed the part where we mentioned how nice the people at CW have been. Nice or not, our machine has been down the majority of time we have owned it. We thought we would find out if others were experiencing the same or had in the past.

So many of you seem to be having a great time with your machines, we could not help but wonder.

Yes we paid for the shipping willingly. We did not complain when CW wanted three days to have our machine picked up by UPS. We paid instead. As we stated, we have loved the machine for the 20 hours it has worked since we bought it.

Sorry if we ruffled ya'lls feathers.

[TCboy]

the employees at CW are great. just keep in mind that the company is still growing and every machine or software is going to have bugs that need worked out. the employees are working hard to make sure that all of their customers are happy. it takes alot for a small, growing company to keep all of their customers happy. when i talked to them recently, i found that they currently have a small staff and are trying to get more people hired on to expand the company to keep up with the growing demand. so cut them a little slack. their doing their job to keep you happy.

[lone star]

LoneStar, I can understand your frustration. As others have stated (I think everyone is just being factual and not trying to pick on you), CW return and replacement policy is as good as or better than most others. I have been in service business most of my adult life and I have to say that I have been impressed with how fast CW has been able to ramp up support as the product has taken off. While having problems stinks, having a company that will stand behind their product is invaluable. I'm sure that CW will take care of what ever the problem is.

It sounds a bit like your using your machine commercially, as others are. This is a bit of a tricky area, as the machine was not designed and marketed as such. Other folks have invested in two machines which is still a bargain considering the hardware/software costs for the next step up to a small commercial machine will easily run $20,000 for the same functionality.
Jeff
Thank you for your message. We have no complaints about the CW service. One of us has a full time job (M-F) so most of our work is done in the eveing and on weekends. When the machine is down during that time we lose any opportunity to work with it. We have chosen to pay for shipping so that we can actually use the machine. We would love to make just one carving a day and still hope to accomplish that.

We agree that the price of the machine makes it a bargain. We were amazed to make such a find and were so excited to add this to our shop. We do all kinds of work, some we sell, some we gift, some we donate and some we keep for ourselves. Being relatively new to the machine and the forum, we did not realize the feelings our post would stir up. We will certainly be more careful in the future and perhaps one day can be the strong supporters that so many others seem to be.

Thank you again for the reply.

[TCboy]

Feel free to post lone star. we aren't trying to be mean and i apologize if i sounded that way. don't be afraid to voice your opinion and ask questions. that's one of the things that i should have been doing. tried to do things on my own first. shouldn't have done that. :)

[oldjoe]

Hang in there Lone Star this machine can be a roller coaster ride in the beginning but it will level out. Lots of us have had problems with our machines and from reading the posts things are getting better.
Mine is in the process of being put back together right now. I only have about 60 hours or so on mine have had my share of problems but when it has been running I feel it is worth the problems. And I think everyone on this forum is here to support you as well as the Carvewright staff is.

[dominulus]

Nora and Bill,

For the first 6 weeks I had the machine, I spent more than half my time on it troubleshooting mechanical problems (bad cut motor, sandpaper belt folding into itself, bum tracking sensor, sticky chuck, clogged-up board sensor), but once all these fine forum folks helped me iron out all the kinks, it was pretty smooth sailing.

I'd recommend you stick with it through the shake-down period so you can enjoy the fruits of all the labor you're in for.

dominulus

[Digitalwoodshop]

If you are going to depend on the machines for production and promised work then 2 machines is the way to go. If it's a business it's all a deduction anyway..... Peace of mind..... Stay away from the no warranty machines on eBay.

AL

[Jeton]

this machine has a 1 year warranty on it right?

so they'll pay for the shipping if something breaks down, or it needs to be sent back?

i'm ok with having to do some maintenance on the machine, but it sounds like once some of the things that do break, the machine will start to run nicely?

i'm still waiting on sears to get them in...they said maybe late this weekend =(

[geddins]

I've only had mine a week...I've not carved but a couple of things yet, I'm taking it very slow and trying to learn all I can before getting in too deep. I'm going to really get into it this weekend, and will be able to see if it's gonna be something I can keep or not. I have had a couple of errors show up, but nothing critical, and both have been because I did something wrong.

I'd say the learning curve is steeper than lots of things, but if you take the curve safely, you'll be fine.

Here's to hoping we're ALL still on here in a year tellin all the "newbs" to chill out and hang in there!

G

[TIMCOSBY]

i have only had the "please close cover error" and that was after the first carve. tightened the two screws underneath the senson and have had no more problems. probably got 90 hours of cut time and 20 scan time and still no problems. i did get a fatal error message while vacuuming on the keyboard side... i don't do that anymore. guese i should go knock on wood now huh.

[rjp736]

I've had just about every problem there is and LHR stepped up to the plate and got me running. That way I see it, by replacing these parts I'm gettin a better machine that has the bugs worked out. Keep the faith boys/girls, if your one that has problems.....just a matter of time before you get your machine tweaked just right.

[STEAM]

I have had my machine for almost a month and so far have only been able to use it one time. That was the first time. Since then I have had to replace the board sensor and now the chuck needs replaced. The one that is installed does not lock open and when you install a bit the chuck does not fully come down into place and throws the bits every time. LHR has sent me a replacement chuck but for the life of me I cant get the old one off. I have used a heat gun and have a correct size Allen wrench and flat wrench. The only thing that is happening is the Allen wrench is starting to turn in the Square Drive. Not a good thing. I have ordered Rjustice's chuck tools. I'm not going to try changing the chuck again until I have them. I don't want to strip out the Square Drive and hope I haven't already. I hope it doesn't have to make a trip to Texas. I really want to make a few Christmas presents this year.
Sorry, I guess I'm just venting.

[TCboy]

just be patient with the machine and the company. they seem like they are duing the best that they can to get everyone's problems fixed. I'm sure that they got a lot of customers that they have to deal with. As robbie stated, "its only a matter of time before you get your machine tweaked to the way you want it."

[JOHNB]

I JUST WANTED TO POST SOMETHING BEFORE THIS THREAD IS CLOSED.(lol)
but really, all i can say is work through the problems(as i did) it's worth it..remember it's under warranty

[STEAM]

Don't get me wrong. I have had nothing but complete support from LHR. They have been absolutely great! I'm not going to send my machine back or a refund. I am in this full tilt. When I bought my machine I got the complete package. Bit set, scanning probe centerline text the works. I have faith in the machine and even greater faith in the company. It's just getting through the "break in" period that a little rough. I know that once I get past the "bugs" I am going to enjoy my CW.
I wouldn't say that I am impatient. I'm just the kind of person who thinks it takes too long to make instant coffee in a microwave!:)

[Donboy]

I keep reading all these posts about how happy everyone seems to be and the great service from CarveWright. I keep thinking am I really the Lone Ranger? I have had a problem with my probe not working since April, 2007, have called several times and get the same answers, Duh, I don't know, I'll check with someone else and call you back...but they never call back. Yes I am a little jelous of all the folks that have been helped, it's not all glory being the Lone Ranger.

[rjp736]

Then be persistant with them, ask for a supervisor. I have had nothing but great help from the folks at LHR.

[Jeff_Birt]

Donboy, are you calling LHR/CW or Sears?

[mcanelly]

Lonestar,
We own a sign carving business and use our Carvewrights on a daily basis. We live in Alaska, so when our machine has had problems, we had to pay for shipping down and CR paid for the return. CR has always been VERY good about helping us get rolling again. We have had to ship two of our machines back to Texas for repair and we still had them back to carving within 2 weeks. Hang in there, it can be frustrating at first but in the end I'm sure you will reap the rewards.

[Jeton]

Lonestar,
We own a sign carving business and use our Carvewrights on a daily basis. We live in Alaska, so when our machine has had problems, we had to pay for shipping down and CR paid for the return. CR has always been VERY good about helping us get rolling again. We have had to ship two of our machines back to Texas for repair and we still had them back to carving within 2 weeks. Hang in there, it can be frustrating at first but in the end I'm sure you will reap the rewards.

I live in alaska as well, but i thought the company paid for the shipping? to and from...

are you machines under warranty? .. or is that just the way it is, they want me to pay shipping down, if the machine breaks before the 200 hours / 1 year warranty?

[newcarver]

I have had my share and yours of issues with the machine. I wont be the last to tell you that they will help you get rolling. I have had mine for almost a year and after many many calls and alot of patience, the machine does what i want it to, but it is not without issues. They are contantly evolving as a comoany and with that the support gets better and better. Hang in there if you truly like the machine.

[lone star]

We posted our original message because of the numerous problems we have had with our Compucarve, never guessing the number of replies that would occur.

We have had our machine about 6 weeks. Yesterday it left for LHR for the second time. We have spent uncounted hours on the telephone with technical assistance, troubleshooting every thing on the machine and have replaced many of the parts. We paid postage on three occasions to expedite the delivery (not a complaint, just factual). We so desperately want to be able to use our machine.

We purchased one machine with the intent of learning how to use it, then possibly purchasing another. We haven't learned much yet but we remain hopeful. Many of your messages are inspiring.

We want to be clear in stating that the people at LHR are very nice as that seemed to touch some nerves initially. They really want to help. To be honest, we were glad to send our machine off after an entire week of troubleshooting with LHR. No time to do much else. Again, factual and not a complaint.

We are eagerly waiting to be among the carvers and will likely lurk in the forum to learn all we can. We are long time wood workers and would really enjoy the new aspect this machine can bring to our lives.

We hope no one is offended by our post this time. We thank everyone that has responded.

Respectfully,

[jwhllh55]

I have to admit, the crew at CW are the best ever, but I do wish they would make the machine a little more forgiveable. I bought a second machine and with less then 9 hours of carving I have broken one bit and now I'm getting a X stall error.
The board sencor has gone bad and the sand paper belt has tried to ball up.
It would be better if there was a better QC. I know the machine is built in China, problem number one. For the price of the machine, it should be tested here in the USA...
Just venting, after spending a lot of money and haven't made any progress.

[grege01]

I have to admit, the crew at CW are the best ever, but I do wish they would make the machine a little more forgiveable. I bought a second machine and with less then 9 hours of carving I have broken one bit and now I'm getting a X stall error.
The board sencor has gone bad and the sand paper belt has tried to ball up.
It would be better if there was a better QC. I know the machine is built in China, problem number one. For the price of the machine, it should be tested here in the USA...
Just venting, after spending a lot of money and haven't made any progress.

Im a new member here, and trying to come up to speed with the workings and reliability of this product.

It sounds like the company support staff are first rate, but I find it amazing how much patience some people have with troubleshooting and repairing something they paid $1900 for. Don't know about you, but my time is more valuable than that. I know as a software engineer, sometimes you are better off waiting until version 2.0 is ready, rather than banging you head on the wall with something that should never have been released.

Personally I'd rather pay $3K for a solid reliable tool, than $2K for something that comes DOA out of the box, or has be babied all the time.

Any info if this company planning on introducing new upgraded hardware or larger/more reliable commercial models in the near future? Also, I did just notice a large price reduction, where Sears is now running a special for $1699. I can only hope the price drop means a version 2.0 product is on the way...

I hope my post doesn't banned, I would really like to own one of the things someday.

Cheers,
Greg

[zax]

Im a new member here, and trying to come up to speed with the workings and reliability of this product.

It sounds like the company support staff are first rate, but I find it amazing how much patience some people have with troubleshooting and repairing something they paid $1900 for. Don't know about you, but my time is more valuable than that. I know as a software engineer, sometimes you are better off waiting until version 2.0 is ready, rather than banging you head on the wall with something that should never have been released.

Personally I'd rather pay $3K for a solid reliable tool, than $2K for something that comes DOA out of the box, or has be babied all the time.

Any info if this company planning on introducing new upgraded hardware or larger/more reliable commercial models in the near future? Also, I did just notice a large price reduction, where Sears is now running a special for $1699. I can only hope the price drop means a version 2.0 product is on the way...

I hope my post doesn't banned, I would really like to own one of the things someday.

Cheers,
Greg

I would like a machine with CW's capabilities - but how can I buy CW when it apparently has no QC? A product that from day one, I can't even expect to receive it working correctly according to these posts?

What's the answer? Buy TWO of them?!?!?! I don't think so.
Cut them some slack because it's really a $10k machine?!?!? No... that's not how business should work.

I'm sure there's other machines on the market for around $5k that don't break down all the time...

Stupid Question: Why don't CW ship machines that have been thoroughly checked, tested and passed strict quality control?

Why are customers being used as the CW's QC department?

[oldjoe]

Yes it is true there are a lot of members that have had issues with the CW but then those are the only ones that seem to post. There are alot of owners that have not had problems otherwise they would be posting to, This is a hobby machine not an industial machine, and just because you pay more for something doesn't mean you are trouble free. The company I work for spent $200,000.00 on a machine. Talk about headaches out of the crate, bad sensors, bearings coming loose and going bad and that company didn't stand behind it nearly as well as CW. Yes they too told me what I had to do to fix it. Once the service man was out to fix it on site and he got called away to another location so he ordered the parts for our machine and I had to put them in.
So I guess there is no such thing as a worry free machine no matter what you pay.
The other thing some of the problems with the CW are self inflicted, and the company still backs up the machine.
As far as a bigger machine you will have to check with CW.

[Bubbabear]

Ok before i get deep here and i know there is always someone waiting to flame for poor grammer i know my grammer stinks and i have already got the flame going good enough to burn the hair off of the jolly green gaints bunns.

Now down to serious business. Ford Chevrolet Dodge Toyota Honda all put out cars that have issues. Dell compaq HP Emachine Gateway all put out computers that have issues. and most of them dont have anywhere near the support that i have heard that CW gives on their product.

I can promise you computer makers put out junk products. Having spent the last 10 years in computer repair and 5 of that doing warranty work on DELL HP and Compaq. hummm wish they hadnt cut the pay back so much i miss those $3000.00 every two weeks paydays. But anyhow as long as the service is there and they dont start outsourcing too India i can handle the rest. I am just glad i had good ot last three weeks firefighting so when sears had their on sale this past week i could buy it.

And yes if mine breaks there is a good chance i will be here moaning and groaning a little but more just venting than anything as long as they treat me right

Now if that big brown truck would show up

Good day all

[grege01]

Ok before i get deep here and i know there is always someone waiting to flame for poor grammer i know my grammer stinks and i have already got the flame going good enough to burn the hair off of the jolly green gaints bunns.

Now down to serious business. Ford Chevrolet Dodge Toyota Honda all put out cars that have issues. Dell compaq HP Emachine Gateway all put out computers that have issues. and most of them dont have anywhere near the support that i have heard that CW gives on their product.

I can promise you computer makers put out junk products. Having spent the last 10 years in computer repair and 5 of that doing warranty work on DELL HP and Compaq. hummm wish they hadnt cut the pay back so much i miss those $3000.00 every two weeks paydays. But anyhow as long as the service is there and they dont start outsourcing too India i can handle the rest. I am just glad i had good ot last three weeks firefighting so when sears had their on sale this past week i could buy it.

And yes if mine breaks there is a good chance i will be here moaning and groaning a little but more just venting than anything as long as they treat me right

Now if that big brown truck would show up

Good day all

If you are OK with alot of troubleshooting and working with support to get and keep a machine running, more power to you. But I have neither the time nor inclination to pay $189, let alone $1899 to work out the kinks of someone's product.

Which is back to my original question of future new models/price points in the pipeline for this company. I've gone over their web site and don't see anything announced. I'd hope the engineers have been taking notes on the first wave of problems and have gone back to the drawing board to beefed up the machine in its most troublesome areas. I (and I suspect lots of others) would be very willing to buy a more reliable, decent quality, version 2.0 of this tool when and/if it becomes available.

The fact is, from what I can tell, Carvewright is the ONLY game in town/tool on the market anywhere close to this value. As long as they are in that unique position, they can get away with releasing such a product to market even if it is not of acceptable quality/reliability based on the uniqueness of the offering.

Good luck to all, I will keep watching this site.
Greg

[Bubbabear]

Just cant see anyone getting a mercedes for the price of a pinto

[pastime106]

For the most part this machine has done what I had wanted it to do. I had the dreaded z-stall, a couple of other minor things on the machine have been repaired here in my basement shop. The company was up front before I purchased the machine, It is for home use. It is an addition to a shop full of tools, not a replacement. By the time someone steps up to this machine they probably already own and know how to use a little more then basic woodworking tools. Not to mention there is a ton of information on this site. I did more reading on this tool then any I have every purchased before.
I know I was informed prior to buying it.
I dumped far more into a CNC sherline mini mill, add a computer, stepper motor, control board, and software that is near impossible to use, or cost $$$$$$. This machine has put CNC into the hands of people at a steep price for the average home shop but thousands below anything close. Worth a little pain and suffering at times. You just can't expect it to be in full production.