This for me?

[zstat]

I am new to wood working and saw the Compucarve at Sears and was WOW... This could be fun... Is this to advanced for a true novice? and how tough is it to make your own designs? Thanks z

[Skyhawk]

This machine may easily be used by a complete novice and produce fantastic results...I would suggest taking a bit of time to read through many of the posts in this forum to familiarize yourself with the software and the machine...

As for making patterns...there is a pretty good amount of art that comes with the system that will allow you to create some interesting designs in just a few minutes...But as you look around the forum you will notice a few very detailed designs...The detailed designs are usually created using third-party software and can either be easy or very difficult depending onyour knowledge of that software!

[deemon328]

Hello! When I asked myself the same question, I decided to get one based on one important consideration: will the carvewright allow me to do new things that I couldn't do before. The answer was absolutely yes, so I took the plunge.

I don't think the machine is appropriate for stock prep and sizing. Cutting a board to size in the carvewright could take an hour, when you could do it on traditional woodworking tools in seconds. The machine excels at detail carving and pattern work for me.

Is it too advanced? You'll need to use a computer and design the carving patterns with the included software, so there's a bit of a learning curve there if you're not computer savvy. You'll need to keep the machine tuned more than other tools in the shop, but it's not difficult to do.

[DocWheeler]

Z,

Download a trial period of the software - that should hook you.

[Dan-Woodman]

I remember of one person coming on here saying they had some woodworking experiance,and then coming back on saying he's taking it back , as he didn't know it was going to be noisy. If you are a beginning woodworker ,and don't already know it routers are noisy, this machine is no exception.

Also , a lot of operations it advertises it will do are faster and more suetable for other woodworking tools.

It a wonderful machine for what it does ,and what it does best is carve.

later Daniel

[FINGERS]

Is the machine rite for you is a vague question, you should be asking am I rite for the machine, Let's see the softwear part is user friendly and the basic function of the machine is also,In a perfect world that's all you need to know, BUT HELLO it's not and the machine is not perfect "workable" but not perfect, when the time comes for you to replace parts are you willing and able to do so, do you have the basic handtools to preform the task of replacing parts and putting it back like you found it, WELL CAN YOU ? Yet us not forget about the other tool you'll need in your workshop like sanders and planers and vac OH-MY, do you have the room for the machine and all of its appendages, WELL if you do and you can, I SAY GO FOR IT YOU'LL LOVE IT!
And you may have it in you to make something like this.

[zstat]

Thank you everyone... I am looking at my workshop now... Making sure I have the room.... I am 85% sure I will buy one real soon.... Thanks again for all the help.. Z