Wondering

[sensei]

I just got off the Sear site, I think I would like to buy one but wow the people that wrote reviews were not very kind to this tool.

Have they taken care of some of the problems they had?

Thanks for the input.

Sensei

[Jeff_Birt]

Sensei, welcome to the forum. I would invite you to spend some time reading through the many posts here. I think you will find that it will answer many of your questions and cause you to develop several more.

[sensei]

I have been looking over what people here are saying. It's a lot of money if all you have is problems.

I have another question, could this machine make a cribbage board? Is the scanning probe capable of scanning a cribbage board and finding all the holes?

[Jeff_Birt]

I have mentioned in the past that I tend to take any product reviews with a grain of salt. I have read through the Sears reviews from time to time and get quite a kick out of the ones like, "it was so loud I had to take it back". I think the more technical a product is the greater disparity you will see in reviews as some folks just wont take the time to learn about the product before blaming it for not working.

All of us users, here on the forum, come from wildly varying backgrounds. Some folks have experience with CNC equipment before and for some both computers and wood working are new. I think the manufacturer has done a good job of making a CNC wood carving machine that is both affordable and easy to use. I use some high end CAD/CAM systems at work and Designer has them beat for ease of use and bang-for-the-buck.

If you start out realizing that you need to spend some time learning how to use the machine and how to keep it cleaned up and maintained you will have a blast with the machine. My personal experience has taught me that I'm the number one cause of machine errors. Most of the time when something goes wrong I have been able to trace it back to something like: having a setting wrong, not having a heavy board supported properly, setting the sliding guide plate too tight up against the wood.

Now it is a machine and things can and will go wrong at times. CarveWright has great technical support and does a great job of standing behind their product if you do have trouble.


Do a search for 'cribbage' I think you will find a few projects that other folks have made.

[sensei]

Thanks for the input Jeff. I think I'm going to take the plunge.

Any ideas on were to get the best buy?

[Jeff_Birt]

Sears runs some really good deals from time to time. There are also several other dealers that carry the machine (CW used to have a list on their web page). Of, course you can also buy them direct from CW.

[Bflat5]

I bought mine from Sears and almost passed on it due to the reviews... I did find a lot of possitive reviews too though.

Some of the bad reviews I read I just really wrote off as user error. One in particular was the one that said the machine was DOA out of the box... Possible with any machine, but I'm very curious if that person just plugged it up and tried to turn it on without the memory card in it... That would appear to be DOA I guess since it apparently doesn't show anything on the display without the card.

Some people will freak out on a piece of equipment simply because they don't understand it and since this is computer related that makes it even worse for some.

If someone isn't familiar with computers and imaging/3D software, they'll likely have problems and blame the machine.

I've read most of the stuff here and I'm still not scared of the CW. :)

[LittleRedWoodshop]

I worked for Sears and waited a year to buy one because of the reviews. I now have 2 machines since Thanksgiving. Wish I hadn't waited.

[twinpeaksenterprises, LLC]

Bflat, Good call, thats a real down to earth answer. I have both woodworking and computer skills but still had problems with the CW and they were all pretty much user error but it was easy to blame the machine and protect my ego. I think thats the case with some. For sure theres going to be some with problems due to manufacturing or shipping, as is with any piece of equipment. I got the worst luck with getting equipment shipped to me so i can imagine. Paitence is the key to making this work.

[hotpop]

sensei

The CC/CW machine requires some mechanical aptitude and the software requires some computer skills. Unfortunately some people buying the CC/CW have neither. These are the people that seem to have the most problems. CNC wood carving is a great way to earn a pat on the back. You'll be amazed how many ideas your family and friends will come up with once they know what you can do with the CC/CW. The folks on the forum are here to help you get going. In a few months you'll be helping others.

Like everything new these days there will be a learning curve. I still have trouble loading toons on my cell phone. And of course if your a teenager you already know it all. Gosh! I wish I was a teenager again and of course know what I know now. Opps! Getting of the subject. Didn't mean to preach.

I hope you enjoy your new machine. If you need help we're here.

[jwhllh55]

The cost of two machines has set me back a lot, however, each machine are working well. I have to clean and lube every job, but it's worth it. One of my machines head will not stay even and I have to ajust it often.
All in all, the machines will pay for themselves in a year easy. I have a hard time keeping up with the orders. Some of the designs these people come up with are amazing. At some point if I have time, I'll post a few of the best.
To make a buy for two grand, plus the probe and centerline, is a big out lay of money, with the fuel and food prices going up everyday. With just a little effort and faith, you and anyone that are on the fence will find there is a lot enjoyment working with the CW and LHR...
Have fun craving..
John Hammett
Baker City, OR

[forqnc]

Sensei, Welcome to the forum, as everyone else has said, this is a great machine but comes with a learning curve. How steeep the learning curve is depends on the operator's ability. I feel a lot of the bad reviews are down to people expecting to get it out of the box and make great carvings like have been posted on here.
Read through some of the Threads on here, Good and Bad, quite a few of the problems are operator error (Yes, myself included). There is also a wealth of infomation on here, should you get one and have a problem. Digitalworkshop has posted great photo's of the break down of various parts when he has encountered problems (He has over 400 hrs on one of his machines)
Good Luck if you decide to purchase one.

[sensei]

Thank you so much every one. You make a guy feel at home.

I am an electronic tech and also mechanically inclined so I have some high hopes I wouldn't mess things up to bad right off the bat! I’m going to look around today to see what deals there might be. Sears has $100.00 off on the machine right now.

Where on Carvewright can I order one?

Thanks again

Sensei

[forqnc]

Sears has $100.00 off on the machine right now.

Sensei

Sometimes they also offer a crafstman club discount of 20% I got mine in a sale with the discount for around $1600

[sensei]

Ok I'm ready to buy, found a pretty good deal I think. The company is MACHINERYDISTRIBUTORS.COM, can anyone tell me if they have done buisness with them and if so was it a good company?

Thanks

sensei

[sensei]

I did it. I just ordered it from MACHINERYDISTRIBUTORS.COM. I can't wait.