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Digitalwoodshop
07-29-2008, 10:13 PM
My CarveWright caught on Smolder tonight...... And I believe I am 100% at fault.

It's been a interesting day in the shop.... From 3 machines down at once to a Fire or almost Fire tonight.... Here is my day....

So #1 was down first thing this morning. Was getting a ZERO reading. Using a Pig Tail or an extra Board Detector wire I had ordered a few months ago and I found I had a OK sensor with dust in the 30's. So the Wires inside the Y Truck were pinched again.... I played Tug-O-WIRE and I LOST.... Cleaned 3 sensors back to 156 readings.

So I replace the wires and I will only post a little about that as I will do a Anatomy of the Y truck when things calm down in the shop.

SO the Fire in #1 started when I was running 2 machines at once the shop. It sat out on the deck in the sun for most of the day while I repaired it and multi tasking all the things I needed to do. SO I get the repair done by 4 PM and the Flex cable is hanging off the bench in the sun all day. I grab it in the middle and whip it up and notice it is not it's usual stiffness... I whip it in the proper orientation and plug it in the top of the Z. I was a little reckless with it in hind site. I think I kinked the Flex or the spring about 4 inches back from the end right where it melted 5 min into a carve.

I walked in the shop not paying attention to the machines carving, then the smoke detector kicked in that I put in the shop after hearing about the wood fire on the forum... I look up and there is black smoke coming from the #1 machine above the Z Truck... I quick open the cover stopping the machine and put my hand into the sawdust on top of the Oak Board thinking that was it.... It was cool.... 2 machines one dust collector poor efficiency. Then I see the black smoke still coming from the Flex 4 inches up from the Z Truck. I feel it and it is like butter.... Soft. I ran for my Camera but the smoke had cleared by then. So I believe I had KINKED the spring inside the cable and that is what started the SMOLDER.... Very close to FIRE.....

I have been taking care of my Flex Cables and lubing them as needed so I cannot blame the Lubrication.... I blame POOR Handling procedures... BY ME.... Lesson's Learned.....

I had bought 2 complete Flex Cables and used one on #2 so I put the other one on #1 and will ordered 2 more tomorrow.... So #1 is back up and running tonight.

So I pull out #2 this morning when #1 was down and the Cut Motor failed to start.... I had stole the X Termination Board last week from #2 for #1 when my 2nd C1 Capacitor broke on #1. Ordered a new board and put it in #2 but did not test it. So when the Cut Motor did not start I thought I had just not plugged something in.... Well it all looked fine.... As for troubleshooting I decided to part swap... The Cut Motor Switch sounded good clicking so I stole the X Termination Board from #3 that needs new Y bearings when I get time....

Swap the board and #2 WORKS..... So now I have a collection of 3 X Termination Boards, 2 with the C1 Capacitor broken flush with the cap in need of a new Cap and this one that looks good but does not work... New out of the box.... Part of my $480.00 parts I ordered this afternoon... Another X Termination.... #4.

So now 2 machines are operational but I only run #2 tonight at 10 PM, sitting in the Laser Shop typing this. Then I hear a weird noise on the Intercom, a fluttering.... That is NOT GOOD.... After a almost Fire Tonight I race to the shop.... I find #2 has almost completed it's 2nd Cut Path's in OAK. A Easy Cut Path's as most of the wood is carved away. I stop the machine and grab the tip of the bit and I have EXTREME MOTION back and forth, the most I had EVER seen.... It was a NEW Spindle, just replacing it last night...... Less than 6 cut hours on it.... Then I see the metal ring on the wood and I think.... What a Micky Mouse Bearing spacer..... Then I remember the post's about it being a shock dampening device... OK, but what is it doing on my board? Well I made a Kodak Moment and grabbed my tools and went to work.... I STUFFED it back up in the spindle without any lube.... Snicker.... It worked. 30 Carving minutes later it is still humming away.... I did stop and check it 3 times since than to be sure....

SO it has been a HECK of a day in the shop..... Broke a Bearing screw too removing the Y Truck this morning. Thank goodness at having extra screws and bearings on hand, saved the day.... The screw broke flush to the bearing and a very small easy out is needed.... another day.... Again having the parts here helped....

I have a VERY Big project due Saturday making the Awards for the County Fair Fire Competition.... Imagine if I missed the deadline because my shop burnt down..... Not Good..... This should be an interesting project as I was given latitude to do what ever I wanted.... 20 Participation Plaques and 8 Trophies..... I have an account with 2 Award Supply companies and thought of ordering the reflective gold and red columns and all the Fixings to make the Trophies then I thought.... I have a better idea.... I had pictures of stuff from other years from a few Firemen friends so I know they used Glass one year, the fancy plastic columns another year and it was time for change.

I broke out some Flat Sawn Oak Boards that were not good for Cabinet projects and ran them through the Thickness sander making them nice. And so the adventure begins.... Pine for the Participation plaques and Oak for the Trophies....

Chris is taking up the slack this week with our joint project, finishing everything for a earlier than expected deadline. Thanks Buddy.

Back to work.... 11PM

AL

To clean the Board Detector Windows I sliced off the back plastic and cleaned the window and used tape to seal it.... Micky Moused fix... But it worked.... Need to find the part numbers for the Diodes and detector and fix the other 8 broken boards... I still like the idea of running 3 lengths of Fiber Optic cable in that wire way and keep the circuit board on top near the Z motor.... Worked at Sony why not here....

Digitalwoodshop
07-29-2008, 11:22 PM
Bet the guys over at "SHOP BOT" have my Band Aid picture on the shop Screen Saver by Noon.....

1 Hour into the Stuffed Dampening Device and it came out again and 3/4 of the way through the second carve on that board started earlier. I tried masking tape but the roll was almost empty... Then an EVIL Glint appeared in my eye like the Husky Dog in the movie Snow Dogs. I looked at my Shop First Aid kit and thought I would have some fun since my Carve Machines have been kicking my BUTT all day....

The Band Aid worked and it lasted about 5 Carving minutes.... What the heck holds the damper in place...? Where is my BONDO or JB WELD.... Ah heck... it's just after Midnight.... I will post this and call it a night.... I will let my machine greet me in the morning BROKEN just like this morning.... I believe #1 is ready to go in the morning while I put a old Spindle in #2 that I did the Trake on the other day to replace the QC.....

SO I call it Quits for the night... I got my 14 hours in... Where is that time clock....

AL

And Remember.... Band Aid.... IMPROVED.... Stays on BETTER even in water..... Just what I need.

As for Sled Dogs..... Unless your the Lead Dog..... The View Never Changes.... Snicker..... Saw it on a Coffee Cup in Alaska...

forqnc
07-30-2008, 09:00 AM
Sorry for all the problems your having Al, hope today is a better day for you.
Once again a great informative post. If I ever finish a friends trailer I am working on I might get back to carving.

atauer
07-30-2008, 09:17 AM
Al,

Sorry to hear about your "Fun-filled" day. Glad you caught the "fire" before you had a complete melt-down or worse!

Did the cops catch their man?

I'm suprised that the glue on the band-aid didn't catch fire. I had seen a few "hill-billy" items that were repaired with duct tape that had caughten on fire when use. (Lawn mowers apparently don't like duct tape!)

Glad to hear that your shop is ok and your machines are ok. Hopefully, today will be a better day for ya. Keep up the good carvings. they look great!

Digitalwoodshop
07-30-2008, 09:48 AM
Well the Cops are searching and 3 helicopters are on the way and multi agencies are involved. He is still on the run. They called his Cell Phone and they think they heard it chirp... Now it is off.... Doesn't he watch CSI or COPS.....

The partly completed project cupped last night and will not load properly so I am cutting a new one on machine #1. #2 is on the repair bench.

I was aware the Band Aid could have caught fire and removed it shortly after the Kodak Moment....

Buddy Chris is going to get Wood and will chip in on the 20 participation plaques. What a buddy.... I am SO Lucky....

Back to work,

AL

Robin Fellows
07-30-2008, 11:06 AM
Although my day didn't go like that, I had a similar meltdown and I know for a fact it was all my fault. While performing routine maintenance I removed the flex shaft for lubrication and about 6 inches of the silencing spring came out of the sleeve. I ordered a new assembly immediately but since LHR doesn't have a ten minute delivery option available for shipping, my impatience and my HMMM, I wonder if I can make it work mentallity got the best of me.

I stretched the remainder of the silencing spring to the length of the flex shaft sleeve and away I went. Five minutes later something caught my attention and I looked at the machine only to see the flex shaft starting to droop in the opposite direction.

So kids, the moral of the story is? Fill in the blank.

Digitalwoodshop
07-30-2008, 11:25 AM
Knock on wood, I have 2 machines running now.... Ended up taking the spindle from machine # 3. Took the Y off #3 since it was loose from a half finished repair to help remove the Z and found what I expected, a seized bearing in the Y.... Bearings and screws on the way.

AL

Digitalwoodshop
07-30-2008, 09:03 PM
10 PM and another machine goes down.... Both #1 and #2 have been carving all day. I just went in to watch #2 Cut Path and #1 finish carving. Standing in front of #2 watching the magic when it failed.... The Z did not go UP when it indexed and it cut the arm off my firemen and then cut his leg off. I quick flipped the lid up before it broke the bit saving me $40.00 plus $15.00 shipping....

The clip that holds the Z Belt is not holding... It is slipping..... Now I wonder with others having Z trouble if this is not the cause too....

Progress continues with 1 machine....

AL

Digitalwoodshop
07-30-2008, 10:40 PM
A 10 minute repair and I was back up running even with a Kodak Moment.... Yes, the screws were loose.... Very loose..... I mark the flat part of the adjustable bearing so I know when the bearing is at max tightness to the rails. This makes installation easy and I turn it so both bearings are at max tightness then back it off 1/4 turn and holding the Philip Bearing Screw Tighten it back up.

While I was repairing #2, #1 was doing a cut path. All of a sudden I hear Rattle Rattle BuZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.... I stepped to the machine lifting the cover as I have been getting real good at Emergency Stops on the machine....

I see the bit was cutting an interior small area AFTER cutting the parameter and here is a case of 1.130 contributing to the problem... TOO Much stress on the Tabs on the parameter and with Grain of the Wood not helping any it was a FLOPPER..... Could have broken something.....

I wonder if I had flipped the images if I could "Influnce" the Compiling of the project.... Cutting the outside first is not a good idea.....

Lucky I was next to the Machine as I saved another $40.00 bit and $15.00 shipping....

So it is 11:15 and I am calling it a night.... Both machines are operational....

AL

Digitalwoodshop
08-01-2008, 12:42 AM
Both machines ran flawlessly today. From 10 AM until 1:30 AM, about 15 hours each with a 30 min break for diner not wanting to leave them run, had them at Bit Change in-case the power flickered... Have Carved 16 of the 20 plaques with a 2 hour carve time for each.

liquidguitars
08-01-2008, 10:35 AM
that's a bummer never had much luck with "auto tab"
so i roll my own..

not sure if this will help but, I add boxes set to 0.00 to hold my work from moving.


LG

Digitalwoodshop
08-01-2008, 11:01 AM
That is a GOOD idea.... Thanks.

I remembered a trick Chris showed me with my Rail Road Car and selected the outline and Carve Region and set it to .4 and that took care of the inside cut out and made the carving stronger so the hose does not break off leaving the wood.

Carving more now. They go on each side of the Maltese Cross for the Trophies.

AL

fwharris
08-01-2008, 11:30 AM
that's a bummer never had much luck with "auto tab"
so i roll my own..

I add boxes set to 0.00 to hold my work..


LG

LG,

Do you do this with the auto cut path?

Digitalwoodshop
08-01-2008, 12:32 PM
Machine 1 had a few Z Stalls homing. Cleaned and reseated all the plugs worked for about 30 seconds then stopped. Quick replaced the Z Motor from #3 and so far so good....

Time to order another Z Motor.

AL

Digitalwoodshop
08-01-2008, 10:47 PM
10 PM self inflicted Carving Problem... Today I had a Z Stall on Homing and swapped the Z motor from #3. All is well for 5 more hours of carving when I get a Z Stall. Remove the top cover and see the flat cable pinched between the X Motor fins and the Y truck.... My fault because in my haste I left that little black circuit board protector off the Z Motor and just stuck the cable in... Turns out it smoked the Z Motor as it pulled the flat cable out while it was running and at an angle. That little black cap is a guide to keep the flat cable away from places it can get hurt in.... Was now getting a Z Stall and lock up. Put the old Z back in that was stalling and it worked.... For about 10 min.... Then stalled like earlier today. Pulled out a old Z motor, I couldn't remember why I replaced it. Put it in and it worked like a charm for 30 seconds then while doing it's homing it was doing that ticking noise I remeber.... That is why I replaced it.... Ticking.... I have some of the pre Z Bundle motors but I think it is just best to wait for the new motor... If it breaks a bit that's $40.00....

I still have machine #2 working.

Back to painting....

AL

Digitalwoodshop
08-03-2008, 11:38 PM
The Great Adventure came to a head tonight... I literally drove the last screw in the Oak Trophy at 6 PM and the Fire Competition started at 7:30.... And I had an Hour Drive....

Met Chris and he helped me set up. They were happy and I was happy....


The last picture makers it all worth while...


AL

LollyWood
08-04-2008, 12:07 AM
Al, my friend that is yeoman work. And it looks like it was very well recieved. Those smoke eaters are lucky to get trophies made w/ such skill from such an Artisan. Well done!!

ChrisAlb
08-04-2008, 08:07 AM
http://www.carvewright.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif.....FIREMEN'S HATS OFF TO AL!!!....http://www.carvewright.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

A very talented and HARD WORKING group of 9 fire companies competed in this years competition. There were NO LOSERS and ALL deserve a great BIG HAND and our gratitude and appreciation for their selfless service to all of us. As do ALL firefighters around the world.

Our friend Al, an EQUALLY TALENTED and HARD WORKING man spent countless hours day & Night since last Sunday to provide a simply GREAT collection of awards for these fighting men and women. His appreciation for our local heroes need not be spoken, it shows in his work. This meant a great deal to AL and MAN did he SHINE!!

I know through our friendship and constant communications this past week that he spent no less than 18 to 20 hours a day working on these awards. Under a big enough gun that he actually had to put the "finishing touches" on them right there AT THE EVENT!!

WELL DONE! my friend and my gratitude for inviting me to be a part of it with you........http://www.carvewright.com/forum/images/icons/icon10.gif

Jvicaretti
08-04-2008, 10:45 AM
The plaques and trophies look great, congratulations on a job very well done. Some of the guys from the fire company I belong to here in NY already heard about them and how nice they all were.

Digitalwoodshop
08-04-2008, 12:06 PM
THANKS !!!!! It was a FUN and learning week.... 2 Z Bundles on order to get the other machines up and running. I think the Tophies would make nice CLOCKS with the Firemen on each side... Chris, always thinking design, took one look and said. "You know AL, if you used Dowells to hold the Maltese Cross and Figures you eliminate the blocks in back and lets you put a clock in it...." Excellent Chris !!!! Great Idea.

Hats off to the Firefighter from New York !!!!

LollyWood, Thank You for all the HELP with this project, your the BEST!!!!!

Today's project... Blue Reflective 911 address signs... Got to contract to make the 911 signs for our local Fire Company. I have 35 to make.

The kicker with the Trophies is I found out that my old Boss that ownes the Lumber Company with 6 locations, was the sponsor of the Trophies. I get to bill him..... A Great Guy in all respects, he does so much for the community. A good Boss too. He is also "Mr. Wayne County Fair".... And runs the whole show.

Back to work,

AL

I will post pictures on my web site soon. www.poconodigitalwoodshop.com

liquidguitars
12-15-2008, 11:24 PM
time to press on.. err out..

LG

carvin
07-21-2009, 06:57 PM
Hi,
May I please inquire as to where you aquired the cross in your project?
I recently retired from the fire service and am looking to do something for my buddies that will soon be in the same situation, I know it's a bummer (retirement) but someone has to give the kids a chance to play! LOL
your assistance would be greatly appreciated, thanks

Steve

Digitalwoodshop
07-22-2009, 10:48 AM
The Maltese Cross is available at the LHR Pattern website for sale I believe. There might be a free one in the pattern thread on this forum too.

There is that picture of AL who that Chris took.....

You can do it with raised letters but they don't come out that well even with draft.

I would do it with a second .mpc that has just the text and do it in the recessed area. V Text in a recess area.

No Fire Dept competition this year at the Fair.... The Fair Vendors complained that the people sitting in the PACKED Grandstand for 5 hours spent NO Money.... So they Canned it..... CARNEY GREED......

AL

LollyWood
07-22-2009, 09:23 PM
Don't they all have really small hands??? yew.....

Sorry to hear about it Al, had a High Rise seminar a few weeks ago, told some of the men from up your way to check you out at the fair. (They knew exactly which one that was) Said they could pick up some very cool stuff from ya. I HATE Greed!!

Digitalwoodshop
07-22-2009, 10:35 PM
I think it was mainly the vendors that rent space to sell stuff.... Local GREED.... The Fire stuff was a free event.... I think they are putting another PAY event to get money from the Grandstands....

Last year was a record attendance year..... Something tells me that sales will be down this year with the economy.

There was a really good sign guy there... He cut many by hand but had a CNC....

Making artwork for some Fire Dept WET DOWN Clocks for Saturday.

This Thread is a year old....

AL