Miniatures

[Starfire]

Hi
I am new to the forum and would like to use my shiny new toy Compu-carve machine for making various pieces of miniature furniture and architectural pieces for the custom models that I create. In going through the forum I have not seen any reference to this kin of use. Has anyone here done this? I am playing around with the software and have a couple of designs ready but one question I have is that the depth of the wood I need to use for building the end product is quite thin and I have no idea what techniques to use in order for the pieces to remain usable once they are carved out.
Any help would be really appreciated
Starfire

[brady.schwyhart]

Starfire,
Can you post the .mpc's that you've made so we can see them. Also what thickness are you wanting to use? Anything below 1/2 inch and you need to use a sled for it. Check the Tips and Tricks for LOTS of info on that as well as doing a forum search for "using a sled". Make sure you keep the quote marks in your search.
Brady

[Starfire]

Not sure what you mean by .mpc's. Sorry to be a dunce but I am really new at this. I will check out the sled thing. It certainly seems a practical way to handle it.

[brady.schwyhart]

Sorry bout the confusion. .mpc is the file extension for a finished project. Once you finish it and save your project, it is saved as a .mpc.
Brady

[mtylerfl]

Not sure what you mean by .mpc's. Sorry to be a dunce but I am really new at this. I will check out the sled thing. It certainly seems a practical way to handle it.

Hello Starfire,

Be sure to read all the Tips & Tricks newsletters. They will help you with a host of techniques and terminologies you need to become familiar with.

In particular, read the Dec '07 and Jan '08 issues for tips regarding proper setup of projects and maintanance of your machine.

You can download the issues for free at:
http://www.carvebuddy.com/learning_center.html

or http://www.carvewright.com/cms/tips-and-tricks

As far as carving/cutting miniature furniture, it depends on "how miniature" you're talking about. The machine is wonderful, but it does have its limitations...if the furniture is very small, it may make more sense to use other tools such as a bandsaw or scrollsaw for really small cutouts.

I have thought about making miniature dollhouse furniture designs and patterns for sale for almost two years now. It got pushed down on the "to-do" list mainly because I keep thinking there are more efficient ways to make most small furniture other than using the CarveWright or CompuCarve machines. I may re-visit that in the future however, as I think for certain things, the CarveWright could be useful (the contoured interior/exterior shapes of miniature bathtubs, roof textures, and lapped siding and brick textures for example).