Project depth seems wrong

[qsligh]

I've been carving with my new machine for about 3 weeks now and decided to replicate the sign carve from March 2008 Tips & Tricks. I have attached my project for inspection. I ensured that the board was 7" longer than the original board an made it approx 1.5" wider than the machine board. Once I loaded the project, I ensured that the project stayed under rollers as well as not selecting the "scaling" option. I noticed something was wrong with asked to load the 1/8th cutting bit, the bit would never touch the board while going through it's preperation. Neither of the bits actually touched the board. I have cleaned my machine after each job like suggested in an earlier article on the Carvewright website. I am at a lost seeing that I think that I've done everything right. Oh, one other note, I actually placed the actual thickness of the board and not simply used the 0.750" entry. My board actually measured 13/16" vice 12/16" of an inch, so I entered 0.813". Even when it attempted to carve the bit was moving above the board. Please help if someone can. I really love this machine!

[liquidguitars]

Sawdust chips can clog the belts. With the power off and carving bit out see if you can move the z truck freely in all directions.

also small drop of 3n1 on the z rails and a small brass wire brush can help clean the pitch off.
LG

[cnsranch]

Did the bit plate extend out, and did the bit then touch the plate during set-up - this would happen before the bit would touch the board - if the plate did not extend, you'd get a false reading about the board's surface.

[qsligh]

Did the bit plate extend out, and did the bit then touch the plate during set-up - this would happen before the bit would touch the board - if the plate did not extend, you'd get a false reading about the board's surface.

Cnsranch,

Yes the bit plate did extend out and the bit did in fact touch the plate during setup. Everything seemed to be going as advertised. Neither bit actually touched the board.

-qsligh

[qsligh]

Sawdust chips can clog the belts. With the power off and carving bit out see if you can move the z truck freely in all directions.

also small drop of 3n1 on the z rails and a small brass wire brush can help clean the pitch off.
LG

Liquidguitars,

I can move the "z" truck in all directions with ease, I also added a few drops of 3n1 as you suggested on a brass brush and cleaned off the rails. I attempt to run the project again later on this week.

[cnsranch]

Hmmm..

If it's not a bit plate problem, someone smarter than me'll figure it out.

[eromran]

Have you tried just using the .75 entry for board thickness (IN DESIGNER) then just let the machine figure it out? You are wanting it to start lower anyways.i KNOW YOU SAID YOU CAN move the z truck easily but can you make it go down to the board all the way?

[qsligh]

Have you tried just using the .75 entry for board thickness (IN DESIGNER) then just let the machine figure it out? You are wanting it to start lower anyways.i KNOW YOU SAID YOU CAN move the z truck easily but can you make it go down to the board all the way?

Eromran,

I have not tried this as of yet, but when I come home from work today, i will place the same board back in and give it a try. I will let you know my resulsts later this evening. Thanks so much for all the help all of you are giving me. I want to be one of the many success stories vice the latter!

[qsligh]

Cnsranch,

Yes the bit plate did extend out and the bit did in fact touch the plate during setup. Everything seemed to be going as advertised. Neither bit actually touched the board.

-qsligh

Cnsranch,

I tried a downloaded project this time after all the tips I've tried so that I can rule out my project design being flawed. I chose the "Old-Fashioned Wheeled Toys" project from Carve Buddy. I chose the duck board seeing that I had a piece of wood left that matched the deminsions. After placing the board on the belt, I noticed that the bit plate did extend, but the cutting bit did not touch the plate. I aborted the session and retried the project, this time the bit touched the plate the first time, but did not touch it again. I allowed the system to continue its calibration and then it asked me if I wanted to keep the original board thickness of 3/4" and I chose yes, but was told that my board was too thick. I'm guessing that there's something causing the bit not to touch the strike plate, thus giving erroneous measurements. This is quite strange because the bit goes past the board on the console side of the machine at the initial startup. It pays to actually watch the whole operation and not assume it touch simply because of the sound that was made. Now I know what is not working, but not how to fix it.

V/r,
qsligh

[qsligh]

To all,

Thanks so much for all the help you gave me regarding my issue. I am happy to report that after trying all the tips you guys gave, I finally talked to the folks at the CarveWright plant and Robert & crew gave me some pointers that worked. The issue was that the strike plate for some reason had bent a little causing the bit not to touch it. I don't know why this happened, as I do not touch it at all, but nonetheless that seemed to fix my problem. I'm haply carving again!! I hope that all of our experiences are as bright as mine. Happy carving........... If anyone at CarveWright follows our threads, I might suggest that in their next design revision, that the material the strike plate is constructed of be a little less susceptible to bending.

Vr,
QSligh