Introduce Yourself

[chief2007]

Just getting started obviously. Had my C machine for about 5 months now and it is a hobby for me. So far i've made a few purchased projects of the basic skill level that turned out surprisingly well considering my newbie status. I gave them to friends. I've also made a few grave markers for friends which is rather traditional where I'm stationed, and they came out remarkable. My greatest difficulty is that wood near my station is quite rare and difficult to come by. So all wood is low quality kiln dryed cut and joined wood. All wood comes in 3 sizes only and 32" x12" x 1" is the most common. Wood only comes in 16" 12" and 5" widths. Wood type is either yellow pine or Oak. I can get Beech for twice the price but I've only seen it twice in 3 years. mostly I would call this wood for shelving but that is just about the only wood available in my country. (I'm a chaplain for the U.S. Army stationed in a small but aggresive and volatile place. here now for 13 years, so i need a good hobby) so any suggestions you have for minimizing the amount of wood loss is really helpful. I often give away the leftover wood for people to heat their homes and cook food, but i currently throw away more wood than my project takes up. If anybody has a nice little plan for making sawdust logs that would be a great blessing to others.Attachment 60403

Thank you for your Service

You might try Woodcraft.com They will ship to APO/FPO addresses so might be another avenue for getting different woods. Can be pricey, but at least you can get some different woods form time to time.

Found this on making sawdust logs

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  • 1 Put a few inches of water in a large metal pot and bring the water to a boil on a stove.
    
    
  • 2 Place the paraffin wax from leftover candles in a smaller metal container, and put the smaller container inside the pot so that the boiling water melts the wax.
    
    
    
  • 3 Mix sawdust into the melted wax in a 1:1 ratio.
    
    
  • 4 Scoop or pour the sawdust and wax mixture into a cupcake tray or any other container that will produce uniform shapes. You may wish to place some thin paper between the tray and each fire starter, so that you can easily remove them from the tray. If you don't have a tray, you can wait for the mixture to cool a bit, and make spherical clumps on a piece of paper.
    
    
  • 5 Wait for the mixture to cool, then take the fire starters out of the tray. Simply light one with a match or lighter in a fireplace to produce a long-lasting flame that will ignite logs.
    
    
    
    

[badbert]

The proper use of a sled can conserve wood!

[liblakelady]

I

The proper use of a sled can conserve wood!

I feel stupid asking what you mean by a sled

[chief2007]

I

I feel stupid asking what you mean by a sled

No - please don't feel that way, everyone has that moment and no questions is a stupid question except for the one not asked.

A sled is use to hold the wood you want to carve, it extends the wood the 3.5 inches on each side so you don't need to waste as much wood, and keeps the project under the roller to prevent any "lines" from appearing in the carving.

Look at this link it explains the use of a sled and carrier boards - http://www.carvewright.com/assets/ti...icks_Apr08.pdf

[PCent]

Hi everyone - my name is Peter and after a lot of research and deliberation I purchased a carvewright. I found an old compucarve with less than an hour on it for a very good price and i went for it. I figure even if i have to upgrade it to a "C" it will be cheaper to do it that way.

I appreciate how welcoming and helpful everyone has been so far. I'm hoping I can use this for a couple of different applications I've been dreaming about. Thanks again and nice to meet you guys.

[badbert]

Welcome to the community!

[DCHeels]

I'm new here also. Been doing a lot of research on systems. Haven't found a suitable used CW near me in NoVa. I missed the Valentine's Day special. Any idea when there will be another sale?

[dltccf]

Welcome, I live in maryland but travel to nova every week now for work. I can't tell you about sales, but you are welcome to drop by and ask questions or if you want to see one in operation.

Dave


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[phxdatadr]

Just getting started here . I got my version C last friday. I am loving it and learning alot .

[phxdatadr]

And it gets hot in the summer .. but I need to learn as much as I can before the heat, ( because it is in my garage) Building my shop out back by the pool, (that building was a bar), untill mow .