IndustriAL Uses for the CW

[Digitalwoodshop]

I will Title this one IndustriAL uses for the CarveWright....

Tonight I am checking the Forum on my way out.... It has been a long day working on a big order. At first I was planning to cut the Tags on the CW but the Customer wanted the Economy one sided Tag that I can get cut from my supplier....

Woke this morning to heavy winds and the Power was out until Noon. Took 2 hours to whip up the Artwork for this project. Using Find and Replace made making the Art for the other Departments easy.... Even Changed the Color with Find and Replace...

Printing the Actual Tags started at 7 PM and I just finished over 500 tags at 3 AM... During that time I listened to 3 different Fire Calls in the County all after Midnight... All Wood Stove Related... 2 Fires and one back drafted Smoke setting off the Alarm. It's 17 degrees as I type and the wind is blowing.

So here are some pictures of my $5K project... In my Excitement I thought it was a $10K project... That Times 2 Tags.... Got me.... 535 Tags not Fireman...

I have shipped a bunch of stuff this week, all done on the CW....

Here is a GLOAT.... A Fire Dept near Penn State.

AL

[Digitalwoodshop]

My weekend was 535 Times MORE Boaring than most people here..... Boaring.... You know the DRILL.........

How was it Jeff Dunham said it... Nascar.... "There making a LEFT Turn".... O' NO.... "There making a LEFT Turn"..... LOL....

It's the Fumes..... 1 AM....

AL

[gregsolano]

are you carving the numbers and letters with the cw? If so is this the standard material used by engravers? Not looking to hone in on your business, just interested in ways CW is being used.

[DurhamDev]

I'm also not looking to steal any business - but since I'm in Canada, hopefully that's a non-issue. What I would love to know is how you came across such an opportunity! That looks like a perfect use for the CW!

[Digitalwoodshop]

Gentleman,

There is always room for competition.... I use the machine to cut FRP or Fiber Reinforced Plastic made by Unisub for Sublimation Printing. That is the Printing on a T Shirt Technology... Using special Ink at $1200.00 for 8 Bags and Special Paper with a Clay Coating I Ink Jet Print the Transfer Paper. Then I place the tags on the sheet and in a 16 x 20 Heat Press at 400 degrees I press the image to the tags in 60 seconds. It is called Sublimation a Scientific Term where the ink goes from a solid to a Vapor to a solid when heat is removed and never having become a Liquid. Sublimation...

So that is the Easy Part.... I can print on Coffee Cups that are coated with a Clear Poly or Mouse Pads, or T Shirts, or any number of things... I got into the business to make Tourist Stuff... Coffee Cups, Clocks, Picture Frames, etc.... I have over $10K in Inventory in pretty boxes with Unisub written on the side.... I bought a case of anything I thought would make money going after the Granny looking for a Gran kid Picture on a Coffee Cup or Mouse pad.... Been doing this since 2007 and my business has had a loss every year after expenses... This year will be different.... Last year at Tax Time I had $19K in Inventory I believe.... Very Little has moved since 2007....

So back in 2007 I was asked to make some Accountability Tags for my local Fire Dept.... Gave away the stuff.... My first Paid Order went well.... But was a inferior product than I make today and I am going to make them new tags FREE in the next few months.... I found the key was doing the Epoxy Dome on the tags.... And the Grommet...

Then I got a email from a guy ordering tags and said why is a Wood Shop making Fire Stuff.... I looked and www.AccountabilityTag.com was available. Opened it and started adding pictures and now 98% of my business is from someone doing a search of Accountability Tag.. I show up on page 1 with the Big Boys.... Got a email from a Fireman in Haifa, Israel today asking for samples and would I sell them tags.... Sure I will.... I visited Haifa in my Navy Days....

So that leads my to actually start answering your question.... The tags I am using for this $5K order are standard stock 1.5 x 3 tags. They only have a limited number of tag sizes and none in 2 sided... That lead me to looking for a way to use my CW to cut the tags. The First problem was the FEED Rate was TOO QUICK for the Granulated FRP and lots of chipping of the edges making the tag useless... I needed a Maltese Cross FRP cut 2 years ago and cut the wood block then taped the FRP to the wood and used a bearing router bit.

Then I happened on a tip from one of our LHR visitors Lynn.... Select the 1/4 inch ball nose bit and the feed rate will stay in 1st gear.... That is want I call it... If you watch a cut path it would slowly cut the corners then speed up to 2nd gear... By designing the tags with the 1/16 inch end mill, and in my case one from my 912 Rotary Engraver cut in half since it is a 6 inch long bit...

I double stick taped the sheet to a carrier board and made the artwork with the 1/16 End Mill then when done selected all the cuts and assigned the 1/4 inch bull nose. I still cut with the 1/16 inch bit, but the head stays in first gear. This First Gear Trick will only work with assigning a bit.... NOT the Cut Path.... That is a request I have for LHR to Add a Block to the Depth Of Cut Screen LOCKING THE CUT PATH INTO 1ST GEAR.

That leads me to now be able to cut any size tags to meet my needs..... If you look at my Web Site you will see Clocks and Wood Handles for the Accountability Boards. This week I shipped some Accountability Boards and was shocked to see I had used the very last large #3 Grommet... In a bag of 500.... 500 Grommets..... That is a lot of Accountability Boards.....

I have just started to dabble in Glow in the Dark Tags, Reflective Tags, and Heavy Aluminum Tags.... All of which no other company is making yet.... I have a GREAT product and offer a Lifetime Warranty... I sent a order of tags to North Carolina last week where they are getting frustrated with the cheap tags that snap off and they need to order replacement and PAY again...... I live for that type of Customer... One who Appreciates a good Product....

As for Canada... I sold tags to Canada last summer.... At first they ordered the tags then came back.... NO GO... They were mandated to buy Cannadian.... NO USA.... I said I understand.... Two months later the Chief came back and said no luck finding anyone to make them. Can I order them out of my own pocket? SURE... I gave him a discount.... Got a email 2 weeks ago.... LOVE the TAGS... Got money approved to buy MORE from YOU..... So another pending order.... One of my 45 or so work folders...

Got FIRED last week.... A long time Customer Reselling my Tags got tired of waiting... and FIRED ME..... I sent the tags FREE and a "I am SORRY" note but the package was refused.... Sent a Groveling email.... "I am Sorry".... Nothing.... I am a one man shop.... It WAS MY FAULT they FIRED ME.... I understand... I was sick off and on from Thanksgiving until about 3 weeks ago.... Didn't spend that much productive time in the shop... And when I did... I was HERE.....

The tags can be made with a Rotary Engraver or a Laser Engraver.... But the Sublimation lets me do color pictures..... My next purchase will be a MIMAKI UJF-3042 a Flatbed Color Printer with UV LED Cure ink.... It is only $41K..... That is AFTER I finish paying off my Building and Equipment Loan of about $60K.... My Gross last year was $9.5K. I believe this year will be better.... I am getting KNOWN..... So there is ROOM for others... Many Fire Dept's still use Cow Tags.... Plastic Tags 1 to 100.... that go in Cow's Ears.... I get calls.... We can't find Cow TAGS anymore... Can you make us some.... That is how the PHOTO tag came to life.... I am bidding on Accountability Tags for a North Dakota Fire Dept... He asked me to bid as he saw the Photo Tag pictures of the Kindred, ND Fire Dept on my Website and a guy HE went to School with.... He found me by Searching.....

I have Engraving Plastic here and have tried to engrave small letters with the CW.... Anything below 3/8 of an inch on Plastic, I could not make work well.... The Resolution just did not work.... I have a Rotary Engraver and plan to offer plastic Engraved tags in the future just to cover all the price points... I will cut the Sheets into tags with the CW.... I will be making a Vacuum sled with a replaceable top for each size tag.

Good Luck and Thanks for asking....

AL who with a big EGO..... tonight.... You should have seen me a year and a half ago when I was teetering on Bankruptcy due to high Credit Cards.... Put the Credit Cards into my Building Loan and I am operating the business with ZERO CREDIT... If I want it... I need the money in the BANK..... So that $41K Machine.... WAY down the list today....

Without the CW's my business would have gone belly up long ago..... The CW SAVED MY BUSINESS...... in it's Ability to make things I can SELL....

[gregsolano]

Wow what a great story. I wish you continued success.

[mtylerfl]

AL,

Thank you for sharing your story with us. I have always loved your candor and "straight-up" way of explaining things so that we can all understand and LEARN from your experiences. You are greatly appreciated!

[CarverJerry]

That is one good story Al. I had a guy from a mold shop contact me and wanted to know if I could machine these little parts for him with my CW. I just didn't think the CW had the ability to hold a close enough tollerance like what he needed. Being a machinist myself for many of years I don't feel the CW can hold close enough dimensions to be trying to hold +/- .003". It's ok for somethings but not precision making. I do love my machine and wouldn't trade it for anything. Thats my story.

CJ

[Digitalwoodshop]

Thanks Guys. I do have FUN and I have made a few mistakes along the way.... When the Economy improves the Unisub Stuff might start moving.... But as some have posted here.... Craft Shows are Fickle... I had 5 Shows before Christmas and worked myself into the ground making stuff... The First 2 were at Developments where most owned a second home from New York City. Did very well.... The next 2 I sold less than $20.00 worth of stuff and blew off the last show.... I was already getting Sick and had little energy to waste my time. While I was on limited work hours the work was building up... Now I am trying to catch up....

This Fire Stuff is a Niche Market. My local Barber gave me some great advice one time as I was explaining my business... He said I had TOO Many products, and many that were a hard sell. He said is what you need is 1 or 2 GREAT products..... That is when I started seeking out how to improve my Accountability Tag. I was dipping my tags in Spar Varnish or Poly to help protect them.... Finding the Epoxy Dome was the Cream on the Cake.... So far no one has copied me yet... Not even the Pictures.....

I have other markets I am going to go after soon, even the NAVY.... I have a Great Product in mind for them..... Even with budget problems in the Navy, I believe that they will still buy.... If not now, later.....

We have a Search and Rescue Trailer in our Fire Dept.... I am planning on making a 100 tag system for "Tasks". When the searchers go out they are given a "TASK #" and all Radio Contact is done using TASK Numbers.... Plus when they are back, the tag is clipped on a board. I saw that movie the other day where the Open Ocean Divers, a guy and Gal were left by the Dive Boat overnight in the Ocean.... They Died.... Even a Tag System like I have with Stainless Hardware would SELL for Dive Boats....

OK... More Pictures of my Humble Beginnings....

A Rare Picture of me taken by Chris when I made the awards for the County Fair Fire competition. Chris helped me deliver the stuff.

The Milford first paid Tag order in 3/2008.

My first attempts to cut FRP after the CW was not up to the task.

Sometimes the dates on the pictures show up correct but if the Forum reduces the File Size it puts today's date on the picture as seen in 2 pictures.

AL

[Ike]

Al you have a smart barber! I sold my unused 48" by 96" Shopbot to buy that cover wagon to sell old fashioned soda along with my signs. My thought were I was tired of people coming up and telling me my signs made with old growth redwood and very expensive finish was too much. Yet in their hand they held a beer with several empty cups stacked under their full cup and a corn dog in the other! Each beer costing them $5.00 for maybe a 12 oz cup and a corn dog that is $4.00! They stand there telling me my sign for $35.00 is too much when they have spent that in beer and food!

I thought by expanding to the drink/food area I would have more money then I knew what to do with! WRONG!!!! Talk about back firing for 2 years my wife dumped money into this business and now we are broke!

What I should have done was improved the sign shop and offered signs that were simple yet nice and affordable! I may have kept the SB or used the money for the improvement! This year after falling I hope to get back on our feet! So as the barber said, stick to a few items and go with it! With my portable sign shop I have signs that range from $15.00 to $400.00 and all mixed with different fonts and trims and on 3 sides of the shop. It went in one ear and out the other when customers would say there is too many choices!

This year the plan is to remodel the outside to attract the attention to customers and then offer the display in price sections. I do not plan on taking any quality away, but I may not worry so much if the redwood is old growth. I found only a few appreciate the higher quality material, plus the finish will still be quality. This time I will not special order the finish and will buy it from Home Depot or Lowes.

I plan on having a value section of sorts offering $20.00 signs with just the last name on a 6" by 24" sign with chop trim and black lettering with one shot of clear. Then I will have another section with artwork for $25.00. I will have this for each size, a 4" to 24" signs ranging from $10.00 to $15.00 and for the 8", 10" and 12".

I will continue to offer the more detailed custom signs, but the ideal this year is to market the affordable sign! I welcome any suggestions, I have been making signs for over 30 years and have had a business mostly part time for the last 27 years and the last 7 full time. I have been hard headed not wanting or thinking I needed to change! I always wanted to put out a quality sign and even though my prices were fair! The other sign makers had cheap signs and they do well! I was told by another sign company that he was into quantity not quality unlike my sign shop!

It took me to being where I am today to swallow my pride and realize my work is only worth what I can sell it for! So I am lowering my prices to sell quantity, but still with quality!

Ike