Thinking of buying a system...

[Digitalwoodshop]

As a Business do a Great Job for a Customer and he will tell 10 people.... Do a bad job and that person will tell 1000 people.....

It's a really Great Machine and worth every penny... Look at the dates on the posts... YES, there were problems in the past.... WE can walk you through most of the common stuff that has gone bad years ago and with the replacement parts that you get now, will fix everything...

When in the first year Thousands and Thousands of Machines were sold.... I have 4 machines, all Early "A" versions... I am a Happy User... Yes, there are bad posts out there in Cyber Space.... Spend time HERE and read the Latest.... Not 2007 and 2008 posts....

Good Luck,

AL

[Tentpig]

Thanks for the link to the article... it was really interesting reading.

I think I've pretty much convinced myself to take the plunge and buy a system.

One question though... the article mentioned one of the 'cons' being "light duty". Can someone define what that means, in terms of hours of use each week? I could easily see myself using this addition to my toolshop fairly frequently (several weekends a month) in projects, and if a carving takes many hours to complete, am I exceeding the "light duty" claim?

[chkorte]

Thanks for the link to the article... it was really interesting reading.

I think I've pretty much convinced myself to take the plunge and buy a system.

One question though... the article mentioned one of the 'cons' being "light duty". Can someone define what that means, in terms of hours of use each week? I could easily see myself using this addition to my toolshop fairly frequently (several weekends a month) in projects, and if a carving takes many hours to complete, am I exceeding the "light duty" claim?

You should be fine. Most of my carves lately have been over 6 hours each and no problems and i have been doing 4 or 5 aweek. By light duty I think they are refering to the size of the wood itself. You are limited to wood size by width of 14 1/2". Length is limited by weight. The longer and heavier the wood is the harder the motors have to work. The manual recommends additional outside board support for long boards of 7ft or more. It's a fun machine and just designing in the software is fun. Just remember you will need to take the time to learn the machine but pretty much any help you will need is right here on this forum.

[gapdev]

See the announcement at the top of the Forum. Now is the time

Kenny

[Digitalwoodshop]

Thanks for the link to the article... it was really interesting reading.

I think I've pretty much convinced myself to take the plunge and buy a system.

One question though... the article mentioned one of the 'cons' being "light duty". Can someone define what that means, in terms of hours of use each week? I could easily see myself using this addition to my toolshop fairly frequently (several weekends a month) in projects, and if a carving takes many hours to complete, am I exceeding the "light duty" claim?

I have 4 machines, buying the first new and the 3 others used cheap. There was a time when I needed a backup just to keep going... Last weekend I had a Jam and stripped the X plastic gear. I have 5 now 4 extras and the fix was a short 5 min...

Two of my 4 machines are over 1000 hours.... As for Hobby.... Yes, it does have limitations... BUT if you are willing to follow a maintenance program centering around every 250 Cut Motor Hours then you will seldom get caught with a break down. At 250 you change the Cut Motor Brushes, Open and clean the inside of the Cut Motor, Replace the 2 little Y Gear Box Bearings, Clean and Lube everything.... It's that Simple.... And have a Dust Collection System.... And GET RID OF the QC..... Get a Rock Chuck or CarveTite. Keep a extra Board Sensor on hand, 2 FFC Cables, and a few Roller Bearings and Screws.....

The machine cuts very slow AS DOES a Shop Bot.... It will not HOG Out the Wood and there is a Weight Limit to how heavy the wood going through the machine is.... The Sand Paper belts move the board in and out and with Vector Cuts and Centerline Text moves in all 3 Axis while cutting.

It's not about HOURS it is about WEIGHT.... And the boards need to be as perfect as they can be... As a Wedge Shaped Board will JAM.... It needs to be FLAT and a Constant Thickness and Width.... IF you wanted to do Rough Wood then you would need to make a Sled with sides and place the Rough Wood within the Sled.

Good Luck,

AL

[Tentpig]

And GET RID OF the QC..... Get a Rock Chuck or CarveTite. Keep a extra Board Sensor on hand, 2 FFC Cables, and a few Roller Bearings and Screws.....

Does the ultimate package include the carvetite (I see it includes the upgraded drive belts) or do I need to add that to my order separately?

I'm definitely taking advantage of this sale!

[edit]... never mind, figured it out... placed my order!

Hey, does the software have the capability of etching photograph into wood?

[gapdev]

Does the ultimate package include the carvetite

Yes, it is the C machine which uses the CarveTight.

Get the Rubber belts, they make a world of difference.

Kenny

[henry1]

I'm a home/hobbiest "power-user". Been thinking of buying a CarveWright since I saw the Sears version many years ago. Lately, I've had to revisit this, as several "projects" I've been asked to do for friends have involved some custom sign making.

However, I have to be honest, reading a lot of the reports/reviews on these units has me outright spooked. I don't mind dropping $4k (I'd buy the 'ultimate' package) for a new tool I'm going to get a lot of use out of, but after spending some time reading various reviews and "horror" stories from people on the 'net, I wonder if my $4k would be better spent somewhere else. Honestly, I've even been shocked by some of the treatment posters w/ problems have received in this forum.

Now, I understand the concept of "garbage in/garbage out", and as a "hobbiest" and not a professional woodworker I understand that oftentimes people's problems are the result of their own doing, either thru ignorance, misunderstanding, or just plain stupidity. I also understand that the "squeeky wheel gets the grease", and generally the only time you hear someone complaining is when they have a complaint -- you rarely hear someone speaking up when they have heaps of praise to throw.

For these reasons, I don't want to dismiss such a purchase outright, but I'm definitely skiddish and would like to assay my concerns if at all possible. I was wondering if there were any owners on this forum in Massachusetts (I'm south of Boston) who wouldn't mind me stopping over for an "in house" demo and some honest chit-chat about the units, their benefits, pitfalls, etc. If so, drop me a message... I'd love to see how this product works first-hand and get some honest feedback.

I have a B machine for sale and has only 20 hr on it I live in Canada ontario with the bits an all just pm me for more info

[Digitalwoodshop]

Does the ultimate package include the carvetite (I see it includes the upgraded drive belts) or do I need to add that to my order separately?

I'm definitely taking advantage of this sale!

[edit]... never mind, figured it out... placed my order!

Hey, does the software have the capability of etching photograph into wood?

If you call this a photograph in Wood then YES.... There is also the Last Supper pattern here and that is a really nice pattern. I had my line drawing converted into a pattern by one of our members. It was money well spent.....

It is a Talent to take a photo and make 3D art.... One that I have not mastered....

Good Luck,

AL