First Carving, For Me.

[NLAlston]

Yes, today was my very first attempt at carving, on my CW, and I have to say that it was truly a pleasure finally seeing it in action. I didn't have any wood pieces that would have been sizable enough to run through the machine, without a sled, so I grabbed a 24"x14-1/4" piece of MDF, that I had laying around from another project. The actual carved region was only about 7"x 3-1/2", and I know that I could have cut the MDF smaller - by which to save on some of that stock. But, my little shop is in a transitional stage, as I am working towards setting up a dedicated spot for the CW. As such, there are all kinds of stuff on top of my table saw, and I really didn't feel like fooling with it just for the sake of saving a bit of MDF. Besides, my excitement to get to the carving stage was running extremely high . So, I finally get to it.

I have a grand daughter to be born, in January, and I thought that I would do just a simple little sign for her. I was a bit surprised that it took nearly 80 minutes to carve that little section out - which really didn't have a whole lot going on within it. But, then again, I am very new to this - and didn't really know WHAT to expect (carving time, wise). The end result wasn't too bad, at all. In fact, I (and my family members) were very impressed. It could have been better, but the elements which would have made it so had much (if not everything) to do with my having made better choices. First, I used MDF for carving. Secondly, there was a bit of 'chip-out' - most likely due to my having selected the wrong font/character amounts for the small 'carved region' real estate. Then, too, methinks that my depth setting may have been a little too deep. All in all, though, I am very reasonably certain that any - and all - shortcomings can be applied to 'user error, and NOT to this fantastic piece of machinery. I can already see the possibilities, and capabilities of what can be achieved - with the CW, and I am going to have a ball, indeed, in getting there.

Happy carvings, to EVERYONE.

Blessings,
Nathan

[fwharris]

Congratulations! Nothing like getting that first carve running and seeing the results first hand! Let the saw dust fly!

A tip on your chip out problem. Use the "draft" setting to add a small amount in incline to the letter side. It helps ease the bit up the sides of the letters. You can also lower the height some so they not so high.

[NLAlston]

Congratulations! Nothing like getting that first carve running and seeing the results first hand! Let the saw dust fly!

A tip on your chip out problem. Use the "draft" setting to add a small amount in incline to the letter side. It helps ease the bit up the sides of the letters. You can also lower the height some so they not so high.

Thanks for the tips. I KNOW that they will help me much.

[blhutchens]

Congratulations…..carvings are like potato chips …. U just can't stop with one !!!!

[Smoken D]

Great 1st job, keep at it

[Capt Bruce]

Congratulations on your first carve NLAlston,

Great to have you here and thanks for sharing this first carve with us. I remember very well that first experience watching my CW do its magic. It's been about four years now and at times I still find myself sitting and just watching the bit at work now that I have a good dust collection system to keep it all clean and visible during the process. If you have not already added a dust collector like Floyd's great Ringneck Blues or some other (you can even carve your own) please, please do so. It will help make your enjoyment of the CW so much greater and reduce your maintenance considerably. Enough said.

Again congratulation and welcome to the sawdust Guild.

[RogerB]

Nice carve Nathan. This is just the first of many. Happy carving.

[dbemus]

Nice job Nathan! Thank you so much for sharing. Looking forward to seeing many great projects in the future. You might consider signing up for the Carvewright Project of the Month. A great investment, and a great way to learn what the machine can do. You also will learn a great deal about staining etc.

[NLAlston]

I have a good dust collection system to keep it all clean and visible during the process. If you have not already added a dust collector like Floyd's great Ringneck Blues or some other (you can even carve your own) please, please do so. It will help make your enjoyment of the CW so much greater and reduce your maintenance considerably. Enough said.

Again congratulation and welcome to the sawdust Guild.

I did purchase a dust collector hood, and had completed its installation on the CW just prior to carving. During the carving operation my dust collection system did a, fairly, good job. There wasn't TOO much that I had to give extra attention to. I guess it is no real biggie, but I had hoped to be able to view the carving taking place. Yes, I could see the truck dancing along, as it went about its duty, but WHAT it was carving could NOT be seen. So, the only area which held any mentionable amount of dust was the carving region. And it was a LOT. In fact, anyone else (not knowing, beforehand, what was being carved) looking on, would have had to have waited until the job ended - and the region having had been cleaned of dust - before gaining any understanding of the carved elements. I wish that this issue wasn't so, because it doesn't allow one the opportunity to gauge how well the carving is going.

Other than that, though, it was a lot of fun.

[bergerud]

Sounds to me like there is something amiss with your DC system. It should work better than that.