I'm New!

[Lmcvey]

Hi everyone. I bought a compucarve back when the first came out from Sears. I used it about 4 times and then it Broke the drive cable. After it sit for a while The carvetight spindle came out so I got on line and ordered both. I got the parts installed but the machine would not work. Then I got into a accident and ended up into a wheelchair and could not use or fix it. Now its been 6 years later and I'm out of the chair and just bought another carvewright machine. I bought all the extra software and now trying to learn how to use it all. I have tried to make contact with the two user groups in my state. It seems one can't get a group started and the other has not responded to my email. I'm looking forward to learning all I can and making some neat stuff. I love working with wood.

Larry McVey
4045 52nd St
Des Moines, Iowa 50310

[fwharris]

Larry,

Great to hear you have recovered from your accident and you are back to carving again. If you have not seen them yet there are some good tutorials on the software features that are found in the support section on the main web site. There are also a lot here on the forum who can help answer any of your questions.

If you need some help trouble shooting your old machine issues give us a good description of the problems you are having with it.

There are a lot of users from Iowa so hopefully you can get hooked up with a few and get a users group going.

[SteveNelson46]

Hi everyone. I bought a compucarve back when the first came out from Sears. I used it about 4 times and then it Broke the drive cable. After it sit for a while The carvetight spindle came out so I got on line and ordered both. I got the parts installed but the machine would not work. Then I got into a accident and ended up into a wheelchair and could not use or fix it. Now its been 6 years later and I'm out of the chair and just bought another carvewright machine. I bought all the extra software and now trying to learn how to use it all. I have tried to make contact with the two user groups in my state. It seems one can't get a group started and the other has not responded to my email. I'm looking forward to learning all I can and making some neat stuff. I love working with wood.

Larry McVey
4045 52nd St
Des Moines, Iowa 50310

Larry

Welcome back. The guys here on the forum are a great resource for information. We all strive to answer most questions with facts and opinions so don't hesitate to ask.

[eelamb]

Welcome back Larry.

[cestout]

I almost know how you feel. I was in a wheel chair for about 6 months when my spinal stenosis got real bad. Epidurals and therapy got me on my feet again, but there is always pain - how much depends on the weather and what I have been doing.

The forum is a great place to solve problems and ask questions, but if you can find a StartU member near you, a one-on-one tutorial session would be the best way to get up to speed. I charge $50 for 1/2 day and cover a lot from how the machine measures and maintenance, to how to use the software and things in the software that confuse. I think others charge about the same. Find one near you and you will jump about a 6 months to a year in experience and save a lot of time and wood.

Clint

[cjudas]

Hey Larry- I'm from Iowa too, just a couple hours north of you near Ft Dodge. I contacted "Old Salt" here on the forum, he is from west Iowa. I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with him and it helped tremendously!!! So far I have only made a few signs but I'm learning as I go.

Good luck and have fun

Chris Judas

[swaggerstick]

I am new as well Larry. Maybe we can learn together.

[t-townwilson]

Hi, My name is Ron, and I am a hospice chaplain who enjoys woodworking in my "spare" time. I make and sell endgrain decorative cutting boards locally. I have seen the CW demonstrated at Wood Shows several times through the years, and I finally decided to purchase one after viewing it at the Atlanta Show earlier this month. Start U rep Bruce Kinney has been so helpful!

My machine arrived a week ago, and after much travail trying to get software upgraded and activated (thanks to CW tech support team for your patience!), I spent the weekend playing with free and purchased projects, and experimenting with text tools. I'm really looking forward to gaining skill and confidence with this equipment, and I've already learned much from scanning this forum. Thanks!

One thing I'm particularly interested in is cutting a shape of the state of Alabama to use as a cutting board. I have been cutting these on my bandsaw, but would like the repeatability of the cnc, and hopefully less edge sanding . If anyone knows a source for a quality pattern set of state maps, I would appreciate it! Looking forward to learning more here in Tuscaloosa, AL!

[dbfletcher]

This post has two zip files with all of the states (ptn format). I think this will get you what you want. If you need additional help, let us know.

http://forum.carvewright.com/showthr...193#post132193

[lynnfrwd]

Here is another STEP-BY-STEP Tutorial that may help you.

http://www.carvewright.com/assets/se...ing_Images.pdf