Several problems

[tonydrew]

1-The board setting is 20" long. The actual pattern is 13", but I added to make sure no snipe. The machine goes through all its gyrations and then says size is 13/20 scale to size. ???? I kept starting over trying to get it to recognize size of actual board and what is in the settings. It "sees" the setting as 20". Finally let it cut. The result was a figure about 1/2 the size it was supposed to be.
2-It keeps starting to carve where ever it wants. The pattern is 1/2" off the edge. In this case I don't care about snipe. First time it started 1/4" from the edge. I hit abort, turned it over because that mistake would be cut out and started over. This time it started 3/4" from edge. Using an average it was trying to get it right, I guess, but the figure went off the other end.
3-Just tried a different pattern. This figure should start about 1 1/2" from center because it's about 3" across. On a 12" board it stared right on the end.
What is going on???? Why is it carving at various and sundry spots? The menu shows correct sizes before it starts and then shows a different size and says it should be something different all together.
As always, really appreciate the help.

[lynnfrwd]

When you add 7" to the length of the actual board, say NO to stay under rollers.
See Chapter 1 of Learning Guide: http://support.carvewright.com/wp-co...hapter_1_1.pdf

[tonydrew]

When you add 7" to the length of the actual board, say NO to stay under rollers.
See Chapter 1 of Learning Guide: http://support.carvewright.com/wp-co...hapter_1_1.pdf

I guess I'm confused. I added the 7" to avoid snipe and in the past that meant keeping it under the rollers. On recent patterns snipe has not been a concern so I said No on staying under rollers and had board pre-cut to exact length. I'll try it this way and see how it flies.
However, what is going on that it starts carving at odd locations that have no reality to the design?
Thank you.

[xchief807]

Say no to stay under rollers and say no to scale to size and hit center on board.

[fwharris]

The board setting in designer is 20" and your actual carving board is 13 + ? ? Is the + board length 7" or more?

If you are trying to carve a design for a 13" board set your design size as that. Then use a board at least 7" longer.

At the machine tell it NO to staying under the rollers as you know you will have enough board length to keep it under the rollers. When you say YES to staying under the rollers the machine will automatically add 7" to your design size and it will look for a board that length or longer. When it sees a board shorter than that that is when you get the scale to board or load new board message. If you say yes to scaling it will reduce the carving to fit the board size.

Depending how accurate you machine is measuring, even though you have cut a board to the exact 7" longer, it might see it a bit shorter.

[DickB]

If you post your project (mpc file) and tell exactly what size board that you loaded, and what happened, it would help.

[tonydrew]

If you post your project (mpc file) and tell exactly what size board that you loaded, and what happened, it would help.

Thank you. The size of the board and the design are both 12 x 7. I selected not to stay under rollers. The 1st time it started carving 1/4" from the edge. I hit abort and started again on the other side. It started at 3/4" or so in from the edge. It is set up to start 1/2". The 3/4 made it go off the other end.
Becky Lid.mpc

[DickB]

Thank you. The size of the board and the design are both 12 x 7. I selected not to stay under rollers. The 1st time it started carving 1/4" from the edge. I hit abort and started again on the other side. It started at 3/4" or so in from the edge. It is set up to start 1/2". The 3/4 made it go off the other end.
Becky Lid.mpc

Since the board did not indeed stay under the rollers, I suspect that the machine did not track properly at the start of the carve when it was under only one roller. An easy test would be to run the project with a 7" x 19" or longer board and select Stay Under Rollers. You would then need to cut off 3-1/2" from both ends of the board to complete your project.

If your project has carvings or cuts closer than 3-1/2" from the end of the project, it is almost never advisable to not stay under the rollers. Either use a longer board, or use a jig or a sled.

Long term, I highly recommend using a sled or jig. Doing so will not only help you keep your board under the rollers, but also save on materials. There are many ways to make and use sleds or jigs, so I hesitate to delve deeper, because specific advice on what to do depends upon the type of sled used and preferences on how the project is laid out. Consequently, you may get multiple responses on this forum from users using different sleds and layout preferences, and that may be confusing. If you have the material to spare, try running the project as I have suggested with a longer board and report your results.

Or, send me a Private Message and we can exchange phone numbers.

[DickB]

Adding to my previous post, if you run your 12 x 7 project (which you posted) with a 19 x 7 board, then you select Stay Under Rollers (Case A).

If you center your 12 x 7 carvings on a 20" virtual board in Designer, and load a 20" board, then you select No to Stay Under Rollers (Case B). Because you have designed in clearance on either end of your carvings, the machine will in fact stay under the rollers while carving. This can be confusing.

On the other hand, if you select Stay Under Rollers in Case B, the machine will add 7" and conclude that you need a 27" board. When it measures your 20" actual board, it will report that your board is too short. It reports the PROJECT lengths, not the ACTUAL BOARD lengths, hence the 13/20 (rather than 20/27) report. If you proceed, the machine will scale your 20" project plus 7" down to 20" and your project will carve much smaller than desired. It sounds like this is what happened in your first example. That is why I asked you to post both your project and actual board length.

If this is all confusing, you're not alone. It me quite a while to understand all of this.

[tonydrew]

Thanks again for the responses. As I was reading them the key word seemed to be "sled" and then that is what was suggested. It is a pretty easy fix. It seems as we go along one will collect a large stack of sleds and learn to design to use them. I really need to find some one with a wood-burning fireplace because as I learn I am creating quite a bit of fuel.