Carrier base issues

[trainerjay]

I made a carrier base and I'm having some difficulties. First of all how do you get the CarveWright to differentiate between the carrier and the wood you're carving?? My first attemp ended up cutting into my carrier.

Second the CarveWright would not allow me to use the standard carving bit. I had to use a long bit. I e read a few places this is caused by the sled being to tall. Is this true? any assistance on these 2 issues would be appreciated .

[fwharris]

A picture of your carrier base would give us a better idea on what advise to give you.

[trainerjay]

Just a very simple carrier. The inside board is 3/4" shorter in height compared to the outside board. I mainly want to use 3/4" wood for carvings. Now when I place a board in the carrier it sits flush and can't move.

[fwharris]

What board dimensions are you using for the design board? Is your carving board centered in your jig? What do you specify at the start of the carve, under rollers yes/no, and the carving placement?

When it measures at start up does the head move the full width of the board and carrier?

[trainerjay]

What board dimensions are you using for the design board? Is your carving board centered in your jig? What do you specify at the start of the carve, under rollers yes/no, and the carving placement?

When it measures at start up does the head move the full width of the board and carrier?

the board dimensions are 12"x12". I clicked yes to stay under rollers and center design on board.

[DianMayfield]

Ahh, I have used a white piece of paper taped across wide gaps between the end the board and the end of the carrier, rather than filling the gap with tape (expensive to do a lot).

[bergerud]

The carrier you have designed will only work in the CW if the board you put in the carrier is the same length as the carrier. This is because the optical sensor looks for the ends of the board only after the corresponding roller has droped. So, I assume your board is either the same length as the carrier or you add end pieces to make it the same length as the carrier. (If the board is shorter than the carrier, the sensor will miss the end of the board and then find nothing after the roller drops off of the end of the carrier.)

The width measured by the machine will be the width of the carrier. The machine cannot differentiate between the board and the carrier. This means you either have to choose center on board or you have to compensate for the extra width in Designer. (You could also use jog to place.)

As to why you think you need a longer bit, I do not know. You should not. The height of the carrier should not make any difference.

[trainerjay]

Why does the board have to be the same length as the carrier? I thought the point of the carrier was so you could use any size board and not waste the additional 7"?

[GuyT]

I have been using this carrier for almost a year with only one problem in that the side rails black paint faded. Once I touched them up again I have had no issues. But I will say that it is important to follow the instructions when using the carrier in the CW. It was a great addition to my tools.

[DianMayfield]

How are you "placing the project on board" at the machine? If you select something like place on end, it sees your rails as part of the board. You will need to use Center or Jog so that you can avoid the rails. You can also add the 3/4 (or your actual rail width) in the design phase, and NOT put any of your pattern into that space.

When the roller falls off the end of the board, the sensor expects to the run across a color change (like seeing the end of a board). A simple fix is to run light masking tape across both ends of the carrier.

Bit length is set in the Designer software. When you set your board dimensions, make sure you are using the thickness of your real board (3/4), not the thickness of your carrier. I suspect you told it 2", and that the pattern is using that depth. On the machine, you will/may be prompted for the thickness of the board because the head stops the bit from reaching the sliding plate. You might get board too thick-tell it to continue or enter board thickness -tell it the 2" or cut through project or board - tell it project. (This is all if there is a cutout)

Hope this helps!