What is your expertise??

[JDPratt]

I don't know exactly what constitutes a "newbie", but I am sure I qualify compared to many on here. I have been trying to figure this machine out for a year now and I fear Mastery is unobtainable. I started woodworking when I was about 7 under the expert tutelage of my Grandfather (no power tools allowed). I learned a lot of design from my Father who is a draftsman by trade. I have always enjoyed mixing up ideas and mediums in my woodworking, such as metal with wood or stretching the limits of what is capable with wood. Most of my work is one-offs that I will never duplicate. I attended college with a major in Mortuary science and tried my hand at working in a funeral home, but it bored me to no end. Joined the Army for the adventure and found I really liked the outdoor aspect of the Infantry and the excitement of the training and deployments (although not always fun). It also allowed me to travel a lot and see different woodworking techniques around the world. After retirement I was lucky enough to use my passion for woodworking and knowledge of carpentry/metal working/etc to get a job as a woodworker/carpenter for the Army. The biggest reason The CW intrigued me was the ability to quickly do what I was previously doing with hand carving and scroll saw. The biggest drawback for me is my limited (okay, non-existent) knowledge of computers and tech stuff. My neighbor cannot understand my obsession with wood and I cannot understand his obsession and patience working on cars. Cars repair and restoration seems tedious to me, however I have been known to stare at a piece of wood, studying the grain patterns for several hours before making the first cut. Hopefully, one day I will understand this machine better. Thank goodness for the wealth and breadth of knowledge that is so quickly shared on this site. Without it, I would have reverted back to my old ways long ago. Happy carving!!

[James RS]

I have been a screenprinter for 27 years and I own a small Sound and Light company also.
I supply bands in the area and enjoy it, my machine I say I learn something new every day I open this forum, I've used it to assist in building some speaker cabinets and small carvings.

[Capt Bruce]

What a fascinating thread, and how have I missed this in about a year of lurking and reading.

Stepping up to the plate . . . I grew up following my career Navy Dad around the world. Lived on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Came back to the US to finish my last year of High School and learn more about my nation for once. Picked CIT for college. Met my first computer there (think boxes of punch cards) but more importantly met and married the mother of my children. I studied Industrial Design in college and supported my wife and child as a bagpiper while at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now that’s dating one’s age.)

Enlisted in the Navy during Viet Nam, trained at OCS and was commissioned in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps. As a Seabee I built bridges, buildings, airfields, schools, camps and piers and learned from every skilled craftsman I served with over the next 31 years of active and reserve service. I commanded the 21st Naval Mobile Construction Battalion and Engineering Field Division Atlantic. My final tour was in the Military Support to Civilian Authorities line as a Navy Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officer. That work introduced me to counter terrorism and disaster recovery supporting FEMA. I retired as a Captain in 2001.

Genealogy confirmed I was from a line of woodworkers, military, craftsmen and patternmakers with Scottish roots (we also hanged witches in Salem.) My Dad helped me build my first kayak at age 8 and I carved, painted and drew everything I saw around the world. Sailing and navigation seemed second nature having grown up with the ocean always close by. One grandfather had built the Mt. Wilson and Palomar Observatories above Los Angeles working with Hale and Hubble. His work chest of handmade tools was my inspiration and touchstone to my past.


In several parallel civilian careers I designed toilets, cast iron and fiberglass tubs, brass fittings and luxury trim for Eljer Plumbingware. You may own a few of my designs at home. That also kept my travel urge going on four continents and evolved into Quality Assurance work and the early days of personal computers starting with a Trash 80. Next firm was Nordson Corporation leading QA and world wide data systems. In both cases the economy tanked and as many of you have experienced I was “outsourced into retirement” as they politely say. Engineers, designers and QA are always somewhat expendable (ask Toyota these days how that worked out for them.)

Nearing my sixties I took stock and determined I was not ready to be “retired”, and had gained the greatest sense of personal fulfillment helping those in need following natural and manmade disasters. The new FEMA looked like the place to be. I applied, saw it was going to take a while to break in and went to work as a side paddle-wheel Riverboat Captain at Stone Mountain Park. I had a blast among happy families (my avatar and nickname). There are a few days during disasters I’d like to be out there on the lake again but that may come again someday.

To keep me off the streets I design and build furniture, make and collect knives, draw, design and develop in CAD and have finally built the basement workshop I've wanted my whole travelling life. It's so good to finally land in one spot and have all the tools you've always wanted.

FEMA was kind enough to accept my application and I now lead Public Assistance forces in Recovery for the eight southeastern states where we combine blizzards, hurricanes, fires and tornadoes with a dash of droughts and flooding. It’s interesting to read here how we and our careers evolve over time and like others I’m enjoying this my ninth (and I think final) career more than anything I’ve ever done.

The CarveWright caught my imagination and like others it combined all my PC and wood crafting interests at just the right time. You have all helped shorten my learning curve and have become friends and trusted advisors as I again learn something new every day. I hope I too will contribute something to the collective knowledge that is the Forum (even if it’s only what not to do if you want to keep this ship off the rocks). I am in awe of the creativity seen here every day. With my grateful thanks to all those who have served our nation, for your unselfishly shared wisdom, sense of humor and willingness to welcome and assist us Newbies in the CW/CC club!

Very respectfully,

[will george]

I've been a Policeman since 1968 and STILL have 2 years to go before I hang it up....

You may not like my reply. My Son tried so hard to be a Policeman. He REALLY wanted to be one. However, he was never chosen after a few years of trying. I'd think he is too 'Layed back' and not agressive enough. Not a type 'A' male. He is very smart but never forceful.

I sure was happy that he never got that job. It can be a very dangerous. I want my Son alive. But then again, many men/women do it, and love it.

But then again, I could not do that work either. I would really get upset at mean folks and as a Policeman I could not just walk away to avoid conflict. I did a bit of Boxing in the Army but that does not make me a 'fighter'.

Thanks to our Police and Firefighters!

[will george]

.... this is an extraordinary group of people.. YES we are!

As to my skills.. I consider myself a mechanic. Yes, a humble grease monkey. I have no problem with dirt under my nails and scraped up hands and fingers. In fact, I love it!

Mostly self-taught here by trying different things. I try anything at least once. Some I became good at. ALOT no so good at...

As a boy, I made all sorts of stuff from old Orange Crates and my little old hammer and some used nails that I collected at the local dump.. I had to hammer most of the nails straight again before I could use them... My brother and I made many LARGE firecrackers using chemicals, no child OR adult, can get anymore.

As a child, I was always in trouble for taking things apart. OK, only for the ones I never got back together in working order. As in my grandfathers railroad pocket watch. He was really mad at me.

And then I became a bit older and inlisted in the USA Army (1960?). I took all the tests for aptitude and they wanted me to be a Radio Operator. I flunked the Morse Code test so I was made an Ordnance Mechanic for the Self Propelled Artillery. BIG GUNS! I was given a NEW M88 Recovery Vehicle!

http://www.missing-lynx.com/articles/modern/m88/m88.htm

I was in HEAVEN! What a big/expensive toy to play with!

Anyway, I found my bride so I had to leave the Army so I went to College as my new bride worked. I tool electrical engineering and I was hooked again!

My new bride bought me a ALTIAR 8800 computer kit:

http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynami...c.altairs.html

I then had to find a old Teletype machine so I could adapt the paper tape punch to load a startup program into the 8800.

http://www.vintage-computer.com/asr33.shtml

OH what fun it was! Then I found out that I needed TTL chips to adapt the reader/punch to the 8800. I bought the Texas Instruments book on TTL..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TTL_Clock.jpg

More fun...

Then we had babies so I had to give up everything except the wife and children! Not so bad... I then got a new job with my employer designing test circuits for electronic circuit boards.

More Fun!

Then after 45 years of working I got downsized.. I then went back to woodworking! And finally saved enought money to get my CW!

More Fun.. My CW machine has been, mostly, OK!

EDIT: I forgot to say.. I bought a Singer Inspiration sewing machine. Not the best they have but little money these days. I now have to sew the canopy cloth for my two chinese style canopy beds I have made. I think I post in here someplace some while back. Not that good at sewing a straight line yet. But getting better at it!

[jamjam]

[QUOTE=The "DH";47125]Hello Everyone,
Can’t believe I missed this one myself. I’ve been watching the forum for well over a year now. Anyway here it goes. I was raised mostly by my grandparents and learned woodworking from my grandfather he past way and an older gentleman took me under his wing and taught me how to work stone and electronics; I went to vocational school for welding. Then decided I had enough of the small coal mining town and quit high school to join the Navy.
I can’t tell you how many different things I learned throughout my 20 plus years of service but they are all paying off now that I’m retired. I did manage to earn two degrees while on active duty one in Health Care Management and one in Health Science Technologies. My shop started back in 01 when my best friend’s wife said I should make the guys dartboard cabinets for x-mas, up until that point I was just doing odd stuff around the house, after that point however it’s been none stop (still not very serious at this point yet). So when it came time to retire from the Navy last year my wife and I had a hard choice to make either take the secure high paying job with a big hospital or start over with my own shop. It has only been 7 months since my retirement and business has been getting better all the time so I went from enjoying what I did to loving what I do, and I have my wife and closest friends to thank for their support and belief in my abilities. To top it all off I’m still only 38 just beginning another life adventure.
Take Care and Happy Carving[/QU

Hello
I was just looking at your web site, for a person around 40 years old, you have alot of skills and creativity. I was amazed at the quantity of the products you produce. I just got my CW machine last month i completed one project just to make sure it worked ok, I read the carvewright forum every day. I retired from Gereral Electric and Honeywell as a Senior Evaluation Tech. I also worked for Micro Switch and evaluated all types of switches and electronic sensors.

Keep up the good work,
John Mesner

[Smoken D]

I was a cop, dad was a cop, great-uncle was a cop--all on Kansas City Mo PD. Was a detective for over 20 years & worked little over 1,600 homicides around 300 were kids 12 and under. Family history all cops back to Peter Brown on the Mayflower who was constable in London. When I retired in 2000 last cop in family.
Also in Army and so was wife. She was a Lt. me just a Buck Sgt. She outranked me then and remindes me she still outranks me!
DON'T ASK AND I WON'T TELL

[Capt Bruce]

She was a Lt. me just a Buck Sgt. She outranked me then and remindes me she still outranks me!

I know just what you mean. I may have been a Captain in a former life but she is definitely the Admiral. Yes Sir, Mamm!

[F.C. White]

Myself, well.... I came here to research and try to decide if the CW machine is worth the price considering the headaches everyone's endured with this product. So far, I've come to the conclusion you have to be nuts to take on a piece of equipment that's not quite "THERE" on quality design and try and force it to work for you inside and outside it's limitations, but.... that's pretty much what I've done with every piece of equipment I've ever owned. NOTHING is designed to do what I WANT IT TO DO. I've always had to take things apart, reinvent the wheel, as it were, and force something to react outside it's intended paramenters. So, I'm think'n this tool is simply NEXT IN LINE of one of many I've got in my resources to do what it is I do.

And to answer that last lead in statement, well... I'm a sculptor/engineer/mechanic/fabricator/computor tech/drafter/construction administrator/pilot/hawg rider/chopper designer & builder/photographer/graphics illustrator/commercial artist/musician/ex-army sniper/ex-army fire direction control for artillery, SAM's and tactical nukes/open water scuba diver/environmental, health, and safety consultant/DAD to three grown boys and "Grumpy" to three darl'n granddaughters..... and my greatest passion is in foundry doing statuary art, both bronze and aluminum cast... i.e., jack of many trades, master of few. But all of'em cross over in some way or another and augment the other which has kept me in a forward momentum all through life.

Indeed, there's a group here I admire of their skills, determination and articulation in voicing their ideas and theories in how to make something work and react outside its design. This is what I do... it's my nature to stretch the envelope of what others have done. "If man created it, I can certainly modify it to my liking."

I hope to be one of the crew here that's patricipant in work'n a CW machine in the near future. Hopefully, by early summer. Till then, I'll be lurk'n and read'n and imagining ways to put the CW machine to practical and imaginative application.

Hope, too, I'll be able to get to know many of you here and share in this unique experience of nursemaiding an "almost right" semi professional/personal/hobby... i.e. reasonably affordable, CNC wood working machine.

Cheers,

Frank

[TIMCOSBY]

stuff sometime is it hard to master? the other 14 thousand owners just dont post their rants about how good it works.


i am an owner of a small land surveying buss. in lower alabama. also woodwork/sawmill/graphic arts/photgraphy/draftsman from way back/private pilot/fish/camp/travel/scuba dive/chopper builder you can see the progress of the chop at facebook under my name and under reptile bike in photos you shouldnt have to freind me to see the pics.