# Carvewright Question



## Broken Arrow (Jul 20, 2007)

I fell in love with demo on Wood about the Carvewright machine. What took this guy mins. would take me hours. Plus the designs would completely blow me out of the ballpark.
Before I buy something I check the 'reviews' section on sears website:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921754000P

I put the option of the reviews to 'low to high' and after reading the first 30 out of 107 reviews, well, it scared the heck outta me to shell out over a month's salary to purchase a machine that was pure trouble. Even the good reviews are not that good.
Finally, my question is:

Are these reviews correct and has anyone here had the set of problems that are listed in these reviews?

Thank You in advance for your help.


----------



## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Broken Arrow

I'm not sure what I can add ,you have the reviews..
I have one and I would give it 5 stars out of 5 stars..

I will say this machine is not for everyone...! ! ! ! !

You will need to read,read,read, and think, think and think ,it's not like a band saw,table saw,router,etc... where you can flip the switch on and go to work...
I also had a error or two at 1st. then I checked the manual and the Carvewright forum and fixed the errors, most of them because I didn't read the maunal over and over... 

I got the machine in April 2007 and have made many many items with it...
I will say I got the 5 year.warr.with it from Sears, fix or replace or refund with in 5 years..so to say if it screws up in 5 years I'm covered...that beats any warr. I have on any of my other tools.. 


But I will say it AGAIN it's not for everyone, only the ones that want to take on a challenge ...

You can make your own from square one but that's more of a challenge than I wanted to take on...

http://www.cnczone.com/

Good LUck with your quest.. 

Great little show and tell Demo for the Machine
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid979295690/bclid1243638292/bctid1545128327


==========



Broken Arrow said:


> I fell in love with demo on Wood about the Carvewright machine. What took this guy mins. would take me hours. Plus the designs would completely blow me out of the ballpark.
> Before I buy something I check the 'reviews' section on sears website:
> 
> http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921754000P
> ...


----------



## BBUESCHING (Jan 19, 2009)

I am a new member and saw your question. Yes, all you read is true. The only thing that hasn't broken on my machine is the on/off switch.
BBUESCHING


----------



## supershingler (Nov 8, 2008)

ive had my carverwright since july of 08. i have 140 hrs of carving on it and have had only minor problems with it. you have to take the time to learn this machine and not get in a hurry to try to produce large items from the start.

start small and learn your machine and also you have to clean and maintain the machine to get the performance. it is not like any of your other woodworking machine that you can just plug in and go.

ive only had a cover switch and a board sensor go bad on mine(both covered under warranty) and had to replace the qc because i got in a hurry and didnt get the bit set properly. most of the problem people have are pilot error and could have been avoided. 

the best way i can describe it is like this: you can buy a car a drive it away but if you buy an airplane you have to learn how to operate it to get you where you want to go.

i love my machine and will buy another when i get my tax refund back.

the thing you can do with this carver is endless and you will lose some sleep just laying awake trying to figure out what you will do next.

we at the forum call our selves carvaholic's
it is very addicting

kendall


----------



## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI kendall[

That's a very GOOD way to describe the machine  


"the best way i can describe it is like this: you can buy a car a drive it away but if you buy an airplane you have to learn how to operate it to get you where you want to go."

===========




supershingler said:


> ive had my carverwright since july of 08. i have 140 hrs of carving on it and have had only minor problems with it. you have to take the time to learn this machine and not get in a hurry to try to produce large items from the start.
> 
> start small and learn your machine and also you have to clean and maintain the machine to get the performance. it is not like any of your other woodworking machine that you can just plug in and go.
> 
> ...


----------



## boatman37210 (Apr 30, 2009)

*Working with ABS using CarveWright/CompuCarve*

Hi. New member and first time poster. 

Based on the reviews of the CarveWright/CompuCarve, I normally would run for the hills. But before I do that I thought I would run this by the forum on whether it would be worth risking for the purpose I have in mind.

I will be using it to mill sheets of black ABS plastic no thicker than a quarter of an inch. The size of the sheets will either be approximately 13” x 10.5” or 13” x 18.5”. My thoughts were that milling ABS no thicker than one quarter inch would be less strenuous that milling wood and therefore the machine would give fewer problems. The ABS is not as hard as wood and would not produce dust. *Would my assumption be valid that milling ABS would create fewer problems?*

The purpose is to create a one piece picture frame by cutting out the center of the sheet. What will be cut out of the center is a square leaving a one piece four sided picture frame. Two opposite ends on the frame will need a groove routed to allow for the glass, or in this case plexi, to be inserted. 

Normally you would cut 4 pieces, miter the corners, cut grooves in all 4 sides for the glass, and piece them together to make the frame. I want to avoid that.

I assume the CarveWright would make one pass on all 4 sides and cut out the center. Then it would ask for a different bit for the grooves to be cut in each end. * Is this a correct assumption and can the CarveWright do what I want it to do?*

Also, I can’t justify $2,000 for my purpose. I was hoping to be able to pick up a refurbished or recertified machine for close to half the cost of a new one. *What are your thoughts on buying refurbished or recertified and do they come with the same warranty as new?*

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.


----------



## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi boatman

The CarveWright/CompuCarve machine is not the machine for you,it's the size that you want to do..it will do 12.5" but that's pushing it..

"13” x 10.5” or 13” x 18.5” "


========



boatman37210 said:


> Hi. New member and first time poster.
> 
> Based on the reviews of the CarveWright/CompuCarve, I normally would run for the hills. But before I do that I thought I would run this by the forum on whether it would be worth risking for the purpose I have in mind.
> 
> ...


----------



## boatman37210 (Apr 30, 2009)

After I sent the post I realized the width is wrong. The frame holds a 8.5" x 11" picture. Allowing for a 1 inch border, we are talking more like 10.5" width being fed into the machine.

Sorry.


----------



## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi boatman

You may want to check out the link below,some on the forum have used abs stock.

CarveWright Users' Forum - Powered by vBulletin

========



boatman37210 said:


> After I sent the post I realized the width is wrong. The frame holds a 8.5" x 11" picture. Allowing for a 1 inch border, we are talking more like 10.5" width being fed into the machine.
> 
> Sorry.


----------



## davidbarr (Apr 28, 2009)

What I like about the CarveWright is that it can machine a board with an seemingly unlimited length.


----------

