# Anyone familiar with the Craftsman CompuCarve?



## railman44 (Aug 3, 2008)

Seems like an expensive machine for a limited amount of need. I've seen 'em on eBay in various states of condition. Anybody have one? Are they as good as the promoters hawk? I'd like to find someone with one that I could pay to do some limited work for me. Supposedly, you can input a design or logo into your computer and the machine will carve that exact design or logo on to a piece of wood. That would be cool for some projects.


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## John in Tennessee (Jun 11, 2008)

I'm curious about them also. I know it's way out of range for my toy budget.


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## raskgle (Dec 10, 2007)

*carve wright*

There was a thread about the carve wright saying the craftsman was the same tool.


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## goingenoan (May 24, 2008)

I just posted a reply about the carvewright which I understand is basically the same but with cosmetic differences. I can't help much. I watched a couple of vids on You-Tube. One guy is doing a whole series of vids as he progresses along with his machine. 
Anyway, like I said in the other post, I went to Amazon and looked at the reviews of the carvewright. It's a mixed bag! Some seem to be really haveing fun with it and others have been so frustrated with the machine itself, or the software, and the customer service that they threw in towel and returned it. I am also worried about the 30 day warrenty. Seems pretty short for such a complicated piece of machinery!


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## caytortuga64 (Sep 11, 2008)

*CompuCarve/CarveWright*

They are exactly the same machines. Warranty is one year. here is some history.

The machines were launched in December 2006 exclusively through Sears as the CompuCarve until summer 2007. Those were the first machines off the line and they did have some problems. Also, Sears’s employees had no idea what the machine was, how it worked or what to do with it. Many people took it back just b/c they couldn't find anyone at Sears to answer their questions. 

The second run of production were the first CarveWrights in the summer and fall of 2007. They were much better as production changes were made after the first batch. They are sold on the manufacturer's website, Amazon.com, Woodcraft Supply, Machinery Distributors.com and other small retailers. The manufacturer did take back machines and fix or replace them. They put out free software updates that are helpful every month or so. 

This is not a simple saw or drill. The software is easy to use but it is software. You do have to own a computer and you do have to know something about using it. You can download it for FREE and practice all you want at www.carvewright.com. They'll even answer your questions (713) 473-6572 while you design things on the practice software to see if it will do what you want. If you really want to see what you can do with it, go to www.carvebuddy.com. This guy is amazing.

The machine is simple to use once you read the manual. Actually, you don't have to read the whole manual if you just read the "tips and tricks" online at carvewright.com. But, it is a new kind of machine and it will not be intuitive like the latest table top saw.

I heard one guy was mad because he couldn't draw a picture by hand and have the machine carve it. 

You do have to clean and maintain it. The 4 posts need to be greased regularly, the flex shaft (which spins at 20,000 rpm) needs to be lubed occasionally, you need to check head pressure and make sure the bit is set in the quick changer so it doesn't get thrown. It uses sandpaper belts to feed the board, so if those get caught or torn, it will affect your project.

But the results are very good for a machine with software under $1900. Don't get me wrong, it's not a $25,000 CNC machine. It's not a laser engraver. But it can carve very well in all kinds of wood, acrylic, corian and foam. It can scan and replicate existing carvings, create domed surfaces and really do some impressive stuff. I mainly make signs and jewelry/cigar boxes that I sell. I also make lithographs with photos that people give me.

I heard that Sears just ordered about 1200 new CompuCarves and that new CarveWrights will be available as a special order item at Lowes and Menards stores starting in November. These machines will all just have been manufactured and should be the best of all.


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## Kurtsara (Oct 26, 2008)

Hi, I am new to the forum

I had a compucarve, I bought it back in December of 2006 and I used it allot until I sold it a few months ago.

I made allot of signs and picture frames with words on the frames (babies names, pets names, aniversaries, weddings)

I also used it to cut half circles for wine rack that I made

To answer a few questions

If I remember correctly the software will only let you do 12 feet long and 14½" wide

The warranty I got from Sears was 200 hours of use and I had to send it back once in the 200 hours and they fixed it and paid for shipping both ways. That was sent back to Carvewright in Texas not Sears, they don't no anything about the machines.

They are amazing what they can do but I just was not using it as much lately as I thought I would so instead of letting it sit around I sold it.

The machines are not perfect, I did have pretty good luck with it though

Any other questions just ask 

Kurt


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