Carving, Part II: The Machine

When we last left off, the design was in the software.

Here's where the saw dust starts.  I go out and have the machine measure the board I'm going to use.  This one is a reclaimed piece of pine.

It's important the machine measures the board so that it is precise and I avoid scaling issues.  

After measuring the actual piece of wood I'm using, and making sure it matches exactly in the computer (eg.  11.268 inches and not 11.3 inches), I upload this project from my computer to a card that then goes into the machine.

At the machine, I select the project I want to produce from that same card. 

In a typical week, I load all the projects I'm going to carve Monday and Tuesday, the Sunday night before.  That way, it's just setting boards and pressing buttons come Monday, which is helpful while also wrangling a 14 month old during the day.

No, he's not in the garage with me, he's usually corralled somewhere in the house or in his bouncy excersaucer chair thingy.  Always safe.  

This is also where my protective eyewear goes on, because even though there is a protective plastic screen, I don't like to take chances.

I press more buttons, make sure everything is set right, help the machine go through some motions, and then it carves.

I really wish it always went that way.  Sometimes it doesn't test depth right.  Sometimes it doesn't recognize there is a board in the machine.  Sometimes it skips steps.  Sometimes it doesn't measure right.  Sometimes it....you get the gist.  

The machine uses different bits, and carves back and forth in straight lines.  It's pretty cool to watch.  No heat is used in the process.  And, we run green wind energy for electric at home, so it's one more way we're eco-friendly.

Hopefully, after 20 minutes -3 hours, depending on the carve, I see this:

And, not some run time error.  I don't like those.  

Those make me moody.

The machine stating the carving time means it's done!

I pull the board out of the machine, and see what it produced.

And, dust it off a bit.

Not bad.  Not great, either.  Which is why there is always a sanding phase.

Carving, Part I - The Software Design

The first part of any carving project doesn't normally begin holding a piece of wood.  Although, I can't say that it doesn't happen that way, sometimes.  Just only on rare occasions.

It usually starts here:

That's a lie.  It usually starts here: 

Then, I open my software.  Because staring at a blank board, without an idea, is really boring.  I'm sure it's akin to a writer with writer's block.

The business owns a CarveWright machine, and I use it's Project Designer software on my laptop to create all of my projects.  I feel like I'm giving away a trade secret, but I doubt all of you will run out and get one of your own.

Once a design is nailed down, that's where the blank board comes in:

I can specify the board dimensions, and pretty much create anything I want on it.  Any fonts that are on my computer can be used on a project, but some do carve better than others.  There are patterns inherent in the software I can use - like scrolls, filagrees, etc, but I find most of the time, I'm using some other form of clipart or artwork.

The use of Illustrator, FireWorks or other computer graphic software to manipulate pictures and text, so that it is a nice carvable object, is not uncommon.  But, that part, I leave up to my husband.  The last time I tried to use FireWorks, I think I cussed a lot, slammed my laptop shut, and left the room!

Since this isn't a software tutorial, I'll skip what all those nifty buttons at the top of the menu are for, so as not to bore you with details.  

I just keep playing until I come up with something I like:

  

This whole process takes anywhere from 30 minutes to infinity.  I find that sometimes nailing down the project design with my clients is the hardest part.  Other times, it's easy peasy.  Just depends.  This is why I say the 2-3 week processing time is after the design is complete.

This software is also where the board images of the drafts originate.  They look something like this, and are a screenshot of my laptop, cropped:

So, that's step one in carving a project.

Join us next time when Carving, Part II goes into detail on how a design becomes a carving on the machine.