The Happy Fall Y’all project will cheerfully greet your guests coming to your home during the

fall season!

The design was inspired by a fabric quilt. This wooden

version features a prominent carved-relief pumpkin nested in Maple leaves that you can in beautiful fall colors

autumn greeting plaque

paint or simply stain. This informal

can be displayed on your front door, porch post, foyer or anywhere else you like!

The project uses just the 1/16 " Carving Bit and the 1/8 " Cutting Bit. No other bits are required.

The finished dimensions are about: 9 " W x 11 " T x 1.25 " D

CarveWright Project Tutorial

Designed for CarveWright™ by Michael Tyler - www.carvebuddy.com

Designed by Michael Tyler - September 2016www.carvebuddy.com www.carvewright.com

E TPROJ C TUTORIAL

Main items you will need:

1) The Project Files (included):• Autumn_Greeting_Plaque.mpc• Pumpkin_Onlay.mpc

2) Boards with the following dimensions: Plaque: 0.75 " x 11 " x 20Pumpkin:

NOTE: Do not use boards that are smaller than specified above unless using an

appropriate jig. Larger boards are fine.

3) Wood glue, sandpaper, wood stain and/or paint and clear finish

4) A Dremel-type rotary tool with assorted sanding wheels and bits to sand small details and speed up preparation for finishing.

" 0.75 " x 5.5 " x 12 "

Happy Fall Y’all!

“Ignore” because the actual boards will be large enough that it won’t cause any problems at all. After each project is compiled, select “Best” or “Optimal” for the File Quality setting. (I recommend OPTIMAL.)

Click “OK” and upload each mpc project file to your memory card. Insert the card into your machine and load a board that measures the appropriate dimension specified for each particular mpc (see page 1 for board dimensions). Turn on your machine and proceed with the standard project setup in Step 2...

STEP 2You will see “Project Menu” on your LCD display. Press “1” then scroll toproject and press the green ENTER button to select it. Then follow the additional prompts....

• Stay Under Rollers - press 1) YES

• DO NOT RESIZE or SCALE the projects! If prompted, always Keep the Original Size. No scaling!

• How To Place - press 1) Center

• Cut Board to Size? - press 2) NO

• Select Carving Bit: 1/16" Carving - Press the green ENTER button. (Moves to center of machine.)

• Load Bit: 1/16" Carving - Remove the insert your 1/16" carving bit, then press the green ENTER button. After homing, the machine will begin the carving process.

If you do see the message, you may safely click on

Autumn_Greeting_Plaque.mpc

• Select Drill Bit: 1/8 "Cutting - Press ENTER. The machine will move the bit holder to the center of the machine in preparation for the bit installation.

• Load Bit:1/8 "Cutting - Insert your 1/8 " cutting bit, then press the green ENTER button. (homes, etc.)

• Select Cutting Bit: 1/8 "Cutting - Just press ENTER. The bit is already installed.

1/8 " bit and

• After it is done carving, you will be prompted to load your 1/8 "cutting bit. Remove the 1/16 " carving bit, insert your 1/8 " cutting bit, then press the green ENTER button. The machine will now proceed to perform the drill and cutouts.

(cont.)

STEP 1Start your Designer software and open the .mpc files. (fig. 1a)

All you need to do at this point is upload the project files to your memory card. (File/Upload). When you upload, you may or may not get a pop-up window with an “Auto-Jig” warning message (fig. 1b)

Page 2 www.carvebuddy.com www.carvewright.comDesigned by Michael Tyler CarveWright Project Tutorial

fig. 1a

fig. 1b

(cont.)

Pumpkin_Onlay.mpc

Autumn_Greeting_Plaque.mpc

4 hrs. 58 min.OPTIMAL

2 hr. 16 min.BEST

OR

1 hr.OPTIMAL

4 min.BEST

OR

Happy Fall Y’all!

STEP 3 - Separate Parts from MaterialSeparate the parts from the boards. Sand off tabs and all undesirable toolmarks. (fig. 3a, 3b)

STEP 4 - Assembly and Finish PrepGlue the pumpkin onlay to the plaque. Clamp or weigh down until dry. (fig. 4a)

Final sand overall.

4b)

Use a Dremel-type tool with various abrasive wheels/tips to make detail sanding go faster. (fig.

STEP 2 - Running the MPC File(s) (cont.)Go to “Project Menu” on your LCD display. Press “1” and scroll to the project, and press the green ENTER button to select it. Then follow the additional prompts....

• Stay Under Rollers - press 1) YES

• DO NOT RESIZE or SCALE the projects! If prompted, always keep the original size. No scaling!

• How To Place - press 1) Center

• Cut Board to Size? - press 2) NO

Your boards will look something like this. (fig. 2)

Pumpkin_Onlay.mpc

• Select Carving Bit: 1/16" Carving - Press the green ENTER button. (Moves to center of machine.)

• Load Bit: 1/16" Carving - Insert your 1/16" carving bit, then press the green ENTER button. After homing and finding surface, the machine will begin the carving process. When the machine is finished, remove your board and clean your machine of excess sawdust.

Page 3 www.carvebuddy.com www.carvewright.comDesigned by Michael Tyler CarveWright Project Tutorial

(cont.)

(cont.)

fig. 3a

Remove the parts from the boards

fig. 2

Happy Fall Y’all!

Autumn_Greeting_Plaque.mpc

Pumpkin_Onlay.mpc

fig. 3b

fig. 4a

Sand off tabs and toolmarks

fig. 4b

Glue the pumpkin onlay to the plaque

A rotary tool and attachments make sanding easier.

Use small abrasive bits to reach into tight areas.

After paint is thoroughly dry, spray a couple light coats of clear Krylon to seal the paint before applying the “glaze”. This coating will help keep the paint from smearing when the glaze is wiped off.

STEP 5 - Apply FinishApply the finish of your choice. Here’s what I used on the plaque sample made from Select Pine:(fig. 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g)

• Two coats of thinned Bulls Eye SealCoat(50/50 sealer and denatured alcohol)• Sanded again to remove stiffened fuzzies • Apply two more coats of thinned Bulls Eye SealCoat if planning to paint - skip if staining only• Painted select portions of the plaque with craft paints and paint pens• 2 coats of Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic spray to seal• Applied thinned brown craft paint overall as a glaze (brush on, then wipe off immediately)• Several coats of Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic spray

Page 4 www.carvebuddy.com www.carvewright.comDesigned by Michael Tyler CarveWright Project Tutorial

(cont.)

(cont.)

fig. 5e

fig. 5f

fig. 5g

Apply final clearcoats

Happy Fall Y’all!

fig. 5a

Apply thinned SealCoat overall.

Sand off fuzzies after drying.

Apply a couple additional coats of thinned SealCoat.if planning to paint the plaque.

fig. 5b

Using paint pens to color orange squares and paint inside the outer perimeter groove.

fig. 5c

Brush-painting with acrylic craft paints

Rubbing on green paint around the edges of the plaque using a rag dipped in the craft paint.

fig. 5d

Thinned dark brown craft paint applied overall as a glaze

Wipe off the paint “glaze” immediately from the high spots and wherever else desired, then allow to dry.

(cont.)

Page 5 www.carvebuddy.com www.carvewright.comDesigned by Michael Tyler CarveWright Project Tutorial

IN CONCLUSION

I hope you enjoyed making your autumn greeting plaque!

If you plan to paint and glaze your own plaque, keep in mind that the glaze will darken the colors by several shades. This is why somewhat “bright” colors are used to begin with, because you’ll know they won’t be quite so bright after the dark glaze is applied.

You can make a quick paint/glaze sample set by painting your choice of colors on a scrap board, then apply the glaze over them. You’ll be able to see what the colors will look like before committing them to your actual project and will make a handy reference for

Happy Carving!

Happy Fall Y’all!

future glazed projects too.

(cont.)

Happy Fall Y’all!

Page 6 www.carvebuddy.com www.carvewright.comDesigned by Michael Tyler CarveWright Project Tutorial

Materials Source Page

• 3M Radial Bristle Discs from (stack 3 discs at a time on your rotary tool mandrel) 80-grit: part # 4494A19 220-grit: part # 4494A18

www.mcmaster.com

• Zinsser Bulls Eye SealCoat• Sandpaper, Wood Glue• Disposable Brushes and Paint Rags

Items Purchased at Home Depot™ or Lowes™

Items Purchased at WalMart™

• Krylon Clear Gloss Spray

• Assorted Acrylic Craft Paints and Paint Pens(orange, yellow, red, green and brown were used on the sample)

Items Purchased at Michaels Arts & Crafts™

Page 7

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RESOURCES...There are numerous resources for the CarveWright/CompuCarve owner to make their experience with these machines much more enjoyable.

Every owner should join the CarveWright User Forum (http://forum.carvewright.com/forum.php) where fellow users share their experiences and knowledge with these machines on a daily basis. It is a FREE service that you will surely appreciate. A handy Search Feature helps you find answers to any questions you may have.

Additional Resources

CarveWright Project Tutorialwww.carvewright.com

www.carvebuddy.com