Craftsman Carver
Unless you are mechanically inclined, into electronics, and can learn computer programming really well, then I would recommend you stay away from this machine. I purchased a machine directly from LHR in Pasadena, Tx. and it was the worst money I ever spent. These machines are very high maintenance and frustrating. Go to the CarveWright forum and you will see how much trouble people have with them. There are parts that fail regularly (such as the bit chuck ) on the machine that are not warrantied and are high dollar to replace them. The Sears warranty is a joke as well as the LHR warranty. Sears doesn't have any qualified or LHR trained people to work on the machines. It will usually take approx. one to three months to get your machine back from repairs when you send it in to Sears. Go read about it on the CW forums. I purchased every accessory when I bought my machine and have almost $3000.00 tied up in it. I have also purchased a lot of spare parts for it. Like I said, worst mistake I ever made as far as purchasing a wood shop tool. Save your money and buy something you don't have to repair every time you want to use it. Now this is just my personal opinion. There are a lot of happy owners and good operating machines out there, but mine is not one of them as far as I am concerned. I just don't like the high maintenance to keep it operating. I am thinking about taking mine to a pawn shop or land fill. Reminds me of when I worked on helicopters, eight hour maintenance for every one hour of flying time. Seems like two to four hours maintenance for every project carved. Good luck in your choice.
James
