# What are tips I should know for my first X-Carve **URL:** \ **Category:** X-Carve\ **Created:** [December 2, 2015, 5:28am UTC](https://community.inventables.com/t/what-are-tips-i-should-know-for-my-first-x-carve/16742 "2015-12-02T05:28:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rcannon95](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex009/user_avatar/community.inventables.com/rcannon95/32/12242_2.png) [@Rcannon95](https://community.inventables.com/u/Rcannon95)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 5:28am UTC](https://community.inventables.com/t/what-are-tips-i-should-know-for-my-first-x-carve/16742/1 "2015-12-02T05:28:47Z")
On Sunday, I bought my first X-Carve, a 1000mm x 1000mm Fully Loaded. What are some tips that I should know before building it and during my first projects. ---
**Author:** ![RobertA\_Rieke](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex009/user_avatar/community.inventables.com/roberta_rieke/32/32723_2.png) [@RobertA\_Rieke](https://community.inventables.com/u/RobertA_Rieke)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 6:05am UTC](https://community.inventables.com/t/what-are-tips-i-should-know-for-my-first-x-carve/16742/2 "2015-12-02T06:05:48Z")
Congrats, welcome to the club! Here’s a few of my suggestions: -Don’t try to carve on anything expensive or exotic until you’ve got it dialed in. Odds are you’ll have to tweak belt tension, V-wheels, and/or potentiometers. Practice on MDF or something cheap until you’re happy with what you get. -If you’re going to stiffen the X-axis (see my video in a thread below for one method), it’ll probably be easier to do that during initial assembly. You can also search the forums for “X axis stiffening” and find a few good threads with other methods. -Look online for some of the videos that YouTube woodworkers made about assembling the X-Carve. There will be all sorts of assembly tips, problems we ran into, and alternative methods that you may prefer. My assembly tips video is in one of the forum links below. -If you’re going to use Easel, you can start using that immediately. You can design your projects and save them, which will let you knock them out one after another when the machine is dialed in. -Finally, don’t hesitate to ask questions on here. If somethings missing, bring it up. If it sounds bad, record it and upload it for us to see. If bits are breaking, smoke is showing, or something isn’t working right, take pictures or video and let us know. There’s a lot of “new” experience on here that can tell you what caused their machine to do the same thing. Here’s a few useful threads to get you started: > [@\[Guide\] Offset cutting, Lost steps, Positioning errors, etc](https://community.inventables.com/t/guide-offset-cutting-lost-steps-positioning-errors-etc/16084): > > Positioning Errors One of the most asked about troubleshooting problems with a new X-carve is positioning errors. Almost all positioning errors are corrected by adjusting the various parts of the machine. Very few of the problems are actually due to failing components. The X-carve is a very flexible machine and so one answer cannot fit all situations. Each person will use their machine in a different way which makes it difficult to precisely quantify each adjustment. Positioning errors are alm… > [@X-Carve Maintenance/Troubleshooting Videos - Add Your Own!](https://community.inventables.com/t/x-carve-maintenance-troubleshooting-videos-add-your-own/13405): > > There are a lot of repeated questions and answers on here, and some good videos that explain everything. I’ve got 2 maintenance and one X-axis stiffening video that I made that may help with some X-Carve maintenance and troubleshooting. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, videos have got to be worth a few more. If you’ve got a video, or like a video someone else has, put it up on here. Let’s make a collection that will be easy to reference for various X-Carve users! > [@A guide to understanding basic Feeds and Speeds](https://community.inventables.com/t/a-guide-to-understanding-basic-feeds-and-speeds/15583): > > Lets talk about the feeds and the speeds, and the birds and the bees. First I want to say hello to everyone, this is my first post on this forum. I wanted to write a topic that I hope will contribute to helping people who are new to machining by providing a better understanding of how a tool works in relation to the material. Disclaimer: Please understand that my experiences and theories are based on personal experience with large commercial CNC routers and not with the X-Carve; however, tooli… ---
**Author:** ![sketch42](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex009/user_avatar/community.inventables.com/sketch42/32/76722_2.png) [@sketch42](https://community.inventables.com/u/sketch42)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 7:21am UTC](https://community.inventables.com/t/what-are-tips-i-should-know-for-my-first-x-carve/16742/4 "2015-12-02T07:21:55Z")
Here is my writeup from way back, but it might help… the whole thread is a pretty good one to read. It’s a bit of a long post, but if you click the little arrow to the right, you can see the whole thing. > [@User Assembly Tips](https://community.inventables.com/t/user-assembly-tips/1442/36): > > I know that it has been a while since I put my machine together, but I am slow… slow in putting it together and slow in coming out with my “tips” post. I am also not an expert in this area, so I apologize in advance if I missed something or just plain got something wrong. Below are my assembly tips written as a letter to myself. I hope you find them useful as well. Hi, “Welcome to the word of”, X-Carve! (Futurama reference) [image] Congratulations on getting your 1000mm X-Carve Full Kit. I … ---
**Author:** ![AllenMassey](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex009/user_avatar/community.inventables.com/allenmassey/32/84441_2.png) [@AllenMassey](https://community.inventables.com/u/AllenMassey)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://community.inventables.com/t/what-are-tips-i-should-know-for-my-first-x-carve/16742/5 "2015-12-02T13:08:41Z")
If you do not already have a Dewalt 611 router (or similar palm router) as the spindle, go ahead and order the mount and router. Plus I agree with @AngusMcleod - A dust collection system and dust shoe are really not an optional item, you will need them. The Harbor Freight 2HP Dust Collector is an excellent bargain if you don’t already have a system in place. ---
**Author:** ![CTSamuraiX](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex009/user_avatar/community.inventables.com/ctsamuraix/32/76993_2.png) [@CTSamuraiX](https://community.inventables.com/u/CTSamuraiX)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://community.inventables.com/t/what-are-tips-i-should-know-for-my-first-x-carve/16742/6 "2015-12-02T16:32:32Z")
Is the 1hp one worth it to save on some space? ---
**Author:** ![AllenMassey](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex009/user_avatar/community.inventables.com/allenmassey/32/84441_2.png) [@AllenMassey](https://community.inventables.com/u/AllenMassey)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 4:50pm UTC](https://community.inventables.com/t/what-are-tips-i-should-know-for-my-first-x-carve/16742/7 "2015-12-02T16:50:11Z")
I don’t think the small one has the separator and filter. ---
**Author:** ![BryanSheets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@BryanSheets](https://community.inventables.com/u/BryanSheets)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 10:27am UTC](https://community.inventables.com/t/what-are-tips-i-should-know-for-my-first-x-carve/16742/8 "2015-12-03T10:27:15Z")
I would agree to all that has been said so far. My two cents though: Plan your table now, how/where etc. how you will run your dust collection and such. Also, if you plan to extend where the power supply/g-shield will sit, since not many of us like it right next to the machine, plan that in the build of the machine. I did not and it was a pain to run the wires to get it where I wanted it. Just my two cents. For what it’s worth. 🙂 and welcome.