It's time to rebuff this self proclaimed authority and say MY piece. I've since had a number of days to cool down a bit and I want to address this latest letter I got from an over aggressive zealot.

Not that I feel I need to justify my decision, but maybe you have come to a similar fork in the road and you're trying to decide which route to take Maybe a friend has passed on the same message this guy pushed in my face and you are wondering if you should invest in a Carvewright or if you should buy or build a custom machine.

THE most important reason I chose a CarveWright was because of what the machine could do!! This is a remarkable tool. It can do a tremendous amount of carving right out of the box. Why would I want to build a machine from scratch and go through all those challenges? I want to carve wood - not see how much testosterone I could exude.

My second reason was the fact that there is an Apple Macintosh interface available. I'll admit that I'm a Mac enthusiast, but having a computer choice is more than just beneficial. There may come a time that I have to move to a PC platform - my investment is protected. The same holds true for someone on a PC. Maybe you'll get sick of dealing with Vista or want to use the same machine your offspring use. You know, get some computer help from the kids.. Your machine investment is protected and "Future Proofed". I think that this dual platform support also says volumes about the Carvewright people as well. I want to support and encourage companies that serve all types of users.

Reason number three is EASE OF USE. Yes, this machine has a bit of a learning curve, but what powerful tool doesn't? I set-up and programmed the real cnc machines for years and I have to tell you, when I got home from work, the last thing I wanted to do was more work. I like the integrated software. Why would I want to buy a third party software package and be at the mercy of yet another software company. These guys come and go or get bought out all the time. As long as there is a CarveWright, I'm gonna have a software package that caters exclusively to my needs.

Let's not forget the Carvewright/Compucarve community either. I spend lots of time on the various forums reading what guys have to say and taking in all the great ideas and listening to the chatter about our beloved machines. Some good, some bad, but a COMMUNITY just the same. You're not going to find that with a "one of a kind" or custom machine. You're going to be out in the cold and feel all alone. Yup, there's cnc forums but that custom machine is absolutely unique and there's comfort in numbers. I want to bond with my fellow carvers - not run around like a chicken trying to figure out how to do something or where I can find repair parts.

And of course, all these reasons lead me to something that only CarveWright can bring to the table and that's VALUE. The "build-yer-own" guys claim that you can get a better machine for a couple bucks less and that statement is technically true. However, when you add in the cost of the design software, tooling, and your time - the cost is way over that of a CW. How bout that scanning probe too? I've yet to see anything like that available for the "home brew" machines.

So, as you can see, I have lots of reasons for choosing the CarveWright CNC wood carving machine. There is so much more here than what initially meets the eye. THINK about this and I'm sure you'll come to the same conclusion. After all, thousands of us already have.