THE INVENTABLES WORKSHOP

We're excited to announce a brand-new Easel Pro feature today: raster toolpaths!

Easel Pro users can get a cleaner finish and better-looking carve by using raster toolpaths to carve wood. The raster toolpath cut setting changes how the bit moves across your material when carving filled shapes in your project.



As a default, Easel uses the “offset” strategy: the bit typically starts in the center of a filled area and gradually work its way to the edges, following the contours of your design. By contrast, with the raster approach, the bit's toolpath moves back and forth in a linear direction.

The main advantage of raster toolpaths comes when carving wood. Because the bit moves linearly in parallel lines, using raster can help you follow the direction of the wood grain. By carving with the wood grain, you will see a much cleaner finish on the resulting carve.



Want to learn more about how to use this new Easel Pro feature? Check out this helpful step-by-step tutorial and use raster …

Woodworking can be a bit daunting if you're new. There seems to be a neverending endless list of things to know: what wood to use, which tools to use, proper project setup, joinery options, finishing techniques...and how much glue do you actually need?

Plus, if you're just starting to build up your tools, it's hard to imagine spending a lot of money on acquiring the right tools for your shop. You'll want to know you're buying the right tools with your budget.

Luckily, Dylan and Molly from Woodbrew put together this short video on the essential woodworking tools that will help you get started—all for only $100!




Here's the full list of Dylan and Molly's recommendations:
(note: they make a small commission off purchases made from these links)

Circular Saw

Drill

Drill Bit Set

Tape Measure (or this one)

Chalk Line

Square

Orbital Sander


Building a hefty collection of tools takes time, but this short list will help you jump into woodworking with a reasonable budget. We c…

We are excited to announce our Easel Power Hour Challenge winners!

We invited all X-Carve fans to enter an Easel design that could be carved in under 60 minutes.
Each of our maker judges chose one winner from their entries and then collectively voted on an overall winner. Our judges were so impressed with all your designs and amazed by your creative uses of Easel!

Grand Prize X-Carve Winner: João Leão's Desk Organizer



Maker Cristiana Felgueiras from Get Hands Dirty explains,

“The overall presentation of [João Leão’s] project was very good, the images are clear and captivating, the
explanation of the building process is clear and complete, the Easel project seems feasible, the
design is balanced, contemporary and minimal and the material choice seems appropriate and easy
to carve. It doesn't require more tools besides a forstner bit and a drill/drill press for a final touch and a
piece of steel dowel that is bent. This project has some complexity and requires double sided carving…

The moment has finally arrived! After watching all the entries and holding a companywide vote, we are excited to announce the winners of our X-Carve Business Bundle Contest. 

As a quick review, the contest was split into two categories: business owners who do not own an X-Carve and business owners who currently own an X-Carve. Entrants were required to share their business or business idea in a 2-minute video. The video should convey the impact that adding an X-Carve would have on helping their business grow.

The winner of each category receives a fully-loaded X-Carve and an annual membership to our business-focused Easel Pro software.

Choosing one winner in each category was not easy: nearly 70 businesses submitted entries! The Inventables Team evaluated the videos and determined the following winners:



Non-Machine Business Owner: Chris of Herb’s Furniture

From Chris' website: "I started this concept in 2013 when I created my first piece of furniture that I needed to ship out …

We are seeing an increasing number of people that are making guitars on X-Carve.  I recently learned there is a whole profession and these folks are called luthiers.  A luthier is someone who builds or repairs string instruments generally consisting of a neck and a sound box.

I'd like to thank @PatrickRogers of [Slickhead guitars](https://www.facebook.com/slickheadguitars/) for making a guitar for the Inventables office.  One of the strings broke in transit and one of our resident guitar players is getting a pack ordered and repaired.  I am really excited to share photos because Kyle our office manager got it hung up.

The detail on the body is pretty awesome.
He extended it to the neck of the guitar as well.

We're excited to announce our 12 Days of Christmas Sale!




Santa needed some help cleaning out his workshop, so we're helping him out. From December 8 until December 19, a new category of items will be released for sale. Make sure to tune in every day to see what new items are going up for sale next!

For day 1, select hardware components are on sale at 40% off.




Additionally, we'll add some unique, never-before-sold items to the sale category from now until December 19. Can you guess what they might be? 🤔

All items are in limited quantities. Once they sell out, they're gone for good!

Take advantage of our special $100 gift card offer when you stock up on sale items. You'll receive a $100 Inventables gift card when you spend $100 or more on our site during the month of December.



Check out the sale to see what's available now...and don't forget to check in tomorrow for more!

Here at Inventables, we want to help makers on their journey—from beginner to hobbyist to full-time business owner. Our current promotion is designed to help you get started now and then save money when you need something later.

From now until the end of December 2017, we'll give you a $100 gift card when you spend $100 or more in our store!


All gift cards will be issued in January 2018 for orders over $100 placed during the month of December. Only one gift card will be issued per customer (even if multiple orders are placed during the month of December). 
This promotion allows you to be flexible with your purchases, no matter where you are in your maker journey. 
Current X-Carve and Carvey owners can stock up on bits and materials now for the busy gift-making season, then use their $100 gift card to replenish stock in 2018. 
New customers can buy a machine for the holidays (0% financing is available for X-Carve!) and then buy materials and bits in 2018 when your machine is set-up…