I recently purchased the fully loaded X-Carve. I am thinking of many different ways I can utilize this product to start a business. I am curious if anyone in here has a business or started one by using the X-Carve?
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Can’t say I’ve “made a business” out of it, since I’m still working my normal job for my primary income, but I have managed to pay back my initial investment plus all software and upgrades very nearly three times over now. Something like 2.8x, depending on exactly how you calculate it. 
My X-Carve is milling aluminum daily and turning a very good profit while doing it. I have weeks of milling orders stacking up and the X Carve does a good job of making a good dent in those projects with my other two mills. It is not a Tormach, but it sure is making the money to buy one one day. But I am still a full time sports photographer and not ready to walk away from my current employer just yet. For now the mills are saving up to buy some much bigger and better mills while the camera pays the day to day bills.
Most of my sales are custom video production gear, mounts, remote camera rigs and such. But one of my personal projects which I use the X Carve for is custom 3D printer parts. Here is a link to some of that milling. Production level aluminum milling with .8KW water cooled VFD - #47 by Travelphotog
That sounds like a good secondary income! I love something that can really pay for itself and then some! What sort of “products” do you create?
I added the xcarve to my business I already had started. It has expanded my client base. I don’t have any where near enough product going out yet. But it is paying for the monthly cc bill plus all the wood to keep it going. It is slowly paying itself off. My biggest problem is honestly time to cut and finish my stuff to sell. Lol job and family get in the way. Lol
I hear you here! My wife and I started a baby wall name, photography prop, home decor, etc business and I find finishing to be the biggest time sucker!
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For the most part, I’ve been working on wooden desk accessories. I just completed my first Massdrop, actually, and I’m in the middle of producing parts for it now. That one order paid off my entire X-Carve, although not the software, etc. Largely I’ve been focusing on custom-made stuff, the Massdrop is the first time I’ve sat down and cranked out a large production run of the same piece!
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Those look great! I remember seeing you post about those on here! Very cool, how much did they end up selling for? Do you find it difficult to fill the orders? I’m sure you hit some good numbers, especially seeing that 20 more people have already requested your product again!
Thanks, Rusty! I ended up doing fairly well, I made $55 per piece, and each takes me perhaps an hour to make. Total sales were 30 pieces, and I’ve received a number of requests afterwards to make another run once this set is done. Have to see if they get enough interest to run it again!
So far, I have had no real difficulties in filling the orders. I’ve been producing one part per evening on weekdays, it takes about 20 minutes to do the cutting (I have the finishing cut set very fine to minimize sanding later) and about 40 minutes all told for finishing operations. Cutting it out, sanding, lacquer, etc. I’m down to the last six to produce, and I’m planning to wrap it all up this weekend and get back onto my custom orders that have been backing up in the meantime. 
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That’s so exciting! Good work!
I really enough woodworking and since I purchased my X-Carve it has really gotten me back into it! And with this community, it just makes it that much better!
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Thanks, man! It’s really given my woodworking a kick as well! Both with giving me more project ideas, and by combining with the recent move I made into a place with more shop space to let me carry them out. The stream of revenue that it’s been bringing in for me is definitely helping too, I just ordered a Laguna band saw with straight-up proceeds from the shop, a large portion of the pieces sold in that have had some degree or another of X-carve work on them.
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The wife’s jewellery business isn’t based on the X-Carve but it has been a welcome time saving addition and aids making a few things we couldn’t easily do before.
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i plan to once my daughter gets a little older (shes 10 months) right now theres just not enough time in the day to be in the shop as much as i want and help the wife with the kids. will most likely focus on signs
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i sell signs to vendors that resell at fairs and festivals. just words and sayings cut on barnwood i can cut 6 at a time make 36 signs 1 day a week 10$ each. then i make signs for people that come by now and then about 10 a week at 50-150 a sign. still work at a factory but word is spreading with the vendors and looking like next year i could go full time by the end of the year but we will see
been getting orders from a few fire departments for logos
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Very nice! Are you using a multiple-WCS setup for that, or just building a single file for fixed locations on the wasteboard? Multi-part machining is something I haven’t gotten into yet, I’ve been sticking with just single parts at a time so far.
pieces get lined up on waste board clamped then all lettering is done as a single project one file as long as you know your measurements all will be good. i do my layout as all parts were just one big board
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My wife and I are thinking about making sign and maybe some products. Something similar to what ShaneBell is doing. Shane, what type of signs are you selling for 10$ each? Rudy what kind of props are you doing? I am also a photographer. Well I am actually a Photo Booth Rental owner. We rent Photo Booth for all types of events.
Most currently our family photography wanted some large numbers for kids to hold for their age, we also did a bunch of props for a friends wedding that could double as photo props, words like “Thanks you”, “Mr & Mrs” just about anything like that. We did a giant “As you wish” sign for their head table it think it measured something like `40" tall be 8 feet, it was awesome!
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Oh that’s really cool Rusty. We are planing on doing signs like that but smaller. Maybe some mustaches and glasses hold by a stick.
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Ya that sign was really big and a bit out of the norm, the thank you we made can be easily held, it’s only about 4" tall. Here’s a few pictures, the numbers are about 12" tall.
We found the biggest thing is getting the word out there, lots of people are looking for this type of product just no one knows where or how to get it!
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