From DIY to CNC Mastery: TAOW’s Journey with Makera Carvera

taow cnc workshop

Introduction: From DIY Roots to Engineering Mastery

Meet Taow, the creative force behind the YouTube channel TAOW (The Art of Weapons). Based in the UK, Taow has been designing and building high-quality DIY and engineering projects since childhood. What started as a hobby making slingshots and knives has since evolved into a collection of ambitious, engineering-driven builds, ranging from 3D wave carvings to generative tool holders, all shared with a growing global audience.

Taow recently graduated with a degree in Engineering Design and now works professionally as a mechanical engineer. Years of hands-on building have translated into a YouTube channel known for originality, technical depth, and creativity. Throughout this evolution, CNC machining—and particularly the experience with the Makera Carvera—has played a transformative role in unlocking new levels of design freedom and project potential.

taow's workshop

Discovering Carvera: Compact Power, Big Potential

Taow first discovered Makera’s Carvera in 2023 through review videos on YouTube. At the time, Taow was still living in university accommodation without access to a workshop. The Carvera’s compact size, enclosed design, and quiet operation immediately stood out, especially the Automatic Tool Changer (ATC), a rare feature in desktop CNCs. “It seemed like a big step ahead of most machines in its category,” Taow recalled.

Despite its professional-grade capabilities, the Carvera’s quiet and fully enclosed design meant Taow could even run it in a bedroom during university, continuing to create without access to a full studio.

"I was really impressed with the machine - especially with the automatic tool changer. It seemed like a big step ahead of most machines in its category. At the time, I was living in university accommodation, so did not have access to my workshop space back home. The carvera is fully enclosed and quiet, so it was not a problem to use even in my bedroom."

Taow’s current bedroom CNC setup

The Origins of TAOW

Taow’s channel began in 2012, starting out by sharing slingshot and knife tutorials on Instructables and the Slingshot Forum. YouTube was simply a convenient way to upload videos, but over time, the content gained traction. As the channel grew, projects became more ambitious and engineering-focused, while retaining the DIY spirit of the early days.

"The tutorial-style project format has stayed pretty consistent, but the content is now much more engineering-focused - and (hopefully) the production quality has improved a lot too!"

Today, the audience especially enjoys original long-form videos that show the process of designing and building a tool or art piece from scratch.

cnc brass 3D Wave Carving

cnc for Jewelry and keyrings

CNC: The Next Logical Step

Taow’s passion for making things by hand naturally evolved with technology. After building a custom 3D printer and falling in love with digital-to-physical workflows, CNC machining was the next frontier. It combined the precision, automation, and creative control that Taow valued most.

"CNC machining felt like the natural next step - especially as I was also passionate about woodworking. It combined everything I enjoyed: technical challenge, creativity, and high-quality results."

CNC machining

Projects Made with Carvera

Since receiving the Carvera, Taow has used it for a wide range of projects:

Generative design utility knife holder
3D wave relief carvings in aluminum and brass
Jewelry and keyrings
Functional brackets, fixtures, and adapters

3D wave relief carvings in aluminum and brass

3D aluminum

3d spartan aluminum head

3d spartan brass head

cnc aluminum Jewelry

cnc brass Jewelry

3D brass Wave Carvings

Generative Design Utility Knife Holder

The Carvera’s 4th axis support and precision machining in both aluminum and brass have enabled Taow to achieve results far beyond what typical hobbyist tools allow.

"I love that the Carvera makes it easy to produce small, accurate parts from aluminium and brass."

Favorite Features

The Automatic Tool Changer stands out most. It allows Taow to queue multiple toolpaths and let the machine work independently.

"It's automation and ease of use significantly lower the barrier compared to the DIY CNC machines I’ve built in the past. It’s reliable, intuitive, and genuinely fun to use."

Taow also appreciates how quiet and clean it is to operate, especially compared to more DIY machines.

Projects That Stand Out

Two projects Taow highlighted include:

Generative Design Utility Knife Holder: A complex, curved design that made full use of the 4th axis and tested G-code skills.
3D Wave Carvings: Abstract art pieces machined from aluminum and brass, starting as sketches and ending as polished sculptures.

"The knife holder pushed my G-code programming skills... The wave carvings were more of a creative experiment—Carvera turned a loose idea into a shiny, real-world object."

Generative Design Utility Knife Holder

Enhanced 3D brass Wave Carvings

Post-Graduation: CNC in Professional and Personal Life

Now working professionally as a mechanical engineer, Taow uses experience with CNC in real-world applications:

"Thanks to my hands-on experience with hobby CNC, I feel much more confident and capable when designing for manufacture."

And CNC will remain essential to personal creative projects:

"It gives me full creative and technical control over what I make."

Advice for Aspiring Makers and Engineering Students

"Just start building things. Whether or not your projects work perfectly doesn’t matter; you’ll learn a huge amount just by trying."

Taow believes that practical skills—like making, breaking, and fixing things—are just as important as academic knowledge. Taow encourages others to embrace hands-on learning.

On Working with Makera

Taow’s relationship with Makera has grown over multiple collaborations. What stands out most is the creative trust that has been given:

"What stands out to me most compared to other brands I have worked with is the creative freedom you’ve given me. I’ve felt trusted to approach the videos in my own style... That’s a rare and refreshing experience compared to other brand collaborations. I think the reason it works for Makera is because the Carvera is a great product that doesn't need all of these restrictive guidelines."

Explore More

Visit TAOW on YouTube and Instagram to watch CNC-powered builds in action.

Explore Carvera →

Your shopping bag is empty.

Share

From Slingshots to CNC Mastery: Taow’s Creative Journey with Makera Carvera