For -MIKE- and anyone else interested:
Received the Carter look-alike guides and they fit my JBS 14MW nicely. It appears that the spacing between the two rollers is not adjustable, so the gap between the rollers and the blade is a tad more than I've been led to b elieve is appropriate. Solid construction and at $55 is about one-fourth t he cost of the Carters. Ran a couple of test cuts and am quite satisfied.
Larry
Where'd you get them?
your sure they are not adjustable. The shaft that holds them should be concentric so that you can move them in or out. Is there a set screw holding the shaft?
eBay :
Thanks, Jeff. There is a set screw at the end of the shaft. I will play with it tomorrow.
Thanks for the update, Larry. I'm going to bookmark that ebay seller.
I wouldn't worry too much about the gap. I learned a lot about which adjustments on a bandsaw are truly important and which aren't when I was needing to re-saw some 8" bamboo plywood. Proper blade tension is so much more important than the guides.
This is the original post I made on the topic...
I think the word is eccentric. Anyway, I had a similar set and I believe you loosen the clamp screw and rotate the center screw to adjust the roller in or out. I turn a lot of green wood and it builds up on the blade and those would just pack it down and get tighter and tighter. Had to go back to the steel guides which will scrape down the buildup.
For ordinary use the roller guides are great.
I experienced the same problem with roller guides, on paper they sound great but wet or oily wood introduces another set of problems. I have had no issues after switching to ceramic guides.
Yep, eccentric..
I disagree with that. I have my band saw set up very nicely now and it all matters. I can resaw without variation (minimal). Those guides prevent it from twisting to some degree. Twist at the top and you will not track. I use cool blocks just slightly touching so that they don't pinch the blade.
Of course my fence is set accurately too.
It all depends on the particular BS and blade. My old Craftsman had to have everything just perfect and the blade had to be retentioned often during an operation.
Enter my Laguna LT16HD. Guides are handy on tight radius cuts but totally unnecessary for moderate cutting.
If the back bone of the saw flexes when under tension the blade will loose tension and the blade will not track properly. How ridged a saw is built is directly related with how critical or not critical it is to set up. The more the saw flexes the more the blade will rub the guides and the more heat generated.
We can all disagree, that's what keeps this place a goin'. :-)
After learning the importance of proper tension, in concert with perfectly coplaner wheels, good tires, and good blades, and finding the leading angle for your blade.
After learning this putting it all into practice, I'm convinced blade guide were invented for poor saws, dull blades, and poor technique. :-)
Half joking, there, but blade guides are last on my list of priorities when using my bandsaw. Most of the time, I don't even drop them down into place, they stay up as far as they go.
I disagree with that. I have my band saw set up very nicely now and it
Exactly. I jokingly wrote in my other post that I'm convinced blade guide were invented for poor saws, dull blades, and poor technique. Unless I'm turning tight corners, like you, I keep them up at the wheel all the time.
You bring up another great point. What I also learned in all that research I did and the subsequent practice is that most people put *too much* tension on their blades. I think the default practice for many users when a saw that isn't tracking well is to tighten the blade. An overtightened blade causes its own set of problems.
After installing new tires and shimming the wheels so they were perfectly *coplaner, and marking the lead angle for each blade, I was amazed at how little tension was needed to get the saw cutting perfectly. This is when I also became aware of the problems with too much tension on the blade, some of which you mentioned.
(*Coplaner means on the same plane. The top bandsaw wheel can be adjusted easily so it is parallel to the bottom wheel, but that doesn't mean it's on the same plane, just a parallel one. The two wheels must be truly *coplaner* in order to cut perfectly.)
My Rikon bandsaw came with roller guides and I had the same problem with wet wood. After I cleaned the blade, I sprayed it with one of the products sold to spray cast iron tables - don't remember which one.
That almost completely eliminated the buildup. I worried that the sprayed blade might slip on the wheels but that didn't happen.
Hey, Mike ... the next time you're in my neighborhood come by my shop and help me get my BS humming. Cold ones are always in the fridge!
Larry
You had me at "cold ones." :-D What part of the country do you live? There are a lot of tutorials out there on the interwebs for truing everything up.
Southeast Wisconsin. Former home of Schlitz, Blatz and Pabst (RIP).
FWIW. several years ago when I was shopping to replace the new Ricon BS that I has just returned I visited MiniMax in Austin TX. They demoed the MM16 IIRC with no guides at all. I generally keep the guides on my Laguna about 6" from the table and keeping upper guides that low helps to act as a guard.
Yes it does... that's sort of off topic, but a much better reason to employ the rollers IMO. :-) My guard, all the way up, is only 6".
My guard all the way up is yours plus 10". :-)
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