About a month ago I got a call from minimax asking if I was interested in purchasing the new highly sought (he told me so!) after ceramic guides to replace the bearing guides that came with the machine.
I said sure. What the heck. While I was satisfied the overall performance of the machine, the one thing that irritated me was when re-sawing, the blade would get kind a toasty and, well, you know what happens. I was using Pam to spray on the blade which did work wonders in keeping the blade cooler but Pam is kinda messy and I would spend considerable time cleaning Pam off my machine as it tends to attract saw dust.
Anywho, while having my Pam conversation with the mm salesman (he'd never heard of someone using Pam before) he told me these ceramic guides might be the solution in replacing Pam. Well, this certainly would get my wife off my back as ever time she wants to make cookies, she has to go out in the shop to retrieve the Pam. That's another story I guess.
To make a long story short, I hooked up the new ceramic guides and WOW! Salesman was right. Night and day difference and no Pam. I resawed the tallest and hardest wood I could find in my shop (maple). Like a hot knife through butter. If salesman calls you or even if he doesn't, get your hands on these ceramic guides. You definately won't be dissapointed.
Cost of guides? Kinda spendy. $95 for 4 of them shipped to my front door. Was it worth it? No question at all. A resounding yes.
SH