ceramic guide blocks for bandsaw

[HowardH]

I have a PM 1500 BS and it came with guide bearings.  I have never really like them as they are difficult to keep properly set up and tuned. I have heard of the ceramic block guide systems as a direct replacement. Has anyone used them and what kind do you recommend?  Or should I get a set of Carter guides as a replacement even though they are bearings?

 

[Cheese]

FWIW...I have the Carter bearing guides and am very happy with them on an old Delta 28-303. That's a 14" band saw designed to cut both wood and metal.

 

[hdv]

On my new Felder FB610 I have opted to not go for the ceramic guides. They are not easier to properly get tuned, despite what they say. As a matter of fact, to me they feel like they are harder to get set up exactly as I want them to be. They might be longer-lasting, but replacing a bearing isn't that hard to do and it isn't something you need to do very often. Tuning the guides is something I do every time I change blades. Everything that makes it harder to get the proper blade for the job installed and tuned is a negative to me. All too often I see people using the blade that is on the saw at that moment, just because changing the blade is too much of a hassle.

Besides, I don't like the sparks you get once in a while with ceramic guides. Not something I want to have in sawdust.

I have bought HEMA FS 58 guides instead of ceramic guides or the stock ones that come with the bandsaw.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I have had the Carter bearings on my Rigid 14" with a riser block for years. I got them when I first got into woodworking, because I did quite a bit of resawing back then.  They have always been good for what I do.
As [member=66485]hdv[/member] said many people don't change to blade to fit the job at hand. I generally fall into that myself. I keep that wide blade on there most of the time. I do have narrower ones on hand though, if there was a need for it. I have a small benchtop bandsaw that serves me well for smaller parts and curves on thinner parts. It's a very old Craftsman, but it still does the job.

 

[HowardH]

I ordered the Carter upgrades last night. Those seem to be the way to go.

 

[4nthony]

FWIW...I have the Carter bearing guides and am very happy with them on an old Delta 28-303. That's a 14" band saw designed to cut both wood and metal.

One more vote for the Carter guides! I have them on a late-90s era Delta 28-276, which is generally regarded as a POS bandsaw, but the guides, the complete retrofit kit, actually -- along with new tires and blades -- turn it into a somewhat decent tool.

As others have noted, I'm happy with them though they can be a little bit finicky to adjust. By finicky, I'm referring to the threaded handles that adjust the bearings. The threads are not very fine so there's some play before they engage in the opposite direction. Once tightened, they'll hold their position.

 

[HowardH]

My guides came today.  Had to a little figuring on how to install them but once that was accomplished, I was glad I got them.  They are all they are advertised to be.  I took off the table, no small feat on an PM1500, but it was worth to get the guides set perfectly. There is no drift as I did a test piece making a veneer cut and it was even from one end to the other.  Once I'm done with this project, I'm going to put on my Laguna carbide blade and see just how smooth it can cut. 

 

[Mini Me]

My guides came today.  Had to a little figuring on how to install them but once that was accomplished, I was glad I got them.  They are all they are advertised to be.  I took off the table, no small feat on an PM1500, but it was worth to get the guides set perfectly. There is no drift as I did a test piece making a veneer cut and it was even from one end to the other.  Once I'm done with this project, I'm going to put on my Laguna carbide blade and see just how smooth it can cut.

The table and fence settings adjust the drift and I find that if they are set correctly and the blade is tensioned adequately guides aren't needed as seen in this video.

No Guides

 

[Crazyraceguy]

[member=396]HowardH[/member] Carbide blades don't necessarily cut smoother. They last much longer and you don't have to worry about wearing too much on one side of the blade. Steel blades have a "set" to the teeth, like a hand saw, and if you cut a bunch of semi-circle parts, all the same direction, one side wears more than the other. This results in a blade that still cuts fine, but drifts horribly. Carbide teeth will stop that, and if you hit a nail, it just keeps going as if nothing happened.

 

[HowardH]

[member=396]HowardH[/member] Carbide blades don't necessarily cut smoother. They last much longer and you don't have to worry about wearing too much on one side of the blade. Steel blades have a "set" to the teeth, like a hand saw, and if you cut a bunch of semi-circle parts, all the same direction, one side wears more than the other. This results in a blade that still cuts fine, but drifts horribly. Carbide teeth will stop that, and if you hit a nail, it just keeps going as if nothing happened.

Interesting.  Thanks.  I also saw a video where Alex Snodgrass of Carter Products was saying how important it is to have the teeth gullet in the center of the wheel so the teeth are more fully supported.  That also helps to eliminate drift. As long as one puts the teeth gullet in the same place on the wheel, you will never have to adjust the side bearings no matter what size blade is being used.  Only the back bearing would need to be adjusted. 

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

The method Alex Snodgrass shows in the video is only applicable to bandsaws using wheels equipped with crowned tires, and for relatively narrow blades (1/2" and less). So, great for hobby machines, but certainly not applicable to production bandsaws.

For what it's worth, I have the ceramic guides on my FB710 and have been really happy with them. Easy to adjust and cool running.

 

[HowardH]

Oh!  I didn't know that.  Learn new things everyday on this site.  I have a PM1500 which is a 15" machine. not a production machine but more like a higher end hobbyist. 

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

No worries, I'm forever learning something new. I just worry about folks tying themselves up in knots or doing something not suited to their machine. For instance, many larger/old band saws have flat wheels and no tires, so for those saws you want the back of the gullet at ~ the face of the wheel, with the teeth extending forward beyond the wheel.

On my FB710 I'm using a 1-1/4" carbide tipped Resaw King, using ceramic guides. The blade seems happiest with the center of the blade roughly centered on the (very slightly crowned) tire, so the teeth are almost (but not quite) hanging off the edge of the tire. 

Happy (and safe!!) woodworking!  [big grin]

 

[Mini Me]

It can be fairly safely said that European manufactured BS's use flat tyres with the teeth overhanging the top wheel edge and thus unsupported. How the difference came about I have no idea.