Bandsaw guide upgrade

[rocket]

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When i first started out in this caper i was a bit ignorant about bandsaws, and price always has a bearing on your decisions when it comes to buying tools, anyways i bought a 14 inch bandsaw from carbatec which has been very good , but as time passed i found that the guide assembly was less than perfect in that ,,, the guide bearings were only 7mm wide and not suitable for wider blades, the thrust bearing was mounted at 90 degrees to the blade edge so any load would be across its axis.
A long story short, i purchased a Carter guide upgrade through Lee Valley, it wasn't exactly compatible with the carbatec model but i was able to make some modifications to the mountings and " hey presto" i have a better smoother guide system for my bandsaw, love it!!

[simso]

As carbatec is a pretty popular model, what modifications did you have to make to fit the carter kit

[old_picker]

yesterday i struggled around a rimu solid body with the jet 14" in my workshop - the whole time i was saying in my head "wasted your money on those crappy guides" - bought a set of those composite square things that sit either side of the blade and get chewed up every time they have to do some work

i notice the lee valley units come for jet saws $180.00 plus exchange and freight is not cheap

also found these
http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/review ... blocks.htm
not sure how they would go - i would have thought they would heat up too much

[charangohabsburg]

Very nice upgrade Rod, congrats!
I have wondered many times why the thrust bearings on my machine INCA) are mounted at a 90° angle thus getting eaten away more than necessary and producing additional (although not really much more) noise I could live without.

i notice the lee valley units come for jet saws $180.00 plus exchange and freight is not cheap

Yes, some people buy an entire brand new "bandsaw" for that amount of money.

[kiwigeo]

"the thrust bearing was mounted at 90 degrees to the blade edge so any load would be across its axis."

I wonder about this every time I look at the guide bearings on my Carbatec 14" saw.