Carter Guides

[Gene Howe]

My 1/2" Shopsmith band saw blade wants to kick out at the bottom of a resaw cut. Results in a severely angled cut.
Brand new blade. SS guides set nearly tight against the blade. Very slow speed and a back out every two inches. Cutting 5" wide quilted maple. I even made two table saw rip cuts so that the band saw was only cutting 2" wide.
I ordered the Shopsmith 11 guides from Carter. Hope that takes care of the problem.
Any body have any thoughts on the Carter guides? Or, something else that can be done?

[charlese]

If I understand correctly, there are two problems. Slow speed and backing out seem to be issues. The bandsaw speed should be 950 RPM - this gives more teeth per second and better sawdust removal. Backing can cause the blade to be pulled out of the blocks, especially if there is tooth set, (and low blade tension) which will drag on the sides of the cut - especially with a slow speed.

I recommend a point fence and a slow/steady feed into a fast moving blade. Remember to check the blade tension before sawing.

[JPG]

By "kick out at the bottom" do you mean the blade is further from the fence at the bottom than at the top?

If so, I would be suspicious of the blade not tracking a straight line from upper wheel to lower wheel. The upper blade guides should NOT cause the blade to deviate from that single line path tangential to both wheels.

Resawing 5" requires a blade with deep gullets. *

Then there is the table tilt zero stop adjustment.

Not sure sawing deep kerfs will help the problem.

Slow feed is preferable to slow blade speed.

I agree with Chuck - retraction not a good idea. If you feel a need to retract, see * above.

[Gene Howe]

Thanks for the replies, gentlemen.

I did have the speed dial set as low as possible. My feed rate was also very slow. I'll correct the running speed.
By "backing out", I meant taking feed pressure of and maybe backing a 1/2 inch. Blade never caught. I have had that happen though, with smaller blades and doing scrolling cuts.
Oh, and I do use a point fence.

JPG, are the gullets in the Shopsmith blade, not deep enough? The table tilt was my first thought. But, not the problem.

Hopefully, setting the speed to 950 will correct the problem. I'll give it a shot.
Thanks, again.

[reible]

Hi,

If I understand what you said, that you have a table saw kerf cut on the top and bottom of the board and have only the 2" web between that needs to be cut on the bandsaw but you are getting a cut that still comes out badly?

Resaw blade 3-4 tpi, 1/2" wide and tensioned correctly. Wood supported on one side tall enough, either a fence or point arrangement. Saw is correctly setup. I would think that should be a piece of cake to cut. I mean you have a 1/8" or so kerf to stay within to start with.

As has been mentioned if you are running at bandsaw speed, cutting slow enough so the chip load is clearing then you should be good to go. I also agree no backing up as has been mentioned you could pull the blade out of the guides.

I have the carter guides on one of my other bandsaws, they were a big plus on that saw. I've upgraded the shopsmith one with alternative bearings (not shopsmith) and have been very happy with that setup.... and it was far cheaper then the carter guides.

Ed

[JPG]

. . .
JPG, are the gullets in the Shopsmith blade, not deep enough?

Depends! Which one do you have?

A combination blade likely does not.

521987 or 555196?

521987 would work better.


Probably even better 555421

Then there are third party blades.

[db5]

521987 or 555196?

521987 would work better.

Probably even better 555421

Then there are third party blades.

I assume these numbers refer to Shopsmith blades. First Party? How do we jump to third party without an intervening party? Not being a smart ass just wanting to understand the terminology.

[forrestb]

To answer your question Gene:

I have installed the Carter ball bearing guides and like them. You do have to reveres one of the guides before you install since they are they are not furnished correctly. Not a problem - you will see the issue when you install. Carter is prompt with a question.

The nice thing is you adjust them to CONTACT the blade, not be a 'business card'' or some such distance away.

A caveat: be careful; they do tend to want to rotate when tightening.

I use the ½ inch Wood Slicer (a variable 3-4 tip blade from Highland Woodworking) and after checking for drift with a same-species and approximate width board I re-saw with confidence.

Forrest

[Gene Howe]

Thanks for the heads up, Forrest.
As soon as they get here, I'll install them.

[JPG]

521987 or 555196?

521987 would work better.

Probably even better 555421

Then there are third party blades.

I assume these numbers refer to Shopsmith blades. First Party? How do we jump to third party without an intervening party? Not being a smart ass just wanting to understand the terminology.

1 Manufacturer of machine.

2 Customer who purchased said machine.

3 Other folks who sell stuff for that machine.

Note they are three different folks.