Ceramic Blade Guides for the Bandsaw

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 4:39 pm

I really like your shop area. I am particularly impressed by your jigs. Don't be surprised if you see something in one of my photos that looks vaguely like yours.

I don't think the same high quality of workmanship will come through but it'll work.

Excellent photos too.

I now have copies in my file of shots to remember.

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:42 pm

Yep! idh has good ideas and a nice shop. Hey, Dusty, since he lives nearby, I'll bet he'll let you come up and sneak a peek, first hand!

I did a little re-sawing myself today. A calculated 18 bd ft required to make these shutter blanks. Please excuse the unsophisticated look to the simple rigging to do the re-sawing, but it worked. I use cool blocks and a 5/8" Shopsmith blade. Here's photos:

chiroindixon · Post by **chiroindixon** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:24 pm

I just got my new blocks. Service was of Shopsmith quality. All I asked them was "How do I buy? I want a set." and the next thing, a set appeared in my mailbox.

Total to me was $15.75....on The Honor System. Far cheaper than Cool Blocks and Wow, that's trust and American service. I emailed him that my check would be in the mail tomorrow.

"Nick" at http://www.spaceageceramicguideblocks.com is ready to take any more orders

Doc

ldh · Post by **ldh** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:43 pm

chiroindixon wrote:I just got my new blocks. Service was of Shopsmith quality. All I asked them was "How do I buy? I want a set." and the next thing, a set appeared in my mailbox.

Total to me was $15.75....on The Honor System. Far cheaper than Cool Blocks and Wow, that's trust and American service. I emailed him that my check would be in the mail tomorrow.

"Nick" at http://www.spaceageceramicguideblocks.com is ready to take any more orders

Doc

Doc,
I had just the same experience with the company a few weeks back. Just makes you feel good to be treated that way. I set the the clearance of the guides at .0025 in my saw and earlier today I adjusted a set in another saw at .002. Do let us all know if they improved your resaw and general cutting.
ldh

chiroindixon · Post by **chiroindixon** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 1:34 pm

Tough to say that it was the new ceramic blocks, but I can finally get the drift corrected on both my 1/4" and 1/2" Timberwolf blades. I had about all but given up.

I used the older method of sawing freehand along a straight line halfway down a jointed board, then clamp it down, then align the fence. Continue to saw to check. Method failed me in the past.....worked perfectly today.

I must confess I also carefully checked all the guides, etc. They weren't out. I did bring the new blocks right up behind the gullets. Test runs resawing white oak worked great.....I measured.

I doubt that these will wear like Cool Blocks. You may get surprised as the ceramic seems to burnish the blade. Occasionally sparks will pop.

Price was right. $15.75.....delivered.

Doc

ldh · Post by **ldh** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 2:43 pm

Doc,
Try the double upper and lower thrust bearings along with Shopsmiths 5/8" VP blade and you might be in for another pleasant surprise.....less curf and even thinner resaws.
ldh

chiroindixon · Post by **chiroindixon** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 5:24 pm

Care to list the size, source, prices on those thrust bearings? I'd considered a Carter stabilizer upgrade but that seemed unnecessary.

I'm sold on Timberwolf....and ordering direct from them (Suffolk Machinery) is as easy as dealing with Shopsmith.

Right now this band saw is working as good a tuned TA instructors....but...for a reasonable price, I can be convinced to squeeze some more performance out.

I got so encouraged, I spent the afternoon making that new fence Nick devised to make the odd shapes.....

Doc

ldh · Post by **ldh** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 8:24 pm

Doc,
Take a look at the thread I started back on 4/17/08......Bandsaw Bearings.
I think I listed all of the materials and source for the bearings as well as some pics. The first pics show the Carter Guide Bearing with the double thrust bearings. Now that I have used the ceramic guide bearings I think they work just as well as the $100 Carter Bearing Guides. I use the low tension Timberwolf blades on my Delta saw and they work fine.
ldh

weelildaddy · Post by **weelildaddy** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 12:38 pm

ldh: I was so intrigued by the ceramic guide blocks that I ordered a set. OMG, they must be the most trusting people in the world. Very prompt! Nick said he would drop them in the mail immediately and just send a check when they arrived. They did and I did.

I too use Timberwolf blades and these guides are impressive especially if they last the lifetime of the tool. They are totally silent and with the Kreg fence, I am cutting veneers so thin that I won't tell you becuase you just won't believe me. I have never had a bandsaw with roller blade guides so unlike ldh, I cannot offer a comparison between the two but certainly, these offer a good alternative to the Carter Roller guides and they run perfectly cool. I would, however return to the cool blocks if I were using a 1/16 inch blade.

ldh · Post by **ldh** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:55 pm

weelildaddy wrote:ldh: I was so intrigued by the ceramic guide blocks that I ordered a set. OMG, they must be the most trusting people in the world. Very prompt! Nick said he would drop them in the mail immediately and just send a check when they arrived. They did and I did.

I too use Timberwolf blades and these guides are impressive especially if they last the lifetime of the tool. They are totally silent and with the Kreg fence, I am cutting veneers so thin that I won't tell you because you just won't believe me. I have never had a bandsaw with roller blade guides so unlike ldh, I cannot offer a comparison between the two but certainly, these offer a good alternative to the Carter Roller guides and they run perfectly cool. I would, however return to the cool blocks if I were using a 1/16 inch blade.

weelildaddy,
Yes, I have found that the ceramic guides do work quite well in the SS Bandsaw. I have a set of the Carter Guides in one of my SS saws and in all honestly I think the ceramics work just as well. I have the Carter Guides in a 14" Delta with the 6" riser with a Timberwolf blade and the combination works ok. I have just never tried the Timberwolf blades in the SS Bandsaw. I do use blade wax and I stone the back of the blades. Paul Cohen was the first member to try the Carter Guides and I think he was impressed with them, but that was before I was aware of the ceramics for the SS saw. I am going to do a resaw demo with the SS Bandsaw setup with the ceramic guides and double bearings for the woodworks group this coming Thursday. Hopefully when I finish those members who like SS will like the SS Bandsaw a bit better and those who dislike the SS Bandsaw will dislike it a bit less. Now that we have a separate category of MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR it will be easier to post and follow info on this sort of subject. Keep on posting, the more folks posting the more each of us learn about our very unique SS machines.
ldh