Metal bandsaw blade guides on narrow blades?

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09-13-2010, 1:39 PM
Josiah Bartlett

Metal bandsaw blade guides on narrow blades?

I have a 16" Walker Turner bandsaw with the original 45 degree steel guide blocks. They work great for resawing and wider blades, but I recently tried to do some scroll work on a piece of 1" thick maple with a 3/16" wide blade and they fell seriously short, even after I jointed them flat with a stone, cranked the tension down so much I was worried about the blade, and adjusted the guides too tight.

Is there a better option for narrow blades with a different material, or should I just bite the bullet and get a set of Carters?
09-13-2010, 2:08 PM
Harvey Pascoe

When I put a 3/16" blade on my saw and then went to set up the roller guides . . . Oops, no can do unless you want to tear up the bearings and wreck the blade. Blade is much too small for a reliable adjustment. Gotta use the scroll saw.
09-13-2010, 4:48 PM
Van Huskey

You can use Cool Blocks for sub 1/8" blades. The Carter Stabilizer is EXCELLENT for curves and narrow blades. It is not so great for straight precision cuts with narrow blades like dovetails.
09-13-2010, 6:21 PM
Josiah Bartlett

Can coolblocks be milled to be at an angle? The guides on my saw look like this:
http://ilikerust.com/Machines/Walker...GuideAfter.jpg
09-13-2010, 6:29 PM
Van Huskey

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josiah Bartlett

Can coolblocks be milled to be at an angle? The guides on my saw look like this:
http://ilikerust.com/Machines/Walker...GuideAfter.jpg

I don't see why you couldn't mill them as long as they were the correct size and there was enough material left to secure them. Also not 100% sure Carter makes a stabilizer for the Walker Turner. You could always make wooden guide black.