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Thread: Metal bandsaw blade guides on narrow blades?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Forest Grove, OR
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    1,167

    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?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Florida Panhandle
    Posts
    513
    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.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    LA & SC neither one is Cali
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    9,447
    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.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Forest Grove, OR
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    1,167
    Can coolblocks be milled to be at an angle? The guides on my saw look like this:
    http://ilikerust.com/Machines/Walker...GuideAfter.jpg

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    LA & SC neither one is Cali
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    Quote Originally Posted by Josiah Bartlett View Post
    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.

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