Laguna LT16 guides and blades

[Adam J Kolstad]

Bought this bandsaw used from a guy that orriginally purchased in 2003. Couple of questions on it since this is my first larger than a 14" delta bandsaw. The guy had no idea on how to set up a blade and basically was running the teeth of a 3/16th blade through the ceramic. I am going to order new inserts for this thing but is there anything else i should consider/double check with reguards to the euro guides. The alumminum guides do look in good shape other than the inserts. Also, this thing is rated for 1 1/4" blades. Is this actually capable of tensioning a 1 1/4 blade or should i just order a 1" blade and call it good? Not fully sure on the advatages the extra 1/4" will give me. my plan is to set this up for resaw or straight line ripping only and use my delta for curves and such.
Thanks for the help,
Adam

[Mike Wilkins]

I have a 2001 LT18 and have run everything from a 1/4" blade through the 1 1/4" blades. Since I have more band saws in the shop, I just keep a one inch or 1 1/4" blade in the machine at all times. The big beast is just for resawing and cutting thick timbers; I have 2 smaller saws with a 1/4" blade for the curvy stuff. The teeth on the larger blades will overhang the wheels a little bit, but it is designed to run that way. I set the ceramic guides to run in contact about 1/8" back from the gullets of the blade, with minimal touching.