Looking for some Band Saw Advice

[Andy Pedler]

Hi all, I have a band saw that I've been slowly trying to get back in working order. It is a Taiwanese clone of the Delta model and is probably 15 years old or so, but the motor runs fine. It just needs a lot of the little parts replaced, as they have either rusted or worn down.

I'm wondering what sort of blade guides to get. I've looked through the Iturra Designs catalog and it looks like there are 3 interesting choices:

1. Band-Rollers (most expensive, but look pretty slick)
2. Ceramic Guides (much less money than band-rollers)
3. Cool Blocks (least expensive)

I'd appreciate any feedback about whether the band-rollers are worth the extra $50 or so that they cost over the other guides. Thanks in advance!

[Wes Bischel]

Andy,
I guess a lot has to do with what you are going to use the saw for. I decided to go the cool block route and the saw has done everything without fuss from scroll to resaw. I guess if I were a pro I might feel otherwise, but you may want to get the saw up and running and see if the stock set-up works then go from there.

FWIW,
Wes

[Mark Pruitt]

I vote for cool blocks. Have 'em on my Delta 14" BS and they work great.

[Doug Ketellapper]

As Wes says, it depends what you're going to do with the saw. I do a lot of resawing and ripping with my Delta bandsaw, and so I mostly have a 1/2" blade on it. I went from the metal guide instruments of torture, to Cool Blocks, and now I have Bandrollers which I got on ebay at a heavy discount. I really like the bandrollers, but if I was using really narrow blades a lot I'd stick with the cool blocks. I've not used the ceramic guides so I can't comment on those.

[Jim Becker]

Cool blocks. They work well with any size blade and are quiet.

[Andy Pedler]

Thanks for all the quick feedback. I think I'll give the cool blocks a try.

ap

[Tim Solley]

Hi guys, don't mean to jijack the thread here, but I'm unclear about why you would upgrade to Cool Blocks or or the like. I have a Grizzly with the stock ball bearing guides. What's wrong with them that I should upgrade?

Tim

[Jim Becker]

Hi guys, don't mean to jijack the thread here, but I'm unclear about why you would upgrade to Cool Blocks or or the like. I have a Grizzly with the stock ball bearing guides. What's wrong with them that I should upgrade?

Cool blocks are best for narrow blades (1/8". 3/16", etc.) that need to be in direct contact with the guides or even "embedded" in them. They are also good as overall guides and more forgiving relative to adjustment since they can be set touching the blade. (Other guides typically call for a very slight gap...the thickness of a dollar bill or so...between the blade and the guide when there is no work being done with the blade) There is nothing wrong with your current roller guides and outside of the aforementioned narrow blades, there probably isn't a reason to "upgrade".