04-16-2017, 10:37 AM #4 If you’re cutting wet or resinous wood ceramic guides will help scrape sawdust off of the blade, while bearing guides will compress sawdust onto the blade. If you buy a saw with bearing guides and later decide you would rather have ceramic guides, you can replace the bearings with ceramic blocks. 04-16-2017, 12:08 PM #6 HI,. I don’t have any experience with ceramic guides, but have a question which may be of interest to the OP. I seems like as far as support to the blade to reduce twisting goes, that the ceramic guides would have a much wider contact area along the length of the blade than bearing guides would.
Good, aftermarket bearings, such as the ones from Carter are very nice, as are a good brand of guide blocks, such as Cool Blocks or ceramic blocks. The blocks more so than bearings, but the blocks are cheaper than a good set of bearings. On the larger blades, the blocks tend to wear faster, and it is typically not an issue keeping the bearings away from the teeth.
Blade guides for band saws are designed to aid the blade’s ability to resist deflection at the sides and back of the blade by the use of bearings usually a guide assembly at the top and another set of guide supports below the table. The problem we have learned to live with is the blade is still able to twist as pressure from the wood being cut is transferred to the back blade guide or as the wood or stock is turned. The ceramic pieces are integral to the mounting block and permitted to touch the side of the blade, as well as the back without heat build-up, as well as giving stability which sounded good to me due to the amount of re-sawing and book matching I do so I went and ordered them along with a 1″ re-saw blade which they call the “King Blade” made exclusively for re-sawing.
Although Iturra does not recommend using its Band Rollers with blades less than 1⁄8 “, I tested mine with 1⁄8 “, 1⁄4 “, and 1⁄2 ” blades, cutting thick stock and making tight-radius cuts to force the blade against the bearings. These bearing guides showed no signs of wear, a big upgrade from my square-block graphite guides. When cutting arcs and circular shapes-and especially in resawing-the bearings proved much better than my old graphite guides at holding the blade perpendicular to the workpiece with no twisting or deflection.
You’ll get cooler and quieter band saw operation with any of our unique guide blocks and thrust bearings. Four-piece guide block sets handle upper and lower guides. Ceramic thrust bearings offer the same durability for your Delta 10, Delta 14, Jet 14, Imports 14, Inca 340 and 360.
I’ve never used the ceramic blocks in my Shopsmith BS. Everyone on the Shopsmith forum raves about them and says that with dual upper and lower bearings, nothing else is needed. I was toying with maybe getting the Carter set, but others have said the ceramic blocks perform just as well. I’m still limping along with oil soaked oak blocks.
bandsaw ceramic guide vs bearings Related Question:
What are bandsaw guide blocks made of?
Cool Blocks are made of a non-metallic composite material– Graphite Impregnated Phenolic Laminate with three synthetic dry lubricants. Metal guide blocks create metal to metal contact, causing heat, friction, premature blade wear and breakage.
Why are the blade guides so important on a bandsaw?
Bandsaw blade guides keep the bandsaw blade on track while cutting through materials. Blade guides should be set above and below the saw table to help reduce vibration by holding the bandsaw blade in place while cutting. This assures a precise and quality cut.
How high above your work should the guide on the bandsaw be?
Make sure the wheels and blade are in good condition. Make sure the blade is positioned properly on the track. Adjust blade guard height to about 3 mm or 1/8 inch to 6mm or 1/4 inch above the top of the material being cut. Wider gaps will place tension on the blade and increase the risk of breaking.
How many teeth does a bandsaw blade have?
The general rule of thumb is: For wood and soft materials aim for 3 – 6 teeth in the workpiece. For metals and harder materials aim for 6 – 24 teeth in the workpiece.
How tight should your bandsaw blade be?
The blade should deflect no more than 1/4 in. A good place to begin is to tension the blade until the meter reads proper tension for the next wider blade. For example, if you’re tensioning a 3/8-in.
How much tension should a bandsaw blade have?
For carbon steel toothed blades (cutting blades) this is typically 15,000 to 25,000 PSI. Slitting type blades typically are tensioned in the range of 12,000 to 20,000 PSI. In general bandsaw blades are never tensioned past 35,000 psi.
Can you rip wood on a bandsaw?
A band saw can shape curves, saw rough lumber safely, cut joinery, and even rip boards to width.
How much space should there be between a band saw blade and the upper guide blocks?
Do both the upper and lower guides making sure that they set as close to the same place on the blade as possible. Set the front of the blade guide about one-sixteenth of an inch from the deepest part of the blade gullets (the spaces between the teeth on the blade).
What is a vertical band saw used for?
Generally the Horizontal saw is used to saw steel and other hard materials, while the Vertical Band saw is used for soft plastics, wood, and non-ferrous metal alloys. Always use the widest blade possible for the job being done. Blade guide must be set to just clear the top of the work piece.
What should I look for in a band saw?
The two main things to consider when choosing a band saw are the depth of cut and the throat. The saw’s depth of cut is the distance from the table to the upper blade guides. Many band saws are marketed on this feature alone, which tells the prospective buyer how thick of stock can be cut using the band saw.
What is a skip tooth band saw blade?
Skip tooth blades have widely spaced teeth at a 0 degree rake angle to prevent clogging when cutting soft wood, non-ferrous metals and plastics. Hook tooth blades have a deeper gullet—that is, larger teeth—and a positive 10 degree rake angle. This helps the blade to feed into the material more aggressively.
What are the different types of circular saw blades?
Blade Types: Generally speaking there are four major categories of circular saw blades. They are: Rip Blades, Crosscut, Combination and Specialty blades. Ripping saw blades are designed primarily to achieve a smooth, clean and safe cut when ripping wood or cutting in the same direction as the wood grain.
Do you need a fence for a bandsaw?
If you use your bandsaw only for making curved cuts, you’ll likely never need a rip fence. For accurate ripping and resawing, though, a good fence helps greatly. That said, many bandsaws don’t come with a fence. Those saws that do have fences, particularly on lower-cost models, often don’t work that well.