Jim Davenport
02-17-2011, 2:55 PM
I decided that I needed some serious resaw capabilities. After pricing new band saws, I decided to upgrade my 14” Jet. I bought it new in 1993, and it’s given me great service.
I did a lot, and I mean a lot of research, Here at SMC, other sites, books, and old magazine articles. I made my choices, and did the following:
I made a visit to my local Woodcraft, and bought a Jet 6” riser kit, a Carter heavy tension spring, and a Kreg bandsaw fence.
I also ordered a 105” “Woodslicer “ blade from Highland Woodworking.
And last but not least a segmented belt from Harbor Freight. Surprisingly the Belt is actually a “USA” product . It’s made by Jason industrial Inc. With a discount coupon You get four feet of A size belt for about twenty bucks. The belt made the saw run noticeably smoother..
Installing the riser kit went surprisingly smooth. Ten only glitch was that I had to drill the holes for the alignment pins on the bottom of the riser block a few thousands deeper so the block would properly seat on the frame.
I checked alignment with a four foot straight edge , and found that both wheels were still coplanar after installing the riser .
I installed and tensioned the woodsilcer blade, following the instructions from Highland.
Then I checked the alignment of the guide post, table squareness, and trunnions. I let the saw run a couple of minutes, then adjusted the “Cool block” guides, and thrust bearings.
I used Mark Duginske’s “New complete guide to the bandsaw” as a reference
After that, I installed the Kreg Fence. That went very easy, following Kreg’s instructions. The Woodslicer blade tracked almost true, just a very slight lead to the left.
I cut some maple scraps, and was extremely pleased with the overall performance.
I think this was a very worthwhile endeavor.
First two photos, riser block and fence
Kreg fence,
HF segmented belt
1/8" thick slice of scrap maple
183027183025183026183023183024
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/misc/pencil.png
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/misc/pencil.png
I did a lot, and I mean a lot of research, Here at SMC, other sites, books, and old magazine articles. I made my choices, and did the following:
I made a visit to my local Woodcraft, and bought a Jet 6” riser kit, a Carter heavy tension spring, and a Kreg bandsaw fence.
I also ordered a 105” “Woodslicer “ blade from Highland Woodworking.
And last but not least a segmented belt from Harbor Freight. Surprisingly the Belt is actually a “USA” product . It’s made by Jason industrial Inc. With a discount coupon You get four feet of A size belt for about twenty bucks. The belt made the saw run noticeably smoother..
Installing the riser kit went surprisingly smooth. Ten only glitch was that I had to drill the holes for the alignment pins on the bottom of the riser block a few thousands deeper so the block would properly seat on the frame.
I checked alignment with a four foot straight edge , and found that both wheels were still coplanar after installing the riser .
I installed and tensioned the woodsilcer blade, following the instructions from Highland.
Then I checked the alignment of the guide post, table squareness, and trunnions. I let the saw run a couple of minutes, then adjusted the “Cool block” guides, and thrust bearings.
I used Mark Duginske’s “New complete guide to the bandsaw” as a reference
After that, I installed the Kreg Fence. That went very easy, following Kreg’s instructions. The Woodslicer blade tracked almost true, just a very slight lead to the left.
I cut some maple scraps, and was extremely pleased with the overall performance.
I think this was a very worthwhile endeavor.
First two photos, riser block and fence
Kreg fence,
HF segmented belt
1/8" thick slice of scrap maple
183027183025183026183023183024
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/misc/pencil.png
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/misc/pencil.png