Best bandsaw guides

[Al Bacon]

I am going to change the guides on mu Grizzly G555LX band saw. I have narrowed it down to the final 2. Laguna's guides or Carters guides. Which of these should I go with. I know there are members here with experience so I would value your opinions.

Thanks

[Mike Cutler]

I have the Carter's on my Jet 14" which is close to the Griz' and they work fine.
Without being able to look, I don't know if your lower guide and thrust bearing is the same design as a Jet, or a Delta 14".
The Delta guides are closer to the underside of the table than a Jet and are oriented differently. I added a spacer block, on the lower Carter Guide to get the guide assembly closer to the bottom of the table, like a Delta. Less unsupported blade length.

[Mike Leung]

I have been using Laguna ceramic guides for over 5 years and they are amazing. The guides are great for resawing with wider blades. If you plan on doing mostly resaw cuts, I would go with ceramic laguna guides. If you plane on using 1/8" blades or thinner, I would use roller bearing guides with a gullet on the thrust bearing.

[Gus Dundon]

Read this thread : http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?156811-Ceramic-bandsaw-guides-advantages-opinions .
I'd rather use ceramic than the roller type.

[Steven Hsieh]

If you were to resaw, there wont be a huge difference when using ceramic guides.
They are best with smaller blades, where it needs it.

I changed my Grizzly G0555P bandsaw guides to cool blocks. It made a HUGE difference for smaller blades.
Grizzly sells the cool block holders for $20 a pair.

[Jeff Willard]

I've used Carter's in the past. And I currently have ceramic. You'd have to put a gun to my head to make me change from the ceramic.

[jerry cousins]

on a mm16 - started with euros - then carters (but found them pretty awkward to set) and now laguna ceramic - they are great. would not go back
jerry

[Jim Stewart]

Ceramic guides make bandsaws an entirely different machine.

[Jim Barrett]

on a mm16 - started with euros - then carters (but found them pretty awkward to set) and now laguna ceramic - they are great. would not go back
jerry

Jerry,
What is the smallest blade you have run on your MM 16?

Jim

[Curt Harms]

Or you could cheap out:cool:. The guides on the G0555LX seem a little bit different than the Rikon 10-325, specifically the thrust bearing but they're close enough I'll bet it could work. I prefer blocks over bearings especially for 1/4" blades. I used a scrap of some tropical something - fairly dense and kinda oily - then cut to shape, submerged in mineral oil and microwaved for 30 seconds. Something like Maple would be good too. To locate the holes, I just put a bearing over the blank, lined one edge of the blank with the edge of the bearing and marked the hole. Really simple to do. Pictures being worth a thousand words:
254165254164

I'm certain they won't be as durable as other options but the price was right and replacements are trivial. I was concerned they'd want to rotate and maybe bind but so far that hasn't proven an issue.

[Joe Scharle]

Or you could cheap out:cool:. The guides on the G0555LX seem a little bit different than the Rikon 10-325, specifically the thrust bearing but they're close enough I'll bet it could work. I prefer blocks over bearings especially for 1/4" blades. I used a scrap of some tropical something - fairly dense and kinda oily - then cut to shape, submerged in mineral oil and microwaved for 30 seconds. Something like Maple would be good too. To locate the holes, I just put a bearing over the blank, lined one edge of the blank with the edge of the bearing and marked the hole. Really simple to do. Pictures being worth a thousand words:
254165254164

I'm certain they won't be as durable as other options but the price was right and replacements are trivial. I was concerned they'd want to rotate and maybe bind but so far that hasn't proven an issue.

Luv a fellow cheapster :D, I use lignum vitae, and have no idea when they'll wear out!

[David Winer]

The idea of making guides for small band saw blades has been discussed before on this forum. The one that stands out as the most simple and effective (to me) was By Sam Blasco in this post in 2005:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?26314-Simple-Small-Blade-Guide-For-Euro-Guides

The fundamental technique is shown nicely in these two pictures from his post:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=25983&d=1131907103
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=25984&d=1131907134

[ian maybury]

That's a nifty way of doing it...

Panhans guides get well spoken of in the UK. http://www.panhans.de/pan_en/index.php/safety-technology/band-saws Has anybody used them, and are they different to the usual stock guides on Italian saws?

ian

[jerry cousins]

jim - pretty much use the mm16 for resawing only - so it's pretty wide blades - i think the smallest was 1/2" - but mostly run 1"
jerry

[Stew Hagerty]

I am going to change the guides on mu Grizzly G555LX band saw. I have narrowed it down to the final 2. Laguna's guides or Carters guides. Which of these should I go with. I know there are members here with experience so I would value your opinions.

Thanks

Al, I have a Grizz G0555X and was, to say the least, less than impressed with the roller guides that came on the saw. They were noisy and very difficult to adjust. I looked around and ended up buying the Carter Micro-Adjust guides. They turned my saw into an entirely new and better machine! I could not be happier. First of all, they run quiet. Second, they are so very easy to adjust. They also make my cuts dramatically better because of how well they perform. I cannot recommend them more highly. They are without a doubt the best tool money that I spent in all of 2012. I know there are some differences between the LX and the X so if you don't see the Micro-Adjust listed for your model, just call them. Their customer service is fantastic.

I have since also purchased their "Stabilizer" and it works like a dream for curvy cuts. I also picked up their "Ratchet Rod" and "Quick Release" and am very pleased with the substantial upgrade they provide. Even though the Grizz comes with a quick release lever, it doesn't even come close to how well the Carter model works. And, the Ratchet knob makes adjustments much easier. For one thing, it uses Acme threads that allow for far easier rotation.

I guess I wandered off topic a bit, but it's only because of how pleased I am with Carter products in general. You definately cannot go wrong with the Carter Guides.