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View Full Version : bandsaw lower guide issue, maybe



Craig Behnke
05-19-2013, 9:23 PM
i received a new felder fb510 bandsaw a few days ago. i was setting up the lower blade guide today and it just didn't seem right. my only experience with a high end bandsaw and the euro guides is getting to see a friends minimax mm20 in action and how to adjust it, so i'm not sure if this is an issue or not.

In the first picture, the black circle highlights that there is almost no room to make the adjustments on the side thrust bearings and the locking nuts. That just doesn't seem right that there is such a tight squeeze to get to the adjustments. The MM20 i've worked with has totally free and clear access to the guides.

In the second picture, you can see in the black highlighted circle that if you raise the lower guide, it will hit the flange highlighted with the yellow arrow. You can't raise the guides through their whole range of adjustability. And, the adjustability range maxes out pretty far under the bottom of the table so you can't get the lower guides close to the table.

In the third picture, it shows that if I do raise the guide to the upper range of its capability, I need to tilt the guide so it doesn't hit the flange, but the tilt makes the right guide out of line with the blade and I can't back out the right side of the guide far enough to make it work.

When I add it all up, it doesn't "seem" right but maybe it's normal to have all those issues. Again, I've only used a MM20 and it didn't seem to have those adjustment issues.

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David Wong
05-19-2013, 10:47 PM
You should be able to rotate the steel shaft that the guides are attached to, to get the correct parallel orientation. I have a Felder FB540, and there is a little more maneuvering room. I had to tilt the slotted bar a few degrees more than what you are showing in the 3rd photo, to get the guides centered in the correct orientation. I also replaced my euro guides with Laguna ceramics, so there is more side space. On my saw, there is no flat on the steel rod on the guide side - only on the rod side. I can't remember, but maybe I reversed the steel rod? I positioned my guides about 4 inches below the table.

David Kumm
05-19-2013, 11:11 PM
Most large guides are mounted on an eccentric rod and fiddly to mess with in tight spaces. Once set though you will be a happy guy. May not want to change blades much though. Dave