Question for Minimax bandsaw owners

[Jeff Hallam]

I took delivery of a new S500P (MM20) today and I was confused to find these steel guides (upper and lower) on the saw. I was under the impression that the saw came with Carter guides as standard. Even if that hadn't happened, I would have accepted the euro style bearing guides.

Does anyone else have these guides? Was I sent a really old stock item or "frankenstein" saw?

Also, curious if anyone else has purchased recently and got different guides.

The thing is a beast for sure, I can't wait to use it.

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[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jeff,

On Monday I would be calling Mini-Max.

Looking at their website, your photograph and their photograph of a Carter guide agrees.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jeff,

Check out this link. You have the Carter guides..... http://www.carterproducts.com/product.asp?product_id=205&cat_id=26

[Rick Fisher]

Those are Carter guides .. Same as on my saw..

[Jeff Hallam]

* red cheeks * well... thank you gentlemen for pointing that out. I had checked the Carter site before but was looking under retrofit models. I am a happy camper now.

Cheers.

[Bruce Page]

I wish my MM16 came with those.

[Stephen Cherry]

I wish my MM16 came with those.

They look like a nice setup to me also. One thing to remember, when you have a saw that can adequately tension the blade, the guides don't need to do as much guiding.

[Ryan Mooney]

:D The first picture where it has "www.carterproducts.com" was probably a decent hint :D

Congrats on the saw, should be a lot of fun.

[Rick Fisher]

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/SCM%20Bandsaw/P1020319.jpg (http://s335.photobucket.com/user/jokerbird_photo/media/SCM%20Bandsaw/P1020319.jpg.html)
http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/SCM%20Bandsaw/P1010509.jpg (http://s335.photobucket.com/user/jokerbird_photo/media/SCM%20Bandsaw/P1010509.jpg.html)

Those are old pictures.. from the installation.. I bought them from Carter and replaced the destroyed Carter guides on my old saw.

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/SCM%20Bandsaw/IMG_0923.jpg (http://s335.photobucket.com/user/jokerbird_photo/media/SCM%20Bandsaw/IMG_0923.jpg.html)

Above is after 25 years of being used by a guy who didn't actually pay for the saw.. :)

[Jeff Hallam]

:D The first picture where it has "www.carterproducts.com" was probably a decent hint :D

Congrats on the saw, should be a lot of fun.

I deserve that, but hey, it was the end of a long day and I was focused on "ZEFYR" (thought it was the brand). I didn't mention that I had to tear open the motor, to remove the end cap, to hammer out some blunt force damage that happened during shipping. The fan was rubbing on the cap where it was dented in.

How about this switch? All pictures that I can google show a red, push button type. I understand they had problems in the past with the switches, is this the new style? It has three settings, Off, an upside down "T" shape and On.

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[michael flay]

No problem with that, they have replaced the old switches with a Siemens Magnetic Starter, I bought the same saw a month a go and it runs like a charm.
I deserve that, but hey, it was the end of a long day and I was focused on "ZEFYR" (thought it was the brand). I didn't mention that I had to tear open the motor, to remove the end cap, to hammer out some blunt force damage that happened during shipping. The fan was rubbing on the cap where it was dented in.

How about this switch? All pictures that I can google show a red, push button type. I understand they had problems in the past with the switches, is this the new style? It has three settings, Off, an upside down "T" shape and On.

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[Jim Matthews]

I run a MM20, which is similar in many ways.

I replaced the stock guides (the thrust bearings were shot and the side guides were so large they interfered with resawing).
I ordered a set of Carter all-roller bearing guides to retrofit my saw (three ball bearings on each).

They're PITA to set up, and nearly impossible to get perfectly aligned. (The rear thrust bearing has a groove along one edge - hard to get that vertical with the blade.)
The design you have was my first choice, and the one I would now recommend.

It may impart more drag, but you'll be able to get it aligned without so much trouble.
The disadvantage of the switch you have is that there's no panic stop capability.

I'm not sure that makes much difference, and it should last longer.

[michael flay]

That's what the foot brake is for.
I run a MM20, which is similar in many ways.

I replaced the stock guides (the thrust bearings were shot and the side guides were so large they interfered with resawing).
I ordered a set of Carter all-roller bearing guides to retrofit my saw (three ball bearings on each).

They're PITA to set up, and nearly impossible to get perfectly aligned. (The rear thrust bearing has a groove along one edge - hard to get that vertical with the blade.)
The design you have was my first choice, and the one I would now recommend.

It may impart more drag, but you'll be able to get it aligned without so much trouble.
The disadvantage of the switch you have is that there's no panic stop capability.

I'm not sure that makes much difference, and it should last longer.

[Robert LaPlaca]

Hey good luck with the mm20, those carter guides do look interesting..

I have to confess, I have a Gen I MM16, if I had to do it all over again I wish I had bought a mm20 instead ( but please don' t tell the boss lady that). I have one of the original AEG switches that that were so much trouble on the MM bandsaws, not one bit of trouble with it and the saw is 12 or 13 years old..

[Gus Dundon]

Confirmed. Those are carter guides. Works great. I don't have one but I'm happy with my ceramic guides.,

[David Kumm]

Carter Zephyr have been on big bandsaws for years and work very well. I prefer the Wright guides as I think they are a little better built but they don't work any better. The MM 20 is stout enough that you could tension the blade and take the guides off and not notice. Dave

[Jim Seyfried]

I have a MM 20 that I bought at about the same time as the OP. It has the same guides. I haven't used the saw much and mostly with a 1/2" blade. Recently I tried a 1" blade and the lower guide will not adjust far enough forward. I checked the Carter site and the lower guide is designed for 3/4" blade max. When I first got the saw I questioned the rep that the top one is only for 1 1/4" blade (didn't notice the bottom was different) and the saw is advertised capable of using a 1 1/2" blade. He said that it was a typo and most only use a 1" blade, however, they still advertise 1 1/2". Along with feeling deceived I am concerned about how safe it is to run larger blades on the saw. I have checked with Carter and they don't recommend using larger than a 3/4" blade. After the amount of money that I paid for this saw I am rather disgusted at the prospect of spending several hundred dollars to get the saw to operate as intended. Do other owners of this saw have any problems using wide blades on their saw? Perhaps it doesn't make much difference. I am happy with the saw, but think I was hoodwinked on the guides/sawing capacity.

[David Kumm]

you are much better off running a narrower blade at high tension than a wider at low. Most saws refer to the max width that the wheels will allow which is often wider than makes sense to run. I have a 36" cast iron saw and don't run a blade wider than 1". When you get wider the band gets thicker and it is very difficult to tension. Resaw machines with power feeders are the only saws that benefit from blades wider than 1" or 1.25 if a Resaw King. The MM 20 is a stout saw and you should have the guide that allows for a 1" blade but don't go wider than that. Blades on bandsaws are kind of like horsepower ratings in cars. Doable maybe but not exactly correct. Dave

[David Ragan]

When I didn't know any better, I bought a 1.25" RK blade for my MM16. So far, so good.

[David Kumm]

When I didn't know any better, I bought a 1.25" RK blade for my MM16. So far, so good.

RK runs a thinner band - .024 vs .042 for most others on their 1.25" blade so it works well on smaller saws. Dave

[Bill Adamsen]

I was always instructed the blade should not touch in thrust, mine doesn't, it works great. The Carter instructions (looking at the Carter page rendered by the link Ken provided) seem to indicate it should. Just trying to reconcile that discrepancy.


The Micro-Precision ball bearing rub block guide provides full contact with the blade for maximum accuracy.

My Centauro 800 (some Minimax have been Centauro models in the past) which uses what looks like the Carter CP20, says the following in the manual ...

The blade guide thrust wheel must never be adjusted in contact with the back of the blade, but at a distance of3+4 mm. If the blade is sharp and the feed force regular, it must not trip. On the contrary, the side wheels must skim over the blade, though without locking it, since they have the specific task of eliminating its vibrations, due to sawing. The wooden buffers of the bottom blade guide have to be adjusted using the same criteria.

[Erik Loza]

....Recently I tried a 1" blade and the lower guide will not adjust far enough forward...

If you adjust it all the way forward, how much gap remains between the face of the thrust bearing and the rear of the blade?


...I checked the Carter site and the lower guide is designed for 3/4" blade max...

The Carter site is a bit conservative in my opinion, more of a "suggestion" than a hard rule. We've got lots of MM owners using 1.0" or wider blades on that same lower guideset and zero issues. Or at least not that I'm hearing about. I wouldn't worry about it.

Erik Loza
Minimax

[Jim Seyfried]

If you adjust it all the way forward, how much gap remains between the face of the thrust bearing and the rear of the blade?



The Carter site is a bit conservative in my opinion, more of a "suggestion" than a hard rule. We've got lots of MM owners using 1.0" or wider blades on that same lower guideset and zero issues. Or at least not that I'm hearing about. I wouldn't worry about it.

Erik Loza
Minimax

I adjusted the blade so that it is close but doesn't touch the thrust bearing. Here is a picture with a 1" blade on it.
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It's good to know you haven't heard of any problems with it.

[Erik Loza]

Jim, please check your PM box.

Erik Loza
Minimax