Susumu Mori
02-04-2015, 9:30 AM
Hi all,
I wonder if you know what kinds of upgrade options are available for the Delta 14" clone bandsaws.
I have an old Glizz 14" (no longer a catalog model), which is now dedicated for curve cutting with 1/4-1/2" blades.
It is a quiet and smooth running machine, but the blade wonders a bit more than I like. For stocks thicker than 1.5", I need quite a lot of spokeshave and drum sanding to smooth it out.
I guess there are many ways to tune up a bandsaw, but the first thing I'm looking at is the guide blocks.
It has primitive round steel bars with tiny set screws which keep loosen up.
I couldn't find cool blocks that fit in the guides.
I went over the Glizz parts list and ordered guide holders that can accept the regular square cool blocks, but apparently, Glizz had changed the guide assemblies significantly since then. So it seems that I need to buy the whole assembly, not just the guide holder armss and I have a concern that the lower guide assembly is not compatible with the saw itself without significant modifications.
I also went over Carter, which sells replacement kits for Delta clones, but my impression was most of their products are designed to "beef up" the saw for resawing, rather than curve cutting with narrow blades. In addition, there are many different types of guides with meager explanations. I sent an email but nothing came back.
So, my options are;
1) tune up the saw as much as possible with the current setting and try to minimize the wondering as much as possible, through guide adjustment, tension, tracking, etc.
2) Try to get the whole upper and lower guide assemblies from Glizz for a 14" saw that looks most similar and manage to fit them (upper guide pole diameter and the way the lower guide is fixed to the saw need to be carefully checked). This seems $100-150 option, if works.
3) Buy one of the Carter upgrade kits. This is about $200-250.
4) Time to buy a new 14". To me, most of the 14" offering out there, except for Rikon and Laguna, are the same things as my 10+ year bandsaw....
Any suggestions, advises, and knowledge would be appreciated.
Thanks,
I wonder if you know what kinds of upgrade options are available for the Delta 14" clone bandsaws.
I have an old Glizz 14" (no longer a catalog model), which is now dedicated for curve cutting with 1/4-1/2" blades.
It is a quiet and smooth running machine, but the blade wonders a bit more than I like. For stocks thicker than 1.5", I need quite a lot of spokeshave and drum sanding to smooth it out.
I guess there are many ways to tune up a bandsaw, but the first thing I'm looking at is the guide blocks.
It has primitive round steel bars with tiny set screws which keep loosen up.
I couldn't find cool blocks that fit in the guides.
I went over the Glizz parts list and ordered guide holders that can accept the regular square cool blocks, but apparently, Glizz had changed the guide assemblies significantly since then. So it seems that I need to buy the whole assembly, not just the guide holder armss and I have a concern that the lower guide assembly is not compatible with the saw itself without significant modifications.
I also went over Carter, which sells replacement kits for Delta clones, but my impression was most of their products are designed to "beef up" the saw for resawing, rather than curve cutting with narrow blades. In addition, there are many different types of guides with meager explanations. I sent an email but nothing came back.
So, my options are;
1) tune up the saw as much as possible with the current setting and try to minimize the wondering as much as possible, through guide adjustment, tension, tracking, etc.
2) Try to get the whole upper and lower guide assemblies from Glizz for a 14" saw that looks most similar and manage to fit them (upper guide pole diameter and the way the lower guide is fixed to the saw need to be carefully checked). This seems $100-150 option, if works.
3) Buy one of the Carter upgrade kits. This is about $200-250.
4) Time to buy a new 14". To me, most of the 14" offering out there, except for Rikon and Laguna, are the same things as my 10+ year bandsaw....
Any suggestions, advises, and knowledge would be appreciated.
Thanks,