Broken Jet 14” Bandsaw - Carter “Quick Release”?

[Chris Varas]

Not too long ago, my upper wheel hinge on my Jet 14” bandsaw broke. Not too surprising considering it looks like it is made of pot metal. A quick search here seems to reveal that this is not an uncommon issue. I can not buy the just the part that is broken from Jet as they will only sell the complete “Sliding bracket assembly” for a cost of $50.10 + shipping. The good news is it looks like I can get pretty much the same part from Grizzly for much less.

The thing is, I’d prefer not to have to replace this part every few years and I’m wondering how much of this was caused by me not de-tensioning the blade when the saw was not in use? The part that broke is actually the arm that’s used to adjust the angle of the top wheel for blade tracking so I’m not sure how much (if any) blade tension had to do with the part in question breaking? (I personally don’t think it had much if anything to do with it)?

I guess the real point of this thread is to get people’s opinion on the Carter “Quick Release” bar for 14” bandsaws? Great idea but is it really worth $150? Seems like a big chuck of change for what it is? If I knew it would prevent the issue I had from re-occurring then I’d say fine but I’m not convinced is was blade tension that caused the part breakage on my saw?

As a side note, to install the Carter Quick Release bar, does the saw itself need to be modified in any way and what, if any parts does the Quick Release bar replace on the saw?

[Mike Goetzke]

I have no experience with you model BS. But I went from a manual to quick-release 14" BS and wouldn't be w/o one now. I used to have a HF 14" BS and was considering applying a QR to it. As I recall you can buy the parts individually at Grizzly (model G0555) to accomplish this for much less than $150.

Mike

[Pete Bradley]

Whether you detension is irrelevant in this case. If anything, the cyclic load of tensioning and detensioning would be worse than leaving it constantly loaded, but this is pretty academic. The part you had may have been flawed, you may have overtensioned it, or it may just have worn out from use. As you noted, they're not terribly well made these days.

Pete

[Harry Niemann]

When this happened on my bandsaw, I made a new one myself from 5\8 solid aluminum. It is not very difficult.

[Don Abele]

Chris, I have the quick release on my Jet 14" saw (w/ riser block). Here's why I installed it.

I'm in the Navy and deploy for months at a time. I had been deployed for about 3 months and had left my previous bandsaw (Delta) tensioned with a 3/8" blade installed. When I turned it on it thudded and shuddered something awful. I immediately realized what the problem was. When I took the blade off, it was formed into a nice tight oval consistent with the wheels.

After that I hung a sign on the saw to remember to detension/tension the blade.

Last year I finally got around to getting the Carter quick release and I love it. I couldn't imagine going back to a saw without one. The lack of a quick release is a reason I'm still hesitant on my decision to buy a MiniMax (among a few others).

Be well,

Doc

[Dewey Torres]

Chris,
Don't feel bad, I broke mine on my Powermatic (same part). I have replaced it and had no trouble since then.

[Chris Varas]

Thanks to everybody for the input.


As I recall you can buy the parts individually at Grizzly (model G0555) to accomplish this for much less than $150.
Sounds good, I'll have to look into that.

When this happened on my bandsaw, I made a new one myself from 5\8 solid aluminum. It is not very difficult.
Speak for yourself there buddy! I can barely work wood. Metal (and even aluminum) is way out of my comfort zone :(

Looks like Grizzly will be my friend in this endeavor! Thanks again. :)