Chris Varas
10-06-2008, 12:20 PM
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?
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?