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Joined: Apr 2006
Location: Trout Creek, Montana
I have a Delta 28-216 14" bandsaw. I would like to replace the stock guides. What is a good after market guide? Will be mainly used to cut close to a pattern line, no resawing.
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“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” — Mae West.
24- year cancer survivor
Posts: 8,413
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Joined: Mar 2000
At the very least, I would replace the stock guides with a set of cool blocks or ceramic guides.
I run a set of Carter roller guides on my Delta 14". I bought them at a Woodworking show, maybe 15+ years ago. they were pricey then, and the price has kept up with the times, if you know what I mean. I like them, but they do get mixed reviews from some. Since they are based on roller bearings, you do have to pay attention to keeping the bearings in good shape.
I don't do too much pattern cutting, but I tend to think that good saw performance is going to be more correlated to blade quality and saw setup, rather then the guides on the saw (assuming guides are properly set.) In particular, having the blade tension set right is important. I know my saw's performance took a jump when I changed over to the Ittura Designs bandsaw spring to help with blade tensioning.
Ray
(formerly "WxMan")
