Carter Products DEL14 Band Saw Guide Set For 14-Inch ...

• Band saw guide set for use with 14-inch Delta band saws to help maintain blade alignment
• Blade friction is reduced to make a cooler blade and smoother cuts
• Rugged ball bearing design; lubricated and sealed for life
• Bearings adjust forward and backward and side-to-side
• Weighs 2.6 pounds shipped

Amazon.com Product Description:
Be certain the position of your blade is precisely maintained with this band saw guide set from Carter. This guide has a rugged ball bearing design, yet it's compact enough to fit the saw without compromising cut height or table tilt -- and it's lubricated and sealed for life. The bearings adjust forward, backward and side-to-side for maximum flexibility in blade size; this model accommodates blade widths from 1/8 inch up to 1 inch. Blade friction is reduced from the rolling bearings that contact the side of the blade, for a cooler blade and smoother cuts. This guide is easy to install and includes all mounting hardware and instructions.

Turned Good into Great:
The Carter bandsaw guide has turned my 14" bandsaw from a good system to a GREAT system. I hesitated to buy the guides, because of the price, but it is well worth the investment. Maintaining blade alignment is now a snap, resawing is dead straight, circular cuts do not wave or float from the workpiece. The blade travel is very easy to control and maintain. The installation was very simple and easy, took about 15 minutes, and most of that was actually reading the directions. Adjustment is also very simple. The bearings adjust forward/backward and side to side, so each blade setup can be easliy accomplished with a simple allen wrench. I mainly used the saw for resawing, but now I am using the bandsaw for scrollsaw type work and bandsaw boxes. The smaller blades (1/8") are a little trickier to set up, (the blade teeth have to be in the guide groove), but I'm now able to make many items I would have never tried before. If added accuratecy is what you are looking for, then the Carter bandsaw guides will help acheive a consistent product. Well worth the investment.!

Great Guides, but be careful!:
Don't get these guides if you're planning on using 1/8" blades. These guides are great for resawing and heavy cutting where you're going to use a wide blade, but you can't use thin blades on these guides, so you can forget making really tight turns (as in cutting a bandsaw box or when doing tight scrolling). Plus, the price of these guides will leave a sore spot where your wallet used to be. These are GREAT for specialized purposes where a wide blade can be used, but for general bandsaw work in a small shop where different blade widths are used commonly, I'd rather have a good set of cool blocks and pocket the difference in the cost!

The Kindest Cut:
I have a fairly recent 14" Delta bandsaw which has been pretty accurate through most of its life. Until, out of the blue, is snapped the upper wheel mount. Delta cheerfully replaced the part, but for some reason, the blade suddenly developed a tendency to yaw when resawing under full steam. I decided that, if I was going to go through all the adjustment hassle I might as well extend the height as well. To my surprise and delight, this worked, but the blade would intermittently wander, and then, just as suddenly start working perfectly again. Definitely time to tear my hair out. I already had a set of cheap ball bearing guides in the saw, but since the problem had to be in the guide performance somewhere, I bit the bullet and sprang for the Carter's. These have an excellent reputation among woodworkers. So I figured that the risk was minimal. I normally have a 1/2" blade on the saw - while the Carters don't work well with 1/8" blades they do fine with everything else. For tight curves I prefer a real scroll saw, anyway. Installation is basically a case of removing the entire upper and lower guide mechanisms from the saw. No small feat, but doable, The upper guides fit neatly on the round post (there is a different set available it you have the old hex posts). The lower disassembly is a bit more complicated as you are removing both the guide set and the adjusters. Putting the new bearing set in was something of a trip, since the bolts are definitely not easy to turn. By all means, get a hex driver set for your socket wrench, you will need them. Adjustment is uncomplicated, although you have to do without the Delta's dial adjusters. But basically all you do is loosen the socket screws for the bearings and set them up correctly relative to the blade. You may have to adjust the upper wheel angle a bit as well, but in essence it is exactly what you did before (although you will now need two allen wrenches to change a blade). Once finished I ran some wood through and was suitably impressed. Properly set, the blade moves not at all, and the quality of the cut is excellent. Time after time. The parts are very well made and machined - no compromises anywhere. Of course, when I figured it out I spent nearly as much to enhance my 14" band saw as it would have cost to by an 18" saw in the first place. But that's another issue entirely. If you are trying to improve what you have, this kit is the way to go. If you're shopping for a new saw than the standard advice is buy the very biggest you can - it's cheaper in the long run.

Stablized the blade on my Delta 14" bandsaw:
After becoming dissatisfied with the lack of blade control using Delta's blade guides, I tried "cool blocks". Unfortunately, after they wore just a little, the blade wandered so much it was too difficult to accurately cut on a line. The Carter rollers keep the blade from twisting, and as a result, cutting on a line, straight or curved, is significanly easier. So, once the roller bearings are adjusted, they perform as advertised. (I haven't tried 1/8" blades, where one reviewer said they don't work.) I've had this product for several years, but I recall that it took at least 30 minutes to get all the rollers properly adjusted. With experience that would likely go faster. Since I mostly use the same blade, set-up time isn't important to me.

for those who own a rockwell/delta hex post saw:
I had been looking at carter guides for some time before I bought them but was reluctant to go ahead because I have a hex post saw which poses some interesting problems. This kit will not fit on your hex post and althought carter makes a special kit for hex post saws you should not buy it because it has a number of problems. If you were to buy the special hex post kit it does not have acomidations for a blade guard (they suggest you rig your own), the mounting bracket uses a strange offset pin which I gather is a pain to align and will make it impossible to use their blade stabilizer, and finaly it costs twenty dollars more for an inferior product. No, you should buy this kit for the round post which does not fit your hex post saw and heres why: the only thing keeping this kit from fitting your saw is the post and if you didn't know, the newer style round post fits pefectly into the hex post hole(which is a round hole the same size with some nicks broached into it to catch the corners of the hex), so pick up a new style round post on ebay and this kit and your good to go and at worst you spent the same amount you would have for the hex post kit but for a much better setup. alternativly if you have a metal lathe, you could do what I eventually did which is make your own post out of a 12in long piece of 7/8in stainless steel hex rod, just face and chamfer the ends and turn down the one end to 7/8 round and you get that original look and better alignment with the new style guides the way they are suposed to be. I will be posting pictures of both installations soon. Also I must add that these guides are a wonderful addition to my saw on all fronts. the quality of construction is top notch and they opperate flawlessly I would highly recomend them to any one with a band saw.