1. “Greaseable Bandsaw Blade Roller guides” - This type guide
is our preference and is the kind we make and use. After trying several different
types we have come to determine that bandsaw blade roller guides are the best.
It has a hard outer shell that rolls against the bandsaw blade. Inside it has two
bearings with a 1/2” inside diameter hole so that it can go on a 1/2” arbor shaft. We make our roller guides so that they can be greased and we
suggest that you grease them twice a day.
There are some bandsaw blade guides on the market
much like the ones that we make but they are not greaseable. Watch out for
these! We have customers on a fairly regular basis that say they get much
longer life out of roller guides that can be greased.
This is very important
because when bearings go out in a roller guide, it locks up. In about 30 seconds,
with the blade rubbing in one spot, it will cause a flat side to develop on
the roller and then the roller is no good.
When greasing bandsaw blade roller guides we suggest that you grease in the middle of the
day and then at the end of the day. It is especially important to grease at
the end of the day because after the rollers run for a while they are hot.
Then when you get through cutting and they cool down they can actually draw
the lubricant you are using into the bearing. This is usually water or diesel
fuel. As it sits there all night, over the weekend, or longer it causes either
a pitting of rust on the ball in the bearing or dilutes the grease therefore
it’s not properly lubricated for your next run.
Another thing that we
do to make sure we offer you the best roller guide is that we take special
care and grind each one to perfection. The advantage of grinding is that it
makes sure no vibration will be coming from the roller guide and transferring
into the blade. We have found when rollers are out of round (even 5 to 10
thousandths) it can cause premature blade breakage.
First they cause a vibration,
which is one major culprit that can be involved in blade breakage. Another
thing that’s very critical about the roller being out of round is it
can actually “hammer” a curve into the bandsaw blade. If you’ve
read the previous article that Tim wrote about curvature in a bandsaw blade you
know and have probably experienced curvature and what a problem it can be.
One more thing about this type roller guide, it has a flange on the back of
it that is part of the hardened shell. It all turns together and therefore
it can’t get a grove worn into it. There are some guide systems that
use a back up bearing. This is a problem because the blade runs in one spot against the bearing and wears a grove into it.
2. Another type roller guide that is available is the “bearing
type with no hard shell covering.” It usually has two bearings
that act as the roller guide and then a back up bearing that turns with the
blade as you cut. There are a couple of problems with this type system. Usually
the bearings aren’t greaseable and therefore don’t last as long
as they should. The other thing as I have already mentioned above, is that,
the back up bearing will get a groove cut in it and this causes damage to
the blade which causes early breakage.
3. A third type guide is the “sandwich type” guide. It actually holds the bandsaw blade to guide it. This type guide is most often used
on resaws and there is a place for this type of guide. A lot of times on a
resaw the most important thing that an individual wants is production more
than long blade life.
Also they are usually cutting only 6" to 8".
In this application the sandwich type guide can be a good choice. However,
on the sawmill where you are cutting logs you need wider cuts and longer blade
life. Sandwich type guides are not the best choice. We have found that the
roller guides work the best. With all this said we still find in a lot of
applications that roller guides still work better, especially if you are running
1 or 2 resaws and are not pushing for the absolute highest production. You
will also like them more if you want to get the longest blade life.
4. “BC Retrofit Roller Guide” - The last type bandsaw blade guide
that we will discuss is a hybrid that we have come up with. It combines the
best of both worlds. We have combined the roller guide with what we call a
bottom control guide. This is the same roller we first talked about but it
has a carbide guide underneath the blade so that if the blade tries to take
a dive or deviate from the cut it will catch it.
The beauty of this roller
guide system is that the bottom control guide is not touching the blade all
the time. It is set up to run 5 to 8 thousandths below the blade. This way
you are not causing extra heat and stress to the blade all the time. Only
occasionally when you hit a knot or a bad spot will the blade touch the bottom
guide. Once the blade is through the bad spot then it doesn’t touch
the bottom guide any more. This allows you to saw with confidence at a higher
rate of speed knowing that the blade won’t take a dive deep into the
log.
Also if your blade is getting dull or you hit something in the log, most
often you will be able to ease on through the cut and not get stuck in the
middle of a cut. This alone makes these bandsaw blade guides worth the money because of
the time saved. To check out our roller guides and accessories be sure to visit our online store.
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when done.
Since we have incorporated this special system we find that it satisfies
the need of both sawmills and resaws. You have the roller on top of the bandsaw blade
that is more forgiving to the blade and the bottom control beneath the blade
for just when it is needed. This extends the life of the blade and allows
faster feed speeds.
ADJUSTMENT OF BANDSAW BLADE SANDWICH GUIDES
How to adjust the roller guide properly is just as important as which roller
guide to use. We don’t sell the regular 'sandwich type' guide (also known as 'Block Guides') but I will
give you some pointers on how to adjust it. This will universal and can be applied for guides such as Carter Guides, or the types of guides used on Baker sawmills.
Ultimately you need to follow
the manufacture's guide lines. For the sandwich guides to work the blade must
be running parallel with the belt or log bed. To do this right the band wheels
must be able to be tilted to make the blade run parallel. To check this you
need a blade alignment tool that will clamp to the blade. We offer this tool
at our online store.
Many people try to use a level to get the blade parallel. This
will not work. You can possibly use the straight edge on the level to measure
from but you cannot use the bubble.
There are too many factors that will cause it not to be right. The machine
may not be perfectly level to begin with. Also if you are trying to go by
a bubble you are guessing at how much to adjust. The only accurate way to
do this is with a blade alignment tool and measure down to the bed (or belt)
on each end of the tool and adjust it until it measures the same on each end.
Now that your blade is parallel with your bed you can bring your sandwich
guides back against your blade according to your manufactures specifications.
You will also need to be able to make sure that you don’t cause the
blade to move out of position when you bring your guides against it.
ADJUSTMENT OF BANDSAW BLADE ROLLER GUIDES
The adjustment for the roller type guides is done a little bit different.
We like to have the band saw wheel on a horizontal sawmill tilted forward at the
top about 1/16 in. Measure to a common place on the frame that holds the band
wheel. Make sure the wheel is tilted 1/16” but not over 1/8”.
It is best to check your measurement with your blade tensioned up.
First you
need to put your blade on and tension it up. Now make sure that the rollers
are off of the blade. Then start on the stationary guide side. Bring that
roller down to the blade. Once it touches push the roller down another 1/4
of an inch. This is called down pressure. If you have everything running right
you might be able to run with just 1/8 inch down pressure.
To begin with I
like the 1/4” because it guarantees that I am able to control the blade.
Some people like even as much as 3/8” down pressure. After I have down
pressure then I put the alignment gauge on the blade at the stationary side.
Put something straight on the bed of your sawmill (a square tubing, the straight
side of a level, even a cant if it is not bowed) with the blade a few inches
above the straight edge, measure down from the front and back end of the blade
tool.
The readings need to be the same. If they aren’t, adjust the top
or bottom tilt adjustor bolt until the alignment tool is parallel to the log
bed. After you get the stationary guide adjusted go to your moveable guide
and do the same thing that you just did with the stationary guide.
Before
I adjust the tilt and down pressure I like to move the moveable guide to the
position where most of the logs are sawn. If there is any variation in the
measurement from the blade tool let that be up against the roller guide rather
than down. This will guarantee that the blade will have pressure against
the roller instead of sawing away from it or consistently pulling against
the bottom control guide. Again the goal is to be perfectly parallel but if
any variation even 1/64” let that be toward the roller guide.
Maybe this information will be helpful to you. You need always be sure that
the guides and their adjustments are correct. When you have this and put on
a good sharp blade then you should cut accurate lumber. If you are having
problems in this area give our greaseable roller guides a try. The results
you get will get you excited!
Let's go make some sawdust,
Co-Owner CooksSaw.com
Leaders in Bandsaw Technology!
