1. Home
  2. ⏣ General Metalworking
  3. Anyone make carbide band saw blade guides?

Anyone make carbide band saw blade guides?

I just bought a nice older Craftsman 12" band saw. This is has the die cast body and is the older nicely shaped case with 4 chrome knobs securing one side. The blade guides are but tiny little round brass rods. I've read about solid carbide blade guides offering great blade stability.

First question, are these applicable to a vertical band saw cutting aluminum with no coolant? All the examples of solid carbide guides I've seen are on horizontal cut off saws which have flood coolant.

Second, has anyone made their own? Looking for tips/advice.

Thanks,

Jon

Reply to
Jon Anderson
Loading thread data ...

--Before you put on blade guides like this you might consider going over to roller guides. They work really nice on my funky ancient Dayton cutoff saw; don't think I've had to replace but maybe one in a couple of decades.

Reply to
steamer

I used to use Carter guides with carbide pads on a 36" saw for both friction sawing and conventional aluminum cutting. They worked very well with no coolant. Like this:

Most DoAll saws use solid blocks of hardened steel for the side guides. I've considered making a set with brazed-on carbide pads for my 16" DoAll, but haven't got around to it.

Round carbide blanks aren't very expensive from MSC or McMaster. I'd give it a try.

Ned Simmons

Reply to
Ned Simmons

It seems odd to me to use a hard guide. Doesn't this destroy the set on your blade? I've never used such, just soft guides like cool blocks.

Steve Smith

Ned Simm>>

Reply to
Steve Smith

The carbide pads, just like roller bearings, must be set back from the teeth. One site I found that gave band saw tune up tips recommends the front edges of the blade guides should be about flush with the bottom of the gullet.

Looking at my upcoming work schedule I realized I really need this saw cutting reasonably well by Monday, and since I have plenty of ball bearings, ball bearing guides it is. For now. I'll experiment with carbide when I've got a bit more time to play.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Anderson

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.