Official Luthiers Forum!

Replace the upper guide adjustments with wingnuts... makes adjusting the guide easier. I just wish I knew where to find M3 wing nuts.

I also replaced the hex nut (for my bandsaw's lower guide) with a M6 allen nut... because whoever designed the bandsaw saw fit to make the adjustment there, meaning it was impossible to adjust the lower guide without removing the whole trunnion... the allen nut makes it possible, if a special shortened allen key is used. I wish a wingnut could be used but with the thrust bearing stud only 1mm from the top of the allen nut (the washer had to be removed) it wasn't possible.

The stock metal guide has been replaced with wooden guide I made out of some scrap ebony... I have no idea what it would cost for Carter to design a ball bearing blade guide for my bandsaw, probably enough that the thing might as well be made of solid gold.

The shaking has dramatically improved, I have no idea why but it no longer shakes even slightly during operation, just the customary motor vibration (that is very minor).

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Another thing... I want to cut the blade guard down to allow for blade changes without removing the guard, not sure if this is just wishful thinking. Like most bandsaws the guide itself is adjusted with set screws, so maybe I can epoxy a piece of allen key into the wood, then epoxy that allen key to the set screw... I have to go find the bolt another day... I like to have the actual screw with me so I don't end up getting the wrong thing.

I should also drill some small holes into the side of the allen bolt I just used for the lower guide, because with some blade profiles, like a really wide blade the rod for the thrust bearing will be directly over the allen bolt. Like I said whoever designed it should be fired... it makes for a very frustrating user experience. The holes will (hopefully) allow me to turn the bolt by inserting a pin into the hole.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

There should be a handwheel/knob on the front of the upper wheel housing to allow you to adjust the blade guard.

What saw are you using? looks like an 18" saw to me (possibly jet or steel city)... I assume that piece of wood helps direct the wood chip away from the lower guides?

The simple allen bolt to the lower guide adjustment made blade changes much quicker. What was a 30 minute job (having to remove the table/trunnion) is now a 5 minute job. I was initially worried about the thrust bearing post getting in the way but discovered that as you move the guide forward (for wider blades) the thrust bearing post follows if you loosen its setscrew, and thus the bolt is never right under that post.

Now the only frustration of being in Taiwan is a lack of availability of good wood resaw blades, at least in reasonable width. The coarsest 1/2" blade they have are 4T, and for bimetal it's even finer as most blade stocks sold in Taiwan are designed for metalworking... if I wanted 3T or lower I have to go with a 1" wide blade for carbon steel, or 2" for bimetal... not going to work unless I have a 30" bandsaw. Well the 1" might work but its wider than I'd like, plus I like to have bimetal for sawing the hard wood that guitars are often made from. The guy I bought the saw from said people have used .042" blades on it without any issue... considering that there are bandmills with 18" wheels using blade of that thickness, perhaps he's right.

I'll try and see how much carbide.com charges for shipping on 133" blades... spectrum supply wanted 70 dollars for shipping! Maybe I should just buy carbon steel 1/2" 3T coil stocks and silver solder them myself?

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com