New additions to the band saw.

[Rolf]

I got a nice gift certificate to Woodcraft for Christmas so I finally decided to tweak my Delta band saw.
I had already put the 6inch riser on it and now bought and installed the Carter ball bearing blade guides. All I can say is WOW what a difference over the original guides.
The saw is quieter and significantly more stable. I also ordered a couple of Timberwoolf ½ 3 TPI blades and look forward to doing some re-sawing.

[Plaquerd]

Rolf
Yes, those bearings make a difference
in the noise level and a big improvement in the blade
stability. I think you will be very happy
with the Timber Wolf blades. For resawing they cut
with more precision and cut faster than any
others I've tried and they stay sharp longer, IMHO.

[Rolf]

Thanks Dave that is good to hear.

[Barefoot1]

Rolf,
Which bandsaw do you have? I have the 28-276 with a 3/4 horse motor and want to upgrade the motor to 1hp and so far Delta has been of no help what so ever.

[knothead]

and so far Delta has been of no help what so ever.

Unfortunate but true Thomas.

Tom

[JohnB]

G'day Tom and Thomas,
Sadly, I have to agree with the Delta statements. I contacted Black and Decker just after they had purchased Delta to purchase a new blade clamp.
"I'm sorry, but we wont be stocking Delta Parts in Australia" was the reply

Turned out Ok though cause that gave me a kick in the bum to purchase the Dewalt.
It would have been a sweeter purchase if B&D did not own them.

BTW I had to get mine from the USA as the reply from B & D Aust. when asked about the Yellow machine was "I'm sorry we're not importing them any more as there is no demand"

[Rolf]

Why not just order a new motor directly from a disributor.
I have the 28-475X closed base. Take a look at the original motor to see what type and brand it is. You could get a good quality motor for around $250
Msc is a good source or maybe Grainger.

[Barefoot1]

Wow, I am sorry to hear all these sad tales of not so great service. What I have done so far is that in my manual it lists the parts for the 206 as well and it has a 1 hp motor. Looking at the manual all of the mounts appear to be the same and they are all available at the Salt Lake parts center for about $200.00. I found the part numbers for ordering on the servicenet website with prices and made a list. I will pull my parts to make sure they match up and then buy the motor and any other parts that do not match.
Has anyone made this change over from 3/4 to 1 hp? I would interested in hearing from you as to how that went.
Thanks!

Oh and Rolf, how are those new guides?

[workin for wood]

I can't imagine that upgrading the saw for a 1/4 hp is worth the expense and hassle. I am going to guess it was wood magazine in one of the latest issues that was discussing upgrading motors on table saws and how much a waste of money and time it was for most saws. I'm didn't honestly understand the article, but somehow if there is a belt drive, you won't even recieve most of the added horsepower to your blade. Running a thinner blade is a better way to add hp to the saw, so they say. If I understand correctly, direct drive is better for hp transfer. My bandsaw is a direct drive motor, and I would think most are, so maybe then it does matter. But still, 1/4 hp seems like nothing to me. If I was upgrading I'd go for doubling the power, like 1 1/2 hp, or maybe even 3hp. But then how much power you need on a small bandsaw? My 14" is 1 1/2 hp and I can't imagine that I even need that much motor for anything I do, including 13" resaws.

[Rolf]

The Carter guides work very well. I also added a brush on the lower drive wheel to keep it clean.
It takes a bit more time to set them up than the original guides after a blade change . I installed a Timberwolf blade last night and did a couple of test cuts in some 5" mahogany 1/8 inch slices.
I am very pleased with the cut. It only took a light cut on my jointer to clean up the surface. The pieces were too short to run through the planer.
And I have to agree with Jeff I am not sure how much that 1/4 horse will help. The Timberwolf blade will make a nice improvement. I was also happy with the Saw blades from Carter.