Upgrading the basic bandsaw

[derekcohen]

Today I decided to replace the bandsaw blade on my bandsaw (duh, well now it wouldn't be on my tablesaw), the one that came on the 14" Carba-tec. Until recently it had provided stirling service, but in the past week had not been cutting straight. I identified this as a deterioration of the blade's set, with one side now cutting more aggressively than the other. I attempted to equalise them (with a file) but totally screwed it up, so onto a new blade.

I also decided that, since I was changing the blade, I might as well go the whole hog and install a Riser kit. This would allow me to resaw 12" planks. I had this on my Wish List for a while now. The Riser kit from Carba-tec is $119 and includes a new blade (10mm wide and 6 tpi).

At Carba-tec I was told that there was a big difference between the Chinese blades that were thrown in and the British-made blades sold as aftermarket items. I decided to go with a new British-made blade ($24, 1/2" wide, 6 tpi).

To cut a long story short, everything was duly installed. My God! (am I allowed to say this?) Good Grief!! What a difference in cutting. The bandsaw suddenly felt like it had twice the horse power. The blade tension had also changed. I did not have to crank it up even half the amount previously to obtain the same tautness subjectively. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Well I resawed some pine floorboards (OK, not as much a challenge as Jarrah but all I had to hand). First I sliced it into perfect halves (from 18mm to 9mm) then sliced this perfectly into further halves (down to about 4mm). Perfect bookmatched veneer!

I am rapped. Great upgrade.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[journeyman Mick]

Derek,
how was the installation? I've thought about it for my bandsaw but I was a bit worried about accurately locating the pieces relative to each other. On my saw the top cast arm is held on with two bolts (as are all the other brands) As the top arm has two open slots that the bolts sit in, allowing a fair bit of movement, after assembly and (presumably) alignment, a hole was drilled thru top and bottom and a roll pin hammered in to keep everything aligned. Was this the case with your machine? If not how was it aligned? How is the riser aligned?

Mick

[derekcohen]

Fear not fair Mick, all shall become clear in the fullness of time.

The kit is pretty straight forward even though it does not come with instructions. I worked out that you replace A with new A, and B with new B, and so on. There is the 6" cast iron riser section, new longer connection bolt, a new, longer slide for the guard, and a new two-part guard (that can be extended to double its length). Oh, and a new blade (but I will dedicate that one to metalwork).

The riser is just too easy too align accurately since it has built in allignment pins. You cannot mis-align it! The only tricky part is holding it all together (riser on top of bandsaw frame, and bandsaw head on top of that). Much easier if you have someone helping. All I had was my 16 week-old Golden Retriever pup, Rufus, and he was hopeless. I would be surprised if your set up was fundamentally different. Mine uses one bolt to connect it , but the key is (are?) the alignment pins, which you cannot see when everything is done up (so you may not be aware are there).

The blade is easy to re-install with all the tension released from the wheels. The wheels lined up perfectly (This is a strength of the BS1400) with just a touch of adjustment on the "Blade Tracking Knob". Use a straight edge to check this.

All the usual tuning of blade and guides (I have roller guides), yada, yada, yada.

My first cut was a doozy. Gee, it was hard going, and should there be so much smoke coming out of the jarrah offcut ... Yes, well I guess that is normal when you install the blade upside down!!!

I removed the blade and scratched my head trying to work out how to reverse the blade. Do you know that if you turn a circle around by 180 degrees that you are back where you started? And I didn't think that the blade should be put in badwards since that would necessitate a rather unique cutting style on the bandsaw. Perhaps this was a left-handed bandsaw blade!! The mind boggled. Finally the penny dropped and twisted the blade until it turned inside-out - and the right way up.

Once remounted, it cut amazingly well.

Simple, really.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[derekcohen]

Mick

I had a thought about your set up. If you don't have allignment pins on your bandsaw, then I would do the following.

The essential need is to maintain coplanarity (is that the word ? - when the wheels line up in the same plane). So I would line up the wheels using two straight edges, one each side of the hubs, and all held firmly with clamps. Then firmly bolt the whole lot together via the riser block. That will do it.

Bring it over and I will give you a hand.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Woodchuck]

Hi Guys,

I recently got myself a cheap 14 inch Taiwanese 1hp bandsaw & bought a riser kit for it, the setup on mine was the same as Derek's from the sound of it. It had alignment pins on it also & I put the riser on myself..I just laid the bandsaw down on some cardboard & bolted it together.

Mine had no instructions with the riser kit, but I couldn't see how it was possible to put it together wrong..was too easy & everything lined up completely (Coplaner). Mine has no rip fence, still have to figure out what to do about that..but it has a very nice cut also with minimal tension. I was able to cut a test bit of timber into veneers of prolly less than 1mm, was almost like paper with a knock up wooden fence.

Just a thought, anyone use a decent fence for their BS, the wood one I made worked, but was difficult to keep adjusting to make it square. Any good aftermarket ones that can be fitted to these 14 inch Taiwanese cheap tables ?

Cheers
Woodchuck

[derekcohen]

Woodchuck

I have the "Professional Bandsaw Fence" from Carba-tec on mine. It was a bit of an extravegance when I bought the bandsaw. Those that "Know" bandsaws said so at the time, and they are right. A lump of wood would probably surfice. But I like using it. It is like a mini-Biesemeyer.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[soundman]

how are you finding your machine I'm considering the purchase & there is so much choice.

cheers

[derekcohen]

Soundman

The Carba-tec BS1400 (marketed under the Ridgid brand in the USA) is a nice machine - nothing has broken over the past 9 months and, in a world where much is promised and not delivered, it has provided reliable, predictable service. It is not the most powerful machine on the market (3/4 hp) but I have not felt it was underpowered (I have cut a lot of Jarrah on it). The table is flat and all the parts move smoothly and do what they are supposed to do. The mitre gauge is the best I have come across among similar machines, the fence was basic and adequate but I chose to replace it. The wheels are easy to align (coplanar), and this saw has the top rating among its peers for its ability to achieve high blade tension (in Fine Woodworking magazine). Dust control is adequate.

Perhaps my only negative is the positioning of the motor (at the rear of the machine rather than under the stand as with others). This is an aesthetic matter and not a practical issue.

Considering it is not an expensive machine (around $700), it is a lot of machine for the money. The extras include a Riser Kit ($119), upgraded fence ($85), and better blades ($24 each).

There are several machines on the market in this price range. Take note that the European style machines, which look so attractive (to my eye), do not have the facility to take a Riser Kit. As a comparison, I had considered the Carba-tec BAS 350 (taken initially by its good looks) and was disappointed to find it flimsly and poorly finished. It was quite incapable of being tensioned anywhere near that of the BS1400.

Hope this helps in your choice.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Woodchuck]

Derek,

Thanks, I will have to have a closer look at the fence's. I used a bit of timber just to try my BS out when I got it to see if I could cut something really thin, as my BS came without any fence at all.

I like the look of that style of fence you have got & while it may not be a must, it looks nice/professional, & I'm sure it would be quicker/more of a pleasure to use. Did you have much trouble fitting it ? My BS only has threaded holes on the one side of the table. Also I think by the looks of those fences that they mount a bit lower than my table is thick/deep. The standard fence that I can order for it only mounts to a single rail at the side at which you stand to make your cuts & looks very Basic indeed.

Soundman ,

I'm not sure how good my BS is as I am a total newbie to woodworking & have hardly used it to be honest ( I only got it a couple weeks ago & am still waiting for the sparky to put power on to the shed). It's a different model to Derek's as the motor on mine is mounted inside the stand underneath the machine. But it seems pretty good to me.

I bought it because from what I read here folks seemed to think 14" BS's are the best way to go & it was the cheapest Taiwanese I could find like it. I got mine from Gasweld for $499 & has a 1hp motor & 4speeds, it looks like most of the 14 inch Taiwanese machines to me.

It did have a bit of Vibration, but with tuning & playing about with belt tension & pully alignment it has pretty much none at all now. The blade that came with it I think is pretty poor & I'll be buying some from my local saw doctor, but I would think that most blades that come with the machines wouldn't be the highest quality. Same for the belts maybe too.

The Riser Kit was $99 from Gasweld also, & had all the fittings needed to convert the BS including guards & a larger blade.

The instructions that came with the Machine were quite poor but putting the BS together seemed quite easy as I followed a book on bandsaws. All in all it seems an ok machine to me & I'm very happy with it, I don't really know enough about woodworking or machines to say anymore. Time will tell.

Cheers
Woodchuck

[derekcohen]

Woodchuck

The "professional bandsaw fence" should fit your bandsaw without any further modifications. It runs on a one (nearside) rail (fitted through the same two holes), and rests on a farside rail.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Woodchuck]

Thanks Derek,

Think I will prolly get the same fance then, sounds like all I'd need do is drill & tapp threads on the off-side of table for the support rail. I'm not sure, but I think my BS looks the same as the Carbatec SW-1401.
Thanks for all the help

Cheers
Woodchuck

[journeyman Mick]

Derek,
it doesn't sound like the riser kit would fit straight on my BS. Mine only has the on alignment pin and it looks like after the saw was assembled someone drilled a hole freehand trhrough the two parts (the hole is at a compound angle) and hammered a pin in. I don't know if I really want to spend too much time on this machine, I picked it up in pieces for $50, spent about $30 on parts and a few hours on reassembly. It can only cut 5" deep unlike all the other saws that can cut 6". I'll probably continue to use it as is and replace it a bit further down the track. Anything I purchase for under $1K is written off my tax immediately so it doesn't hurt too much.

Mick

[soundman]

I tossing arround the differences in the units offered by carbatec & want to know how people find them.
bs1400 v's sw1401.
bs1044 v's the two $799 machines.

would be indicative of other brands too.

cheers

[figgskzoo]

Well, I live in the US where the BS1400 is marketed under the RIDGID name by Home Depot stores. I bought my 'RIDGID' saw 29th April, 2004.

After getting it home and while setting it up I first noticed that the blade had been fully tensioned for its entire shelf life. I further realized I had quite a wobble going throughout the entire saw and stand whilst running. Upon further inspection, I noticed flat spots on my tires (tyres in the UK and Austrailia), of course I did, the blade's been at full tension on still tires for 28 months! OK, you can surely hear me bristling. Anyway, still more inspection revealed a warped (untrue, nonplanar, whatever) and imbalanced lower wheel. Moving to the upper wheel, yes, of course, it is warped and imbalanced, too.

I can only assume that the wheels warped due to full blade tension on the shelf for so long. I further assume that this warping caused the resultant imbalance.

Warranty pursuit has thus far been fruitless, frustrating and has left me convinced I won't receive any real help.

So friends, (mates) can anybody tell me where I can purchase some high-quality aftermarket wheels?

Thanks,

figgs

[chrisp]

Figgs,

I don't know where you can get replacement parts for the BS-1400 in the US.

I have purchased a Carbatec equivalent BS-1400 about 4 weeks ago (same saw I believe). It wasn't until I was changing the blade that I found that the upper wheel tensioner bearing block was frozen. i.e. adjusting the tension did nothing but compress the tension spring. When I tried to remove the original blade, I found releasing the tension all the way did not release the tension on the blade.

I found the upper wheel guard was pressing against the upper wheel bearing block and preventing it from moving. The fix was relatively simple - I removed two of the screws holding the upper wheel guard and the bearing block would slide freely. I replaced the screws, but placed a flat washer between the guard and the casting. The washers added enough clearence for the tensioner to work correctly.

Chris

[derekcohen]

Figgs

Ridgid tools carry a lifetime warranty. Check out:

http://www.ridgid.com/propresssystem/tool_warranty.asp

http://www.arizonatools.com/info/warranty/252/

Regards from Perth

Derek

[figgskzoo]

Thanks for the help everyone! I think I'm going to just order replacement wheels from RIDGID and do the work myself.

It'll cost me a few bucks, I'm sure. But in the end I think I'll feel less frustrated than dealing with my warranty.

-figgs
Kalamazoo, MI - USA

[echnidna]

Derek,
Sounds very good.
Do you attribute the improved cutting to the riser kit itself or to the higher quality UK sawblade?

[derekcohen]

Bob

I am sure that the improvement is due to the new blade. The riser kit only increases the versatility of the bandsaw as a unit. In addition to a better grind, I suspect that the steel used is a whole order of magnitude better. Why else do I require less tensioning (at the screw mechanism) to get the same blade tension? It can only be that the new blade is stretching less.

Now I'm about to try out another blade, one that is better suited to resawing (3 tpi instead of 6 tpi). I will let you know how this goes.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[DavidW]

Derek and others

I have ordered the BS1400 on special from Carba-tec and will pick it up in 2-3 weeks.

Do you think the proffessional rip fence is worth the $$ over the one that comes with it and what blades (1 or 2) should I get to start with. It will mostly be used for ripping and curved cuts in both soft and hardwoods.

Same question for the roller guides.

[derekcohen]

David

The roller guides are a must have.

The Professional Fence? To be frank, it is nice to look at, it is probably better than the original, but it is still a little finicky for precision work. I never did use the original, and I really should to get a more objective view. So I suggest that you try the bandsaw with the original fence and only change it out if it is not working satisfactorally.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[mmmmbeeeeer]

Hi all,

Just a quick question to those of you who have installed the riser kit- the Carbatec cattledog mentions that it is recommended for softwood only. Has anyone had any problems with strength/stability or extra vibrations when using their BS with riser on more challenging timbers?

Thanks,

Pete

[derekcohen]

Pete

I haven't noticed any particular difference on hardwoods. I work a lot in Jarrah.

Regards from Perth

Derek