Karatekid
New member
Has anyone fitted and used 1/8" blades on a bs250 bandsaw.? And what mods do I need?
1/8" bandsaw blades modifications
- Thread starter Karatekid
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Provided you can adjust the side guides (top and bottom) so that they are behind the gullet of the blade you don't need anything. This may be a bit tricky to do with such a small blade though. Failure to get it right will damage the set of the teeth. Looking at the manual for the BS250 it has different bearing guides to the rest of the Record range of bandsaws so I can't be sure if it's possible or not, I have the larger BS300E. Alternatively you can replace the top guide assembly with a single bearing unit from Carter industries (Carter Stabilizer) in the US but they are expensive once landed here in the UK.
Steve Maskery
Established Member
Any bandsaw can be modified to run very small blades, easily and cheaply I've not used the Carter thingy, but I have seen and (briefly) used the Inca gadget that I think is functionally identical. It works well, but is very expensive as an aftermarket product.
I use a 1/16" blade on my Basato. I use the bearings that it came with, no aftermarket purchase. I simply cut a disk of 2mm MDF and stick it to the guide bearings with DS tape. I can adjust the bearing right up to the blade, supporting it completely, without the risk of damaging the blade with the guides, or the guides with the blade.
As the blades twists and turns, the disks get chewed up and have to be replaced, but that is no real problem as they are quick, easy and cheap to make.
I'm not familiar with the guide assembly for your BS, but I would e astonished if the same principle could not be applied to it.
I use a 1/16" blade on my Basato. I use the bearings that it came with, no aftermarket purchase. I simply cut a disk of 2mm MDF and stick it to the guide bearings with DS tape. I can adjust the bearing right up to the blade, supporting it completely, without the risk of damaging the blade with the guides, or the guides with the blade.
As the blades twists and turns, the disks get chewed up and have to be replaced, but that is no real problem as they are quick, easy and cheap to make.
I'm not familiar with the guide assembly for your BS, but I would e astonished if the same principle could not be applied to it.
Steve Maskery
Established Member
Can you post a picture, please? I bet we can find an equivalent way.
You can see the guides on pages 16/17 in the instruction manual here:
http://www.yandles.co.uk/pdf/pdf8208.pdf
http://www.yandles.co.uk/pdf/pdf8208.pdf
Steve Maskery
Established Member
I see, yes, these are eccentrically-mounted bearings which support the blade on their rims rather than their faces, am I right?
Then I would replace them (just for narrow blades) with a home-made equivalent of something like Tufnol or UHMWPolywhatsit.
If the bearing themselves come off leaving just the mounts, you could still use MDF disks, say 9mm thick. They wouldn't spin, but would that matter?
It's got to be worth trying.
Then I would replace them (just for narrow blades) with a home-made equivalent of something like Tufnol or UHMWPolywhatsit.
If the bearing themselves come off leaving just the mounts, you could still use MDF disks, say 9mm thick. They wouldn't spin, but would that matter?
It's got to be worth trying.
