Bandsaw dsaw guides

[zeroseven]

I have a Blundell SWB4300, a generic design exactly the same as the current Axminster SWB 4300B. My blade guides are solid metal (hope the pic link works), unlike the Axi which has bearings. The fitments are exactly the same however, so I thought I'd 'upgrade' to the Axi guide system. However after several enquiries to Axminster, both online and in store, the best response to my enquiry about purchasing the guides have resulted in nothing helpful, just an offer to sell me a new machine for £1500.

Anyone know where I can get replacement blocks for now? Can't find cool blocks for this machine and the Taiwanese company who I think made the machine don't respond to my enquiries.

Thanks in advance!

 

[zeroseven]

Sorry, I've never once managed to upload a pic to this website.

 

[Alexam]

That's a pretty poor response from Axi that won't win them any browne points.
You could use any hardwood blocks cut to size. Add ......... not as I thought now that you added a photo. See additional comment below.
Malcolm

 

[Ttrees]

Hello Zeroseven
Had a look at the axi saw and seen regular bearings for the side to side rollers,
However I did not see the thrust in the photos.
Is it the thrust guide what your after ?
The others are just bog standard bearings that you can measure and buy for very cheap from a bearing supplier.

I use a windows computer and downloaded microsoft sharepoint designer free.
This program has microsoft office 2010 within, and thats what I use to shrink pics.
just right click on photo, select edit resize it to large, and drag it back where it was.
This shrinks pics to use for uploading on forums
Tom

 

[sunnybob]

You will not find any company to tell you that you can swap parts from different manufacturers.
It has nothing to do with just trying to sell you a new machine.
It has everything to do with product liability and the fact you could sue them to extinction for telling you that you could, and then you screw up the conversion and damage yourself.

Its not right to ask any company to make that kind of suggestion in todays society.

If you can get to an axminster store, take your bearing block with you and check for yourself if you are happy to make the amendments.
My local woodyard just uses a 2" square block of soft wood 6" long with a slot cut half way through it.
When it wears out, its a matter of minutes to make another one. Bearing guides dont need to be fancy unless you are cutting intricate turns with thin blades as in bandsaw boxes.

There are sticky posts at the start of almost every thread on here on how to resize pictures in order to post them. i followed one for the first time last week and got the picture to show on only the second attempt.

 

[AES]

Must agree with sunnybob here - if I can upload pix on here, then absolutely anyone can!

As already said, there are enough stickies around to tell you how - certainly neither "eezy-peezy", nor intuitive, but I say again, if I can follow the instructions on how to work a "confuser" into doing something then so can you! Just take a deep breath, go step by step, as per the sticky, and "Robert's yer Dad's bruvver"!

And especially when asking for help, pix really are "worth a thousand words".

Have another go mate.

AES

 

[zeroseven]

Thanks all, I'll have another go at uploading when I've got something bigger than my phone. Coincidentally Axminster came back to me with a quote for the parts in question, they didn't seem bothered it wasn't for one of their machines.

 

[Ttrees]

Thanks all, I'll have another go at uploading when I've got something bigger than my phone. Coincidentally Axminster came back to me with a quote for the parts in question, they didn't seem bothered it wasn't for one of their machines.

If its just the rollers, its gonna cost way more than you would buy from a bearing warehouse.
Sharepoint designer works for all the windows computers I have used through the years
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/downloa ... x?id=16573
Phone piccys should be sound
Tom

 

[zeroseven]

Hello Zeroseven
Had a look at the axi saw and seen regular bearings for the side to side rollers,
However I did not see the thrust in the photos.
Is it the thrust guide what your after ?
The others are just bog standard bearings that you can measure and buy for very cheap from a bearing supplier.

the back of the blade is controlled by bearing, but the sides are guided by the metal unit in the pic above in first post, obviously one either side.

So to switch to an all bearing guide, I need to purchase the entire upper and lower system which totals £81
The existing setup seems a little odd to me, metal on metal (?), plus I cant locate new guides like the ones pictured....so I figure its best to bite the bullet and 'upgrade' to an all bearing system, but happy to take advice

I didn't realise there was such a small file size limit on this forum, thought it was 3mb. Me a photographer too.......

 

[Ttrees]

Hello again
If that's the bad thrust bearing I'd not be to concerned, (loadsa meat left, practically new) as it will get get dressed by the blade nice and smooth again,
if you make sure it doesn't get gummed up and cease.
I get the impression you will take care of your machine.
My saw came from industrial settings and the thrust guides had ceased.
There was deep slots cut into them.
I ground it down a bit and welded loads of meat on the face.
As long as the slots wont catch a blade your sound.
There is usually a bronze bush attaching that thrust roller to the shaft..well on ACM saws
like the gl 456 ..look up scott and sargeant.
I can measure the shaft size on mine if you like.
I have not seen these guides anywhere else unfortunately
I wouldn't mind trying to find a cheaper alternative
Tom

 

[sunnybob]

Thanks all, I'll have another go at uploading when I've got something bigger than my phone. Coincidentally Axminster came back to me with a quote for the parts in question, they didn't seem bothered it wasn't for one of their machines.

Any company will sell you parts if you give them the description.
Its the "will it fit my machine" question that goes unanswered 99% of the time, because thats down to you.

 

[zeroseven]

Thanks all, I'll have another go at uploading when I've got something bigger than my phone. Coincidentally Axminster came back to me with a quote for the parts in question, they didn't seem bothered it wasn't for one of their machines.

Any company will sell you parts if you give them the description.
Its the "will it fit my machine" question that goes unanswered 99% of the time, because thats down to you.

Of course and rightly so, I never asked them if it would fit, just told them it would, because it does. The assemblies will take 12 weeks to arrive, so interested to know if anyone can recommend replacement blocks for now, or if mine are ok to carry on with considering how scarred they are?

 

[Alexam]

Good morning ?,
looking at the photos which you have now added, although your side guides are metal, they rotate if touched by the blade. They should be set to allow the blade free movement until the time when timber is cut, at which time they may make contact with the side guides should they move out of line.

When using smaller blades the rotation of the guides would be greater. If you have bearing guides on order, I wouldn't bother to try anything else until then. They only 'bump' the blade back into position if they move out of line and are not in permanent contact.

Not a lot different from the Record BS400 guides

which work very well.

Malcolm

 

[zeroseven]

Good morning ?,
looking at the photos which you have now added, although your side guides are metal, they rotate if touched by the blade. They should be set to allow the blade free movement until the time when timber is cut, at which time they may make contact with the side guides should they move out of line.

When using smaller blades the rotation of the guides would be greater. If you have bearing guides on order, I wouldn't bother to try anything else until then. They only 'bump' the blade back into position if they move out of line and are not in permanent contact.

Not a lot different from the Record BS400 guides which work very well.

Malcolm

Thats interesting, I thought it was a daft system, Mine don't rotate at all, they are a tight fit in the brass holders. I set them a papers width either side of the blade just behind the blade gullet.
Thanks for that bit of info!

 

[Alexam]

They should rotate which is why the brass parts are there, to take the metal part and allow rotation. Take them off and oil them, they should move.
Malcolm

 

[bigbob1]

Malcome is quite right there are quite a few bandsaws with these guides on I have 2 bandsaws a Record BS 350 and a Metabo swift both have these guides and both rotate against the brass stems as sugested strip them and oil them. I would not waste money on replacement and if I had to replace the guides I would turn down a couple of pieces of lignum vitae to fit in the guide holders.

 

[zeroseven]

Thank you everybody, they are now turning! oddly the top ones were more stuck than the bottom. I'll give it a test tomorrow

 

[dickm]

... and through it all, the scarred and battered solid metal guides on the 352 just keep doing their job perfectly!