Eric. Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 A few months ago I snapped a blade on my 17" Grizzly. Ever since then I've been having issues and I just kind of put the saw out of commission and have been using my 14" exclusively. It's time to get the Griz back in biz.I'm fairly certain my issues are the guide bearings. They're sticky. Garbage. I know for sure at least one of them is bad. I feel like buying another set of stock bearings from Grizzly is just throwing money down the toilet. Carter bearing fit kits are outrageously expensive...and after extremely mixed opinions about whether the upgrade is really that meaningful makes the steep price tag even more of a turnoff.So I figured I would try to install some cool blocks first just as an experiment. They're cheap. Problem is, I can't find info anywhere on what I need to retrofit my saw. What I need, where to get it, etc. Nothing. Can't find it after much gargling. I can find the blocks...cannot find retrofit kits.Does anyone know of a resource where I can get this info? I don't think Carter sells cool blocks or fit kits for cool blocks, so they're out. And I could call Grizzly, but they're always a last resort for me...their techs have given me some very questionable advice on several occasions.Any tips/links/etc would be greatly appreciated... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyami Plotke Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 Eric, I don't mean to muddle the water, but I have used both Cool Blocks & Carter Guides. I used them both on my old Ridgid 14" Band saw. The Cool Blocks were cheap, but they didn't add anything to the performance of the saw, relative to the original guide blocks. I ultimately upgraded to Carter Guides. As I got the saw on clearance, the Carter Guides actually cost me more than my saw. That said, they were worth it. The made the saw sing. I would not hesitate to buy them over and over. In the two saws I've had since then (I upgraded for size & power) only the Laguna Ceramic Guides beat the Carters. On a non-Laguna saw, I'd definitely go Carter. Regardless of how you go, good luck getting the saw up and running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted August 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 Thanks Dyami. My 14" saw is actually a Laguna 1412 with the ceramic guides and that's precisely the reason I wanted to try the cool blocks on the 17"...they work great.Your high praise of the Carter's is shared by many others...but offset by a seemingly equal amount of people who say, "meh, yeah they work." In light of the $300+ price tag for the Carter's, I figured the cool blocks would be worth a shot before I went that route.(Also keep in mind I'm not 100% sure that the guide bearings on my saw are the only issue I'm having...but I need to replace the bearings first in order to address any other problems it might have.)BTW, where have you been for three years? LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Moore Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 Eric I know it's not what you asked but I have seen other posts where people are after better bearings than what came on these machines. My first thought is to find a Motion Industries or Detroit Ball Bearing out let they can cross reference any bearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 When I switched my 14" Griz from bearings to blocks I just ordered parts from and older model saw that used them standard. I never did use cool blocks but made my own from hard maple kept them in a ziplock with mineral oil in it. I would run them right against the blade and bury the teeth on smaller blades and it worked way better than the bearings. When the end would get worn a quick squaring with sander did the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyami Plotke Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 Eric,As lame as it sounds, I've been away due to the poor mobile experience. At the time (& still today) my non-work time on an actual computer was spent on content creation for penultimatewoodshop.com & modernwoodworkersassociation.com.My consumption and casual browsing has been on my phone, pushing me towards good mobile experiences such as Twitter & Google+.That said, time has passed, the mobile view of the forum has improved, I've missed the communitycommunity and I have a new phone. So I figured I'd try it again. It's as nice as I remember, so it looks like I'll be staying. When I switched my 14" Griz from bearings to blocks I just ordered parts from and older model saw that used them standard. I never did use cool blocks but made my own from hard maple kept them in a ziplock with mineral oil in it. I would run them right against the blade and bury the teeth on smaller blades and it worked way better than the bearings. When the end would get worn a quick squaring with sander did the trick. very cool method. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted August 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 Larry, thanks, I may try that if I can't find a way to retrofit with cool blocks. If the Carter bearings weren't so damn expensive I wouldn't hesitate to buy them right now. But man, that's a big price tag for a couple hunks of aluminum and a few bearings. Who do they think they are, Woodpeckers? Dyami, good to have you back. I'll sheepishly admit that I haven't kept up with MWA...I need to get back to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyami Plotke Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 Thanks, Eric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 (edited) http://www.olsonsaw.net/cb500.htmlEric, Stumbled across this, I don't know if it contains any useful information. There was a link on how to install them and Griz is listed on there pop down menu. Edited August 29, 2015 by Chet K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted August 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 Thanks, Chet. I see 14" Grizzly on there but no 17". It won't surprise me if there's no retrofit kit available. There probably isn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krtwood Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 Bearings are bearings. If you don't have confidence in the ones you'd get from Grizzly all you have to do is read the numbers on the bearings and order them from somewhere else. I just replaced the bearings in my table saw motor and didn't try to get them from Ridgid, or the actual manufacturer of the motor who was so proud of their work they didn't put their name on it.If you want to retrofit a diy cool block setup then I should think all you need to do is get some aluminum square tubing and mount it to the part that the side bearings normal slide on. They'll only have one tapped hole in them but if you can add a second one or if there's enough sticking out then cutting a groove in the tubing for it to engage might work. Or you could look at how Matthias designed the guides on his saws and replace the whole thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.