Tobykanobe Posted January 9, 2020 Report Share Posted January 9, 2020 I'm a novice in general to woodworking, but when it comes to the band saw, I have no idea what I'm doing. Been watching videos and trying to get a handle on it. My father has handed me down a Jet Woodworking Band Saw Model WBS-14. Basically, a 14" band saw. This is back when Jet products were painted blue. I can't find the proper manual on the Jet website and I've sent them an email asking for it. I'm not confident in the guide system. I spent about an hour on it this morning and there's something not quite right. My father had ordered some replacement parts, I believe the guide wheels. They seem way too big as the blade deflection with the wheels in place is way too much. I would like to order Carter's guide system and would also like to possibly order their Magfence, although I'm open to suggestions on other products as I have no fence whatsoever. Also, I want to start with a new blade. Looking for an all purpose blade, however, right now, I'm doing a lot of plywood projects. Also, in regards to the width of the blade, I'm not sure what to order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted January 9, 2020 Report Share Posted January 9, 2020 Re the guides hard to go wrong with Carter guides. I have the Carter mag fence and use it on occasion but I much prefer a fence attached to the saw on a rail, just more convenient to set up. RE blades for resawing I like the 1/2" Wood Slicer from Highland Woodworking, for curves and general cutting I like there 1/4" & 1/2" 3 or 4 TPI general purpose blades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted January 9, 2020 Report Share Posted January 9, 2020 First, if you haven't sat through it yet I recommend the Snodgrass video on setting up a bandsaw. You can Google it or look it up on The Woodwhisperer site. Maybe something that should adjust is stuck. One generally does have different bandsaw blades for different cutting tasks (e.g. resaw vs. curves) and different TPI for different thicknesses of wood. I don't mean a dozen, but 2 to 4 blades wouldn't be unusual. Depends on what type of cutting you know you're going to do. I'd get them on an as needed basis. To buy blades you need to know the length your saw requires. Not all 14" bandsaws take the same blade. You'll also want to check the manual you requested to see what blade widths your saw can handle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobykanobe Posted January 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2020 I watched a good portion of the Snodgrass video but he's working on a modern PM, not an old jet and I found many of the settings just completely different than my basic saw. Plus, he's adjusting his own carter guides it looks like. Some of the video was good for me like where the blade needs to ride on the two wheels. Again, these guide wheels (or bearings) seem way too big. I can move them front to back, but there is no side to side for the actual wheels. Maybe I'll start with picking up the Carter guides. I sent them an email as well. They have a 14" Jet package, I'm just curious if it will fit my machine before I click the buy button. Here are some pics to give some context as to what my concern is with those wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobykanobe Posted January 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2020 2 hours ago, pkinneb said: Re the guides hard to go wrong with Carter guides. I have the Carter mag fence and use it on occasion but I much prefer a fence attached to the saw on a rail, just more convenient to set up. RE blades for resawing I like the 1/2" Wood Slicer from Highland Woodworking, for curves and general cutting I like there 1/4" & 1/2" 3 or 4 TPI general purpose blades. Can anyone recommend a fence that fits in the slot then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legenddc Posted January 9, 2020 Report Share Posted January 9, 2020 Here's a link the the manual. I think I used the Wood Magazine guide to figure out what band saw blade to get. I ended up with one of the Olson ones from Rockler for my first blade. Once I have a heavy band saw use project I'll buy additional blades if I need. I bought my band saw used and it came with the Kreg fence. I haven't used it extensively, but it seems to work just fine. There may be other options out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wtnhighlander Posted January 10, 2020 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 Your photos show a set of guide blocks, not bearings, with a thrust bearing behind the blade. A bit different setup than the Carter bearing guide system. The blocks appear to be quite far from the blade. They should be pretty close, but not pinch. Also, my experience is that a sharp and properly tensioned blade has more effect on preventing a wandering cut than the guides do. Thicker material = less teeth on the blade. For scroll-type work, a narrow (3/16 - 1/4) blade with something more than 10 teeth per inch is good. Resawing takes a wider blade (maybe 1/2 to 3/4 on that saw) to withstand higher tension and act as a "rudder" for keeping the teeth straight. 3 or 4 teeth per inch to carry away the longer chips of waste. To judge how long your blade needs to be, remove the current blade. De-tension the upper wheel all the way, and measure between the wheel centers. Double that, then add the circumference of one wheel toobtain the minimum blade length. Raise the wheel to full tension height, and repeat the process for the max blade length. Buy blades that fall between those limits, preferably near the middle of the range. Too small = hard to install. Too long = hard to tension. I also like to set initial tracking with the blade off, adjust so that a straightedge across both wheels touches the upper and lower edge of both rims. Once the blade is on and tensioned, adjust tracking as needed to make the bottom of the gullets between teeth ride the center of the rim. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobykanobe Posted January 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 Quote The blocks appear to be quite far from the blade. It's hard to see in the picture, but there are pads on the inside of those aluminium blocks. Those are practically touching the blade. There is an additional thumb screw that allows those to slide in and out of the aluminium blocks. I'm going to give this another go on the setup. I think I misunderstood where those small wheels go. Being so dumb about this, I thought those wheels ride on the blade. Thank you for the manual link. I think seeing that is going to help me out quite a bit here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legenddc Posted January 10, 2020 Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 @Tobykanobe If the manual doesn't explain how to set up your guides/wheels let me know and I can dig up the manual to mine which has it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobykanobe Posted January 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 Will do, thank you. It appears it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted January 10, 2020 Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 I believe I'd begin by repositioning the thrust bearings - the bearings mounted perpendicularly and behind the blade above and below the table. You'll probably need to remove the blade completely to do this adjustment. I'm not familiar enough with that model Jet to know if they're on an eccentric or if the posts they mount to are hexagonal going into the mounting fixture. Either way, they can be repositioned by rotating the mounting stem so that the blade rides roughly in line with the first outermost concentric circle (you have an outer circumference, then several inner concentric circles making up the bearing). On yours, one is too far outside and one is way too far inside. The photo below is on an Inca bandsaw, but the position of the blade relative to the thrust bearing is what you're shooting for. Before you start, back the side guides completely away from the blade so that they don't influence the blade position at all. Once the thrust bearings are positioned correctly and the blade is at proper tension, then adjust the side guides so that they are set about the thickness of a $100 bill folded in half from the blade. Once you have it tracking correctly forward the bill to the address I'm sending you via DM. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobykanobe Posted January 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 Well, I took another stab at it and learned a lot with that manual in hand. I broke something AND I found a broken part. The fine adjustment nut was broken. $20 replacement part. I was trying to adjust the tension on the blade and realized that I had not cinched down the other knob near the blade tension knob that keeps the wheel the blade rides on square to the housing. As I went to back it off and start over on the tension process, The rod the knob is attached to sheared off inside the knob. Not a big deal, but that knob needs to be above the housing so that you have room to turn it with your hand. The website I checked, doesn't have that knob assembly so I'll have to remove the remaining rod (still a lot of tension on it) and weld a custom handle on to save the rest of the part. There's the update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobykanobe Posted January 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 All I had was $5. It will have to do! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted January 10, 2020 Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 21 minutes ago, Tobykanobe said: All I had was $5. It will have to do! I'll forward my address. I would highly recommend requesting a catalog from Iturra Design. His catalog has pretty much all you need to know about bandsaws, including setup, tensioning, replacement parts, tension gauges, accessories, etc. A true wealth of information. I don't see how he can send out what he sends out without charging for it. Iturra Design 1-904-642-2802 Toll Free: 888-722-7078 Email: iturradesign@gmail.com 4636 Fulton Road Jacksonville, Florida 32225-1332 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobykanobe Posted January 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 Requested! Thx! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted January 11, 2020 Report Share Posted January 11, 2020 I got his catalog within a week or so of the request. I've read elsewhere that it sometimes takes much longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobykanobe Posted January 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 Well, I removed the piece I broke in it's entirety and the nut is cross-threaded, the threads are folded over, and the handle is sheared off. I was using the nut line as the gauge to meet the molded-on measurement marks on the aluminium to set the right tension according to blade width. The manual was not clear on what I was using to set to those marks, so the nut seemed the only thing that moving towards these marks and that's what I used. The one site I checked said the part isn't for sale. I think I could just make this part, but with the nut being compromised and it appears the metal itself is of a harder sort, I'm wondering if I just shouldn't throw this out and try to find the replacement part. I'll show a picture of the part, and for those that may be aware of some websites I'm not when it comes to parts, have at it. The model is JWBS-14CS It is referenced in the manual as: 93 .............990653.................... Blade Adjusting Screw ....................................... ................................... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Beasley Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 You might be as well off making the part and heat treating it, and wind up with a better part than you can buy. Looks like its just a rod threaded top and bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 You might even get by with a simple piece of all-thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G Ragatz Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 These guys seem to have the entire adjustment assembly available, but I couldn't find just the screw. The assembly seems a little pricey, but I don't know your budget vs. time spent on alternate solutions. https://www.mmtoolparts.com/store/jet-100016acp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 There are a number of aftermarket adjustment rods out there. That is one of the pluses of owning a generic 14" cast iron saw; there's tons of aftermarket stuff for them. https://megadepot.com/product/big-horn-14330-band-saw-tension-crank?format=v&p=ms&source=ads&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxMSqiLz-5gIVCr7ACh13jQknEAYYByABEgKBQPD_BwE https://www.ptreeusa.com/bandsaw_upgrade_tension_adjust.htm https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/Bandsaw-Tensioning--Crank--Heavy--Duty.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 Here are photos of two pages from the Iturra catalog I referenced above. Looks like he has a number of options available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 I have one of those metal spinner wheels, w/threaded rod, on my old Delta 14". I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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