Customer Reviews

Carter Products JET14 Band Saw Guide Set For 14-Inch Jet Band Saw

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Carter bandsaw guide has turned my 14" Jet from a good system to a GREAT system. I hesitated to buy the guides, because of the price, but it is well worth the investment. Maintaining blade alignment is now a snap, resawing is dead straight, circular cuts do not wave or float from the workpiece. The blade travel is very easy to control and maintain.

The installation was very simple and easy, took about 15 minutes, and most of that was actually reading the directions. Adjustment is also very simple. The bearings adjust forward/backward and side to side, so each blade setup can be easliy accomplished with a simple allen wrench.

If added accuratecy is what you are looking for, then the Carter bandsaw guides will help acheive a consistent product. Well worth the investment.!

These guides are great. They cost you, but if you are doing any production type work they are worth the investment.

Definitely worth the investment. Very easy to install and set. In combination with the riser block, I can resaw accurately until my heart's content.

So, here is the deal. I would have given this product 5 stars, except for their consideration (or lack thereof) for those of us who bought riser block kits for our bandsaws.

The blade guard that came as part of our riser kits has a long slot in the lower half so that we can telescope the two-part guard for very high or or very low cuts.

The blade guard that comes with the Carter set does not have this slot. When I tried to substitute the riser kit guard, it did not fit due to hole placements, and a cut-away needed to clear the upper thrust bearing on the Carter assembly.

So, patient fellow that I am, I e-mailed the Carter company, and over two weeks later, I have never gotten a technical response.

I then proceeded to redrill holes and cut away steel on my existing riser guard. The value of the Carter guard was that of a template for modifiing the Riser guard. And, an hour of labor later, the guide now fits and works well.

The other reason I downgraded the rating, is that on my saw, the thrust bearings (behind the blade) do not line up, centered on the blade. The adjustable Jet height shaft that it mounts to, is notched, with a flat surface where the allen screws seat. I do not have much adjustment there. And, I can't seem to find any other way to move the bearing left or right, so that its center is behind the blade. (The adjustments are all designed for forward/backward.) It's kind of close to opposite bearing edges, for the top and bottom guide assemblies, so I hope I do not end up with any problems there.

Now, here's the kicker - In researching Carter guides for other riser block owners on this issue, I discovered that Jet now has their own Euro style, all-bearing replacement assemblies (and, available here on Amazon.) And guess what? When I inquired about the riser issue on the Jet company site, they not only got back to me in 24 hours, but they offer the replacement guard for free! - but only to Jet guide buyers.

Bottom line - You owe it to yourself to at least look at the Jet product before you buy this one. I know nothing about the quality of the Jet bearing assemblies, but I can attest to their responsive service, and their attention to the variations of modified Jet bandsaws.

And just to be fair to Carter - I also bought their quck-Tension release lever assembly. Excellent engineering, and that went on as advertised, and works very smoothly. Five stars for that upgrade.

I've owned mine for 10 months and use it nearly every day. When they work, its great. But then it began to fail, stripping screws and internal posts. Now I find out there was only a 30-day warranty. $160 (when I bought it) for a couple of roller bearings and they only believe that it will work for a month. So keep that in mind when purchasing, and keep your original parts so you can actually use your saw while waiting for parts.

I ordered the Jet JWBS-140S / 708113 14" band saw and Carter Jet 14 Band Saw guide (for 14" Jet band saw) at the same time, from the same page on Amazon, as the accessories were listed below the 14" band saw. The Jet JWBS-140S 14" band saw has a 3/4" (+ or -) diameter vertical guide post, but the inside diameter of the upper guide bracket and guide assembly included in the Carter Jet 14 band saw guide, both measure 7/8" (+ or -). So the Carter guide would not attach properly to the Jet 14" band saw. I am waiting to see what Amazon decides on this.

I don't know if Jet has changed their design but not bother to inform others, or has a bad design. I also ordered the HTC HSJ-1414 mobile base for the Jet WBS-140S and it doesn't fit the saw.

I was impressed with the look and feel of the Carter guides, but it doesn't help much if they don't fit.

On the Jet 14 inch bandsaw the guides will not mount properly if your saw has the post with a 'V' notch running its length, the guide will fit but but it will not center properly. The upper guide can be mounted upside down after turning the mounting post 90 degrees but then the post locking knob will not secure the post properly. You can always replace the post with a full circular one.

I would not recommend this guide system unless it is modified. Nor is it a worthwhile device if you change blades often. Adjustments require the use of three different size metric allen wrenches and the adjustments for the lower guides are a pain to get to.
I have gone back to my 'cool blocks.

How do you change a really good bandsaw into a "great" bandsaw?

These guides will definitely do it. Worth their weight in gold.

While this thing works well, don't get it if you are going to have to change blades a lot. You basically have to readjust it for every size blade, which is what you have to do anyway, but it takes soooooo long.