Rebuilding an old Sears bandsaw

[Curt Larsen]

I'm trying to rebuild an old Sears Model 103.0103 12 inch bandsaw from the 1940's.  The old guides are truly inadequate and I'm looking for new ones.  Do any of you have any ideas or should I just give up on the thing.  Carter doesn't have anything that fits this saw. 

Curt

[Joe Stein]

Curt,
I'm at work right now, but i'll try to send you some info from home tonight or tomorrow.  I'm looking at new guides for a 1930's Dewalt.
_Joe

[Longshot]

What doesn't it do correctly?
Guide blocks can be made from bakelite; thrust and wheel bearings should'nt be difficult to find [Graingers or MSR], the electrical switch needn't be proprietary [just match amp rating to motor]; aftermarket tension springs and tires are available from many large tool outlets [Rockler, Tool Crib, etc.]  -or can be googled.  Ebay often has listings of older power tools being 'parted-out'.

[Curt Larsen]

Joe, thanks.  Remember that I live in Drum Point.  Longshot, it is just hard to get a straight cut when I'm cutting stocks.  The old guides use 1/4" brass rod as guide bearings.  There is no problem getting brass rod.  The thrust bearing is just a rotating steel wheel not a bearing.  There is no real lower guide set up.  All in all there is just too much twist in the blade.  When I try to thin a fore end from a blank, my cut is just too wavy and I can't depend on it.

Curt

[Longshot]

Perhaps increasing blade tension and setting the guide blocks to a closer tolerance would help some, but the absence of a lower guide system might be tough to overcome. 
Note:  I would also try using hardwood dowel material -in direct contact with the blade, instead of brass, when attempting a close, critical cut.  Bandsaws can be quirky and sometimes, subject to many variables,  require intuition and developed operator skills [read:  voodoo] for good performance.
Some setups were just not designed for accurate, demanding work.

[Lucky R A]

   To get a nice straight cut it is imperative that you have a sharp blade, and the widest blade that your saw will accomodate.  It is amazingly easy to destroy the set on carbon steel blades.  Perhaps you accidentaly got the running blade into the metal guides or something else during your set up attempts.  The smaller band saws are notorious for having problems tracking accurately.  A well appointed 14" saw is about minimum for good stock work.   Carbide blades are a really good investment as well.   

[dave gross]

I had problems with a new Delta 14" bandsaw when ripping maple stock blanks.  Careful adjustment of all the parts did little to correct the wandering blade and new blades did no good.  I finally took the advice of a friend who works in a boat shop and replaced the 1/4 inch blade with a 1/2 inch with only 6 teeth per inch....what a difference...accurate cuts, both ripping and cross grain are now no problem...fewer teeth per inch and wider blade...that's the ticket.

Dave Gross
Way down east in Maine

[Bill of the 45th]

You may need a larger blade, say 3/8 or 1/2 inch,  on most stocks you are not cutting tight arc's, so the blade can be larger.  I would also increase speed if possible, and slow down the feed rate.  The slower you go the less the blade wants to skew.

Bill

[Joe Stein]

Curt, 
There definitely should be a lower guide on that machine.  You can just barely see it in the pictures at this site:
http://www.owwm.com/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=4657
OWWM.com is a good site for information on the older woodworking machines.
Here is a link to posts about your saw:
http://owwm.org/search.php?search_id=701315977
Also, the Sears model 103.24260 is just a newer model of the same saw, and sears does have some parts for it.
http://www.searspartsdirect.com/partsdirect/getSubComp.pd?modelNumber=10324260&productCategoryId=0744100&brandId=0247&modelName=CRAFTSMAN-12-INCH-BAND-SAW&diagramPageId=00001&documentId=00018801&pop=flush

[Curt Larsen]

Thanks Joe for these urls.  With all of your tips I think I'll try a wider blade if I can find one and have a look at the lower guide assembly and replace the old brass guide pins.  That with maybe increased tension will help out.  I'll give it a try.  Thanks to you all.

Curt

[J Shingler]

I have been running the "Cool Blocks" with good results. They are a graphite impregnated phenolic that you adjust out to touch the blade. THe things must be slick as they do not even get warm even touching the blade. I remember them in the 1/2" square that my saw takes and also some round ones that I don't remember the diameter. Maybe they are still made. Yes here they are
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=904
Shown are two different size rounds for you.

[elk killer]

with out lower guide block,,you might try a zero clerance insert,,where the blade goes threw the table,,
it sure helped mine out a lot