Replies

1. 
   ggcrandall1 | Jun 19, 2006 08:04pm | #1

   I have them on my 14 inch Delta.  They are great.  I had the saw several years before installing the Carters.  Don't know how I got along without them.

   Glen

    

2. 
   sapwood | Jun 19, 2006 08:04pm | #2

   I have them on an old saw that I retro-fitted. They are far better then what I had. I guess my only complaint would be their finicky adjustments. They require at least two sizes of allen wrenches and those screws are difficult to access, especially on the lower guides. Once set, they hold their adjustments very securely.

   They also are noisy. With six bearings whizzing around they'd have to be, I guess.

   Mine are about four years old. I don't know what else is out there. Carter may have improved the adjustment characteristics.

3. 
   Napie | Jun 20, 2006 05:31am | #3

   Well worth the money, quality product.  I have them on a 14" Delta and they really helped the saw.

4. 
   wop | Jun 21, 2006 12:16am | #4

   I had them on a saw before .Once they are set, they are great... but setting is a royal pain in the #### . And as they age it gets worse because the set screws dig spots into the shafts and tend to pull the shaft back to a previous setting.

                                                                                      Philip

5. 
   mudman | Jun 21, 2006 02:17am | #5

   I have the carter guides on a Delta 14" and if I could return them I would. What they are great for is large resaw blades, blades over1/2". On blades of that size I can tell that the blade is well supported and runs truer. The thing is, a blade of that size is at the operational limit of these saws. For smaller blades ceramic cool blocks are the best. I can get the same results with a 3/8" resaw blade running on coolblocks as I do with a 1/2" blade on the carter bearing set when the cut is 6" or less. And I actually have two delta 14" saws side by side set up like this, so I have made the compairison back to back. The carter bearing set shows its advantage resawing 8" and up where a wider blade is necesary. The ceramic blocks actually support smaller blades better than the bearings because the leading edge of the bearings are rounded over. This means that on a 1/4" or smaller blade you cant get but half of the blade supported by the flat surface of the bearings.

   As the others mentioned the Carter set is a PITA to adjust. I think that for $150 they could have added a  threaded adjustment set up.

   So, to sum it up I use it but I think it has very limited advantages. If I didn't have two saws I would have Ebayed them a long time ago.

   Pardon my spelling,

   Mike

   Make sure that your next project is beyond your skill and requires tools you don't have. You won't regret it.