Well I’m a big fan of wheel bearing guides. That said, the bearings won’t alone give you the “premium” experience you are looking for. If you are looking around and trying to decide between models, I would cast my vote for bearings. If you haven’t stumbled onto Alex Snodgrass yet, look his videos up – truly some of the best and most effective bandsaw education I have received.

I wouldn’t worry about the debate between ceramic / bearing guides. The internet is full of people who will swear by each, and in my experience, they’re both right.

At school we had every size Laguna bandsaw up to 24×24, IIRC they all had Laguna’s ceramic guides, screeched like banshees, but worked great. OK, one time one of the LT24’s choked on resawing a massive 21″ wide slab of coastal live oak, but that’s the Devil’s wood, and it was the only time in my 2 years there that bandsaw didn’t work perfectly, so I consider that an outlier.

We also had both new and vintage bandsaws with bearing guides, some new, some retro-fitted: 36″ Oliver, a Y-A Snowflake, and 2 20″ Felder FB610, an 18″ S45N Minimax, a 20″ Agazzani, 20″ Powermatic and more. They worked great, too.

So after 2 yeaers I noticed a pattern (yes, I’m slow and it took that long)

A quality bandsaw that has been properly set up and sports a sharp blade will do a great job, regardless of bearing type. Get the best machine you can afford, and you’ll be happy. You’ll have much bigger worries these days with 8 month wait times from some manufacturers and high prices.

Seconded. Sharp blade/correct blade (correct for thickness/task) will make worlds more difference than any “hardware” or fancy proprietary gizmo any manufacturer offers you.

I bought a new Delta 14″ 30 years ago. I have tried the “cool blocks” as guides in reswing. My saw has never performed as I wished. A sharp blade is a must or drift is uncontrolable. I have squared the table to the blade. Tomorrow I plan to change the tires……..it still has the original ones. I will also change blades. Last week I took a look at the motor and discovered it was only 3/4 horse. So I bought a new 2.5 horse motor, installed it and was overwhelmed at how it smoothly it went through a scrap of 3 inch red oak. I am in hopes that the new tires will improve the tracking. I have the Carter bearings in for several years and like them very much.

I am going to all this trouble because I did not want to spring for a new one and because, if successful it getting to rip satisfactory, I will sell my table saw. I am moving more and more toward hand tool only woodworking (that is why I am here on Paul’s site.) The quiet in the shop and less dust are a true delight to the working experience. I am in my late 70’s and peace and quiet coupled with the satisfaction of the “hand made” experience are a nurturing atmosphere for me. Any advise on the bandsaw set up would be appreciated.

George

I would also recommend to not use WD40 for this. It can perish rubber (seals in the bearings) and can damage some thermoplastics (used for the cages on some bearings). Indeed, when we are testing the thermoplastics for our housings, WD40 is one of the main chemicals we use, and I do see that it can degrade the screw bosses.
Picture shows a bearing with a seal and a plastic cage.