“Short version, it's much better than the original guide. It's also more dificult to get set "just right". I really had to fiddle with a lot of adjustments to get the blade perfectly parallel to the bunks. Since the wheels actually engage the blade, they push the blade down ever so slightly. If the pressure isn't exactly equal on both sides, you can tell a difference in very wide cuts.
It's also much louder than the original guides. I never felt the need to wear ear protection with the old setup. Now, I do. If safety is the price I have to pay for exceptional cuts... I guess I'll capitulate.
Norwood has some exceptional engineers. Once you can climb into their world and see things as they see them, this sawmill setup really makes sense. This is one of those cases. The instructions weren't completely helpful. There were places that I was scratching my head. Like I said, once I tried to understand what the engineers were attempting to accomplish, things made much more sense and I was able to get it setup pretty easily. I'd like to see some way to validate that the roller/ceramic engagements are identical. A simple caliper or spacing tool would be very helpful to make this easier.”
“Like the rollers way better than the original ceramic guides. Lots of adjustable bolts. No directions stating the need to add lock tight to keep bolts from falling out and getting lost in the sawdust, hint hint. Notice there is some build up of sawdust, pitch for once the cut occurs, some sawdust on top of the blade goes through the roller which in turns presses that material onto the blade. There is some build up on top of the blade.
Still learning these rollers and still figuring out the maintenance needs.
Better cuts that seem to be more consistent.
Overall an improvement to any mill.”
“I read a number of reviews on this and decided to buy it. First, there is not enough adjustment to put down pressure on the blade on the moveable side. I have seen some shim the top slide to get that down pressure but I have not tried that yet and it is highly involved. Second I had a blade jump and it actually bent the bracket on the fixed side. The bracket is currently an L shape and should have some gussets to make it ridgid. I bent it back and will have to fix properly at another time. This thing is just not good enough for the price.”
