: They get loose in the guide area very easily and need to be adjusted every
: now and then.

: I'm sure you can get band saw tuning references from the site below. A
: product called "cool blocks" (about $15US) which are blade guide
: blocks that stay in contact with the blade (as opposed to?) will help a
: lot.

I've not actually tried cool blocks in my bandsaw, but if you cut any fir in your saw, you will find that they gum up very quickly. I threw mine away after a week of use and went back to the steel blocks.

Setting up a bandsaw is anything but intuitive. It took me several years to understand how to adjust the blocks to make it track straight. I find that a 1/2" 3 tpi hook blade works best for ripping in general. With cedar, however, it does produce strings, so I don't rip any boards over 10 feet in length and remove the strings from the slot after each pass. Also, I find it is worth while to cut only with a planed face against the rip fence. This means I run the board over the jointer after cutting a strip off each side. Also, I'll run the strips through the thickness planer once they are completely dry. I would certainly use a table saw if I had room for one in my shop, but my feed tables are set up for the bandsaw, it's on wheels, and I need it for too many things a table saw won't do, so it's worth the extra trouble. I don't save any material using the thinner kerf by the time I am through, and possibly use more. On my first stripper, I just used the strips rough cut and I had horrible time getting them to lie even and then to fair down all the mess afterward. Having the strips planed on both sides is a much nicer way to go.