Thread: A bandsaw question with a difference

Hi Toni

I have a 14" bandsaw in my shed and I find it one of the most useful of any woodworking machine and not a machine that you should be afraid of at all. A bandsaw blade does not travel at high speed but before you turn it on you should carry out some manual checks first. There is plenty of information available on the forum about such things as wheel alignment, setting blade guides and tension and selection of blades for the type of cutting you are likely to do.

Mind you, you should always consider safety first because even a slow moving blade can cut off a finger in an instant.

Regards from Adelaide
Trevor

You'll find it one of the safest & most useful tools in the shed. As well as the checks that Trevor mentioned, there are only a couple of things to remember.
1. Always wear eye protection, just in case a blade breaks (rare, but it does happen).
2. Don't feed round things into it - the blade will grab them and wreck itself and them.
3. Always have the upper guide as close to the wood as possible - it's more accurate and there's less room for your fingers.
4. As with any machine, have a 'red zone' around the blade that your fingers never go into when the machine's plugged in. Use a push stick.

Also, when I first got my bandsaw, I had a almost overwhelming instinct to brush the dust off the table with my fingers after each cut - with the blade running. Had to make a conscious effort not too.

I agree wholeheartedly with Alex.

If the blade breaks, it stops because it is the blade that drives itself off the lower wheel.

Respect it but do not be afraid of it, there are far more scarier tools out there than a bandsaw.

The other unmentioned major difference between a bandsaw and circular saw is that a bandsaw has no tendency to throw stuff back at you because of the linear nature of the movement of the blade. I have had some scary incidents with a circular saw but bandsaws are pussy cats by comparison.

Which is not to say that you should cast caution aside, it can still eat the fingers of the unwary (ask butchers) but it is a reasonably safe machine.

The only injuries I have suffered are with hand tools. Almost always because I was doing something ill advised.

Toni
Congratulations on your purchase, hope you are happy with it. As Alex has said Have a 'red zone' around the blade that your fingers never go into and simply respect any machine that has a moving blade. Bandsaws tend to run much quiter than tablesaws and if you have your dusty running it would be quite easy to forget that the blade on your bandsaw was not moving. I just had visions of Alex brushing the dust off his table and they weren't good. I got my 16"H&F in Nov 06 and still getting used to using it. I bought Mark Duginski's book on bandsaws and still wading through that. Well worth the money although you will do a much better price on internet from OS. Mine was hardback and still cost less that Aust paperback even with postage and conversion to Aus $. Jus take it slowly and think about what you are going to do before doing it. As everyone else has said there is tonnes of stuff on the forum about bandsaws - you could spend so much time reading that you end up with no shed time. Enjoy and be safe.
David

The best safety advise I've ignored, to my detriment , is "If it slips or breaks where's it gonna go?".

This advise applies not only to sharp moving things, heavy blunt things do damage as well.

By always keeping this thought in mind I think you can turn your terror into respect.

Originally Posted by Fuzzie

The best safety advise I've ignored, to my detriment , is "If it slips or breaks where's it gonna go?".

Excellent advice.

Bandsaws are great. Have fun using it. Mine is a secondhand one sounds about the same size as yours. New blades arent too expensive, and you can get different types for different jobs ie ripping, cutting curves etc.

Donna

The worst part of a bandsaw is the folding and unfolding of wide (3/4"+) blades!

I use my bandsaw considerably more than my tablesaw. You can put your fingers 1/2" from a moving bandsaw blade - would you do that with a tablesaw?

For reference, most tablesaw blades spin at 3500+ rpm, while a bandsaw is about 1400 rpm. The spinning of a circular blade with grab at edges and throw things (kickback) at you, at high speed! A bandsaw is linear and does none of the above.

The above should not be read to suggest that a bandsaw is safe to fool with - all bladed tools are a potential danger - just that the bandsaw is one of the less hazardous of all those in a workshop. As with everything, get to know it well.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by lubbing5cherubs

HI Guys,

I have a question for you. I picked up a bandsaw second hand and I have not yet had the courage to use it or even start it. I am terrified of a table saw and this bandsaw is a lot larger than my GMC baby with the light on it. Do I have any reason to be afraid of the machine.(like I mean respect one thing but terrified) If I can use the GMC will the larger bandsaw be much different? I can't try it now til MOnday as it has already moved into Townsville but still this is worrying me a bit. I do not want to buy this large eye sore and not be able to use it. Does a 14 or 15" Whichever it is does it run as fast as a table saw.
Thanks Toni

The most important thing to be aware of, is to be very carefull of putting round objects through the band saw, because the saw can catch a round object and spin it arond in a dangerous manner.For instance dont put a log in sideways only cut along the grain.

Originally Posted by AlexS

Also, when I first got my bandsaw, I had a almost overwhelming instinct to brush the dust off the table with my fingers after each cut - with the blade running. Had to make a conscious effort not too.

you know, i was not affraid of my bandsaw until i read that. i have the same urge to brush away dust with my hands and i can picture myself doing this...

having said that, as long as you are safety concious a bandsaw is a very safe tool

Originally Posted by bentley

The most important thing to be aware of, is to be very carefull of putting round objects through the band saw, because the saw can catch a round object and spin it arond in a dangerous manner.For instance dont put a log in sideways only cut along the grain.

Yes, yes, YES! Better still don't put a log through by itself, either way. Make a v-cradle for it to sit in instead and you'll be 100 times safer.

Similarly, before cutting a piece put it on the bandsaw table and make sure it doesn't rock. If it does, think about packing a corner or two until it sits flat. A hot-melt glue gun and your scrap bin works well for this.

Hi Tony,

I got a 10" Metabo for Christmas, and I was VERY quickly more comfortable with the BS, than I have ever been with the tablesaw (Triton). It has now become my most used piece of gear in the shed, and I don't know how I existed before I got it.

Hi Toni,
I have a 14" BS from Carbatec, and as others have said, I use use it more than the tablesaw. The latest "quicky" use was making points on some 1.8m garden stakes!
Our wise tutor at night class woodturning says people think bandsaws are safer than tablesaws because they make less noise. Don't be fooled. Treat all sharp tools with the respect they deserve, and always try to finish a job with the same number of fingers as you started with. (I'm sure you've heard that before.)
If you are really too timid to start the machine up for your first cut, is there not someone in your local community who could give you a bit of guidance? A few minutes of one to one help would be miles better than heaps of reading on the internet.

Anyway give it a go. For your first session do some practice cuts , no more than 25mm thick timber using the fence and a push stick. You'll soon get the hang of it. Do curves and circles, (plywood on the flat) when you get more confident, later thicker material for say turnery blanks , and lastly round pieces but in a v shaped sled, as others have said.

By the way, my machine had to be assmbled before I could use it, and I found setting it up, getting the tracking right, adjusting the top and bottom guides and getting the blade tension right was all much more difficult that setting up the table saw. I'm still fiddling with the blade guides.

Anyway, best wishes, and let us know how you go.

Cheers,

ROB NZ