Thread: What Happens when a blade breaks?

What sort of guarding does it have?

A picture would be worth a thousand words here!

True story, I will organise a photo in the morning, but I've boxed in both wheels, and covered the blade at the non-cutting area, and where I've mounted the bearings, I've covered the blade with an angle-iron riser thingo.
The only blade area non-covered is the bit wherever you're cutting.

If you have put covers over everything as you've said, the blade just normally stops and hangs there

That's what happened when my blade broke. The blade just stopped.

Tex

The last one I broke, I couldn't get the top guides down to the top of the wood as the assy was hitting the fence; I was cutting laminations for pen blanks at the time.

There was the usual pant-browning BANG and about 2' of blade just sort of slithered out along the table... no great speed to it, but I still wouldn't want to have put it to the "touch test" at the time.

Thanks People,
I reckon, photos tomorrow, that I've got guards in everyplace....so they break and just hang there/????
Blade break is most likely, as I've brazed them, and I'm really agricultural at all the finer things in life.
The photos worry me, as you'll see all the crappy parts of my shed.

I'd say, from your description, that things would go as described by the other replies. That is; you'd be pretty safe as long as you have guarded-non-cutting area of the blade as close as possible to the material being cut.

Jeez Skew,
I might go back to the original 2 metre long bit of wood.......lack of knowledge on my part is scary sometimes.

Thanks Major,
I've been working in the dark here, and just read everypost I could, and googled everything on bandsaws, but the moment of truth is close at hand.
Ta!

I've seen quite a few blades break and they all behaved as described above - a bang, followed by the blade either sitting there or a bit sliding out, but no great dramas if it's properly guarded.

A good indication that the blade is about to go is when it starts moving backwards & forwards when under load. I think what happens is that a small crack starts to open at the back of the blade. If I see that happening it's time to stop and change the blade.

Like many of the replies above, I have seen several blades break whilst I have been using the Bandsaw; all but once the blades keep slithering uaround the wheels and eventually drop to the bottom of the cabinet, however several years ago while I was still teaching I broke one, and it went off like a piece of schrapnel and spread itself around the machine room in pieces about two inches long. I hit the deck and stayed there for about 5 minutes. On examination later every second tooth had been cracked probably caused by setting the saw on a cold morning two days earlier. Not a situation that is the norm especially on a large bandsaw.
Providing the wheels are guarded at all times and you keep the throat area covered when possible, you have nothing to worry about.
Fortunately there were no students in the machine room at the time, something that I used to be very strict on during my 25 years of teaching.

Kind Regards,
Ron.

Great,
Thanks for the info.........my only experience was a blade that broke in a mates shed....with guards off......and I swear it was chasing me,
I've built guards on every bit of mine that shows the slightest amount of teeth, so all your descriptions have been really helpful.......
I'll post a "before" photo to give you an idea why I was cautious.

Upgraded photos tomorrow day

Over the years I have had many blades break on me never anything to worry about as mentioned by those above

I can see why you were concerned, very important to get those wheels covered as it is easy to get the top wheel out of alignment vertically, and thats when the blade starts to walk out to meet you. Don't go overboard with guards around the throat area where you are cutting though; you need to be able to see what you are doing and cutting at all times and a guard can be a bloody pest in some cases.

Kind Regards,
Ron.