This is catching the MOAM's attention today….. the bandsaw is the friendly one in the shop. It cuts down toward the table, so it doesn't throw stock back at your belt buckle like a table saw can. That's exactly why people get casual with it. But the blade is still an open strip of steel running at full speed, and almost every bandsaw story starts with a hand that wandered into the wrong spot. Here's the short list I run through, pulled from the saw makers' own manuals and the woodworking magazines.
Why it matters: Popular Woodworking points out that a bandsaw's cutting force is aimed at the table, which all but eliminates kickback toward you. It can still drag small offcuts down into the throat plate, and a bad cut can snap the blade or pull it off the wheels. The Grizzly manual says dull blades take more effort and raise the risk of accidents, and OSHA's woodworking rules call for pulling dull, badly set or improperly tensioned saws out of service before they start to jam or kick back.
Materials
- A sharp blade that suits the job, not cracked and with no missing teeth
- Safety glasses, hearing protection and a dust mask or respirator
- A push stick or two, and a shop brush for the table
- A V-block or cradle jig for any round stock
- Your saw's owner's manual (yes, really, because the numbers differ)
Tools
- The bandsaw, unplugged for setup
- A pencil for the layout line
- A shop vac or dust collector hooked up
Steps
- Unplug it and check the blade. Teeth point down toward the table. Look it over for cracks and missing teeth before every use. Grizzly says not to run a dull, cracked or badly worn blade. Fine Woodworking's tell for a dull one is that it takes extra pressure to cut, runs hotter and leaves a dark end on the kerf. Make sure the wheel covers are closed.
- Set tension and guides. Tension to the scale for the blade width, as your manual says. Grizzly's 14" saw fine-tunes it by backing the tension off until the blade just flutters, then going 1/4 turn tighter. Set the guides and thrust bearing close to the blade without touching it. Grizzly says about 0.016" behind the blade (four thicknesses of a folded dollar bill) and Laguna says about 1/16" behind the teeth.
- Drop the upper guide to about 1/4" above the stock and lock the post. Laguna, Grizzly's 9" saw, and the University of Washington shop all say 1/4". Popular Woodworking says 1/4" or less, since a guide set too high leaves the blade unsupported and it can twist. Rikon says 1/8" to 1/4". Be aware that Grizzly's 14" manual allows up to 1", and Fine Woodworking's curve-cutting article uses 1/2" as a gap that still blocks your fingers from passing under. Follow your manual, and keep it as low as the cut allows.
- Plan the cut so you never back out of a curve. Match the blade width to the radius. Fine Woodworking says a 1/2" blade won't make a 1" radius. For a tight curve, make relief cuts first from the waste edge, stopping just short of the line and about an inch apart. The waste falls away in small pieces and the blade doesn't pinch. Backing out of a short straight cut is OK, but not out of a curve, where the stock can catch the back of the blade and pull it off the wheels.
- Suit up. Glasses, hearing protection, and a dust mask, with the dust collector running. Laguna, Rikon and Grizzly all list these.
- Set your hand zone. Popular Woodworking says to keep your hands outside a 3" boundary around the blade and the guide/guard. The University of Washington shop says at least 2" to the side of the blade and never in front of it. I go with 3". Hold the stock flat on the table with your hands off to the sides. Never put your fingers in line with the blade. Narrow or small pieces get a push stick, jig or vise. Scraps on the table get a brush or a stick, never your fingers.
- Round stock goes in a V-block. A dowel on the bare table is unsupported where the blade bites it, so it spins and drags your fingers in. The University of Washington says to hold round or cylindrical pieces in a V fixture, and Popular Woodworking says to V-block all round stock. Betty Scarpino wrote in American Woodturner that a dowel as small as 1/4" can break a blade. Keep your hands at the outer ends of the jig, well off the cut line.
- Start and cut. Switch on and let it come to full speed first. Never start with the work touching the blade. Feed evenly with light pressure, and don't twist the blade around small curves. If the motor is dragging, you're feeding too fast. Lightly cupped boards go cupped side down on the table. Grizzly says not to cut badly warped stock at all.
- Stop it, then fix it. To back a piece out of a curve, jammed scrap or a broken blade: switch off and let the blade stop on its own. Don't try to slow it with your hand or the wood. Unplug it before you reach into the table slot to clear a jam. When you're done, wait for a full stop, unplug, brush off the table and, if it's going to sit, release the blade tension (Grizzly and Laguna both say this saves blade and saw).
One more thing on stance: Popular Woodworking says the blade, if it breaks and flies off the wheels, tends to whip to the right as you face the saw. Facing the blade is the usual stance. Keep a balanced footing, and don't stand in the whip path when you don't have to.
MOAM's shop note: The easy mistake is raising the guide for one tall cut and then leaving it up for the next skinny one. It takes five seconds to drop it, and that's the difference between a blade that's guarded and supported and one that's waving around in the open. Do it every cut, along with the glasses and the push stick. The number of times I've heard "I only needed one quick cut" is the reason these rules exist.
Sources: Laguna V10 Bandsaw owner's manual; Grizzly Model W1706 14" and W1878 9" bandsaw manuals; Rikon 10-324TG 14" bandsaw manual; University of Washington Woodshop band saw safety procedures; Popular Woodworking, "Band Saws" (2008); Fine Woodworking, "How to Cut Flawless Curves on the Bandsaw"; Betty Scarpino, American Woodturner (Feb 2016); OSHA 29 CFR 1910.213 (bandsaws and inspection and maintenance of woodworking machinery). OSHA's rules are written for workplaces; they're still good sense in a home shop.
MOAM Out.
This is catching the MOAM's attention today….. the bandsaw is the friendly one in the shop. It cuts down toward the table, so it doesn't throw stock back at your belt buckle like a table saw can. That's exactly why people get casual with it. But the blade is still an open strip of steel running at full speed, and almost every bandsaw story starts with a hand that wandered into the wrong spot. Here's the short list I run through, pulled from the saw makers' own manuals and the woodworking magazines.
Why it matters: Popular Woodworking points out that a bandsaw's cutting force is aimed at the table, which all but eliminates kickback toward you. It can still drag small offcuts down into the throat plate, and a bad cut can snap the blade or pull it off the wheels. The Grizzly manual says dull blades take more effort and raise the risk of accidents, and OSHA's woodworking rules call for pulling dull, badly set or improperly tensioned saws out of service before they start to jam or kick back.
Materials
- A sharp blade that suits the job, not cracked and with no missing teeth
- Safety glasses, hearing protection and a dust mask or respirator
- A push stick or two, and a shop brush for the table
- A V-block or cradle jig for any round stock
- Your saw's owner's manual (yes, really, because the numbers differ)
Tools
- The bandsaw, unplugged for setup
- A pencil for the layout line
- A shop vac or dust collector hooked up
Steps
- Unplug it and check the blade. Teeth point down toward the table. Look it over for cracks and missing teeth before every use. Grizzly says not to run a dull, cracked or badly worn blade. Fine Woodworking's tell for a dull one is that it takes extra pressure to cut, runs hotter and leaves a dark end on the kerf. Make sure the wheel covers are closed.
- Set tension and guides. Tension to the scale for the blade width, as your manual says. Grizzly's 14" saw fine-tunes it by backing the tension off until the blade just flutters, then going 1/4 turn tighter. Set the guides and thrust bearing close to the blade without touching it. Grizzly says about 0.016" behind the blade (four thicknesses of a folded dollar bill) and Laguna says about 1/16" behind the teeth.
- Drop the upper guide to about 1/4" above the stock and lock the post. Laguna, Grizzly's 9" saw, and the University of Washington shop all say 1/4". Popular Woodworking says 1/4" or less, since a guide set too high leaves the blade unsupported and it can twist. Rikon says 1/8" to 1/4". Be aware that Grizzly's 14" manual allows up to 1", and Fine Woodworking's curve-cutting article uses 1/2" as a gap that still blocks your fingers from passing under. Follow your manual, and keep it as low as the cut allows.
- Plan the cut so you never back out of a curve. Match the blade width to the radius. Fine Woodworking says a 1/2" blade won't make a 1" radius. For a tight curve, make relief cuts first from the waste edge, stopping just short of the line and about an inch apart. The waste falls away in small pieces and the blade doesn't pinch. Backing out of a short straight cut is OK, but not out of a curve, where the stock can catch the back of the blade and pull it off the wheels.
- Suit up. Glasses, hearing protection, and a dust mask, with the dust collector running. Laguna, Rikon and Grizzly all list these.
- Set your hand zone. Popular Woodworking says to keep your hands outside a 3" boundary around the blade and the guide/guard. The University of Washington shop says at least 2" to the side of the blade and never in front of it. I go with 3". Hold the stock flat on the table with your hands off to the sides. Never put your fingers in line with the blade. Narrow or small pieces get a push stick, jig or vise. Scraps on the table get a brush or a stick, never your fingers.
- Round stock goes in a V-block. A dowel on the bare table is unsupported where the blade bites it, so it spins and drags your fingers in. The University of Washington says to hold round or cylindrical pieces in a V fixture, and Popular Woodworking says to V-block all round stock. Betty Scarpino wrote in American Woodturner that a dowel as small as 1/4" can break a blade. Keep your hands at the outer ends of the jig, well off the cut line.
- Start and cut. Switch on and let it come to full speed first. Never start with the work touching the blade. Feed evenly with light pressure, and don't twist the blade around small curves. If the motor is dragging, you're feeding too fast. Lightly cupped boards go cupped side down on the table. Grizzly says not to cut badly warped stock at all.
- Stop it, then fix it. To back a piece out of a curve, jammed scrap or a broken blade: switch off and let the blade stop on its own. Don't try to slow it with your hand or the wood. Unplug it before you reach into the table slot to clear a jam. When you're done, wait for a full stop, unplug, brush off the table and, if it's going to sit, release the blade tension (Grizzly and Laguna both say this saves blade and saw).
One more thing on stance: Popular Woodworking says the blade, if it breaks and flies off the wheels, tends to whip to the right as you face the saw. Facing the blade is the usual stance. Keep a balanced footing, and don't stand in the whip path when you don't have to.
MOAM's shop note: The easy mistake is raising the guide for one tall cut and then leaving it up for the next skinny one. It takes five seconds to drop it, and that's the difference between a blade that's guarded and supported and one that's waving around in the open. Do it every cut, along with the glasses and the push stick. The number of times I've heard "I only needed one quick cut" is the reason these rules exist.
Sources: Laguna V10 Bandsaw owner's manual; Grizzly Model W1706 14" and W1878 9" bandsaw manuals; Rikon 10-324TG 14" bandsaw manual; University of Washington Woodshop band saw safety procedures; Popular Woodworking, "Band Saws" (2008); Fine Woodworking, "How to Cut Flawless Curves on the Bandsaw"; Betty Scarpino, American Woodturner (Feb 2016); OSHA 29 CFR 1910.213 (bandsaws and inspection and maintenance of woodworking machinery). OSHA's rules are written for workplaces; they're still good sense in a home shop.
MOAM Out.
