Be careful with bandsaws, they are very dangerous. Because bandsaws run so slowly most persons tend to be less careful while sawing. Never push on the material where your fingers could run into the blade. Been there, done that.

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Originally posted by c1steve:
Be careful with bandsaws, they are very dangerous. Because bandsaws run so slowly most persons tend to be less careful while sawing. Never push on the material where your fingers could run into the blade. Been there, done that.

Band saws certainly deserve respect, but I think table saws and radial arm saws are worse.

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Originally posted by maladat:

quote:

Originally posted by c1steve:
Be careful with bandsaws, they are very dangerous. Because bandsaws run so slowly most persons tend to be less careful while sawing. Never push on the material where your fingers could run into the blade. Been there, done that.

Band saws certainly deserve respect, but I think table saws and radial arm saws are worse.

Table saws and radial arm saws, band saws, as well as skill saws, will all cut off your finger before you can blink. The fact that the blade on a band saw runs at a smaller sfpm does't matter. Our brains don't react that fast. Good safety practices, even without guards, trumps all.
 

Always remember, fingers don't grow back. I don't mean to disparage anyone but I just don't understand how people can be so unsafe with power tools.

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Teach me something about bandsaws

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I've used bandsaws before, but never my own.

KEEP YOUR FINGERS OUT OF THE WAY!

Every woodshop teacher I ever had was missing a part of a hand or something....

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Originally posted by henryaz:
Table saws and radial arm saws, band saws, as well as skill saws, will all cut off your finger before you can blink.  

No doubt about that.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:
The fact that the blade on a band saw runs at a smaller sfpm does't matter. Our brains don't react that fast.
 

My comment didn't have anything to do with how fast the teeth move.

People seem to get their fingers in the way of the blade more often with radial arm saws because of the blade moving.

Table saws have the additional risk of kickback, which can hurt you pretty badly directly or can yank some part of you into the blade.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
My comment didn't have anything to do with how fast the teeth move.

I understand, but the quote within, from c1steve, did.
 

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
Table saws have the additional risk of kickback, which can hurt you pretty badly directly or can yank some part of you into the blade.

Best practice there is to use a push stick if your hand would be at all close to the blade, and as much as possible, don't stand directly behind the workpiece. In 25 years of using a table saw 40 hours/week, I had one kickback. Didn't hurt me or anyone else, but it broke a window pane 50 feet away.
 
 
One other note about the bandsaw. If you store, or acquire, your blades folded, make sure you have unfolded it correctly prior to installing it on the wheels. If you have unfolded it inside out, the teeth will be pointing up instead of down, and it won't cut very well.
 

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
My comment didn't have anything to do with how fast the teeth move.

I understand, but the quote within, from c1steve, did.

Sorry, I missed that.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
Table saws have the additional risk of kickback, which can hurt you pretty badly directly or can yank some part of you into the blade.

Best practice there is to use a push stick if your hand would be at all close to the blade, and as much as possible, don't stand directly behind the workpiece. In 25 years of using a table saw 40 hours/week, I had one kickback. Didn't hurt me or anyone else, but it broke a window pane 50 feet away.
 

You can do a lot to minimize the risk (a riving knife type guard is a huge help). Also making damned sure there isn't a screw or a nail in the wood for the blade to catch.

I think it's mainly a problem in that people who haven't seen it happen don't expect it and/or don't believe that it's that big a deal.

I have also had exactly one bad kickback, and you'd better believe I stay out from in front of the blade now and NEVER hold the wood behind the blade.

I was ripping an approximately 3 foot long 2x4 sized piece of wood into narrower strips, the blade caught, and it shot the piece across the room and put a significant dent in the wood wall (this was in a garage).

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:You can do a lot to minimize the risk (a riving knife type guard is a huge help). Also making damned sure there isn't a screw or a nail in the wood for the blade to catch.

Good tips. Also, good anti-kickback pawls. If you value your fingers, Sawstop is an option for a table saw. Not aware of anything similar for a band saw.

Pardon another slight drift. Radial arm saws employ a climb cutting technique. The blade cuts from the top surface of a board downward. That means that the blades should have zero degree of hook on the teeth to minimize the tendency of the saw to become "self feeding" and come toward you with velocity and potentially disastrous results.

Let's try this idea, bandsaws are neither safe nor dangerous, they are like guns - it is all about the operator. Know your tools.

Here someone is asking for guidance. Stop with this is safer, this isn't stuff. First hand stories are good, they paint pictures in his mind and often lessons are learned without having to make the mistake on his own.

Best possible I can offer, find an old woodworker and tap him for all he can offer. Some of that is happening here, but we can't stand beside him to really speed the learning.

Me? I own a tablesaw, bandsaw and jigsaw. I won't own a radial arm saw. I am a shop teacher with 9 7/8 fingers. I'll be 60 in a few months. None of those saws have trimmed my digits.

One of my friends owns a non-profit woodshop.

I made a donation of a 14" Powermatic bandsaw.

It's been great and both of us figure that the bandsaw has to be one of the safer power-saw type tools in the shop. I guess a drill press would be safer, but between the planer, the joiner, and the table saw, the jig-saw, router, etc there are a lot of more dangerous power tools in that shop.

That bandsaw has enabled me to do some pretty cool stuff like:



Just like any other power tool, you need to give it the respect it deserves and know both what it is capable of doing and what it can't do.

I would contact the manufacturer and see if they can send you a manual, or maybe download one to help with blade installation and adjusting the guides.

The thicker the blade (tooth to spine) generally speaking, the faster and courser the cut. We keep two blades at the shop: one is a fine cutting 3/8" for near-scroll cuts and the other is a 1/2" for ripping through thicker boards. The powermatic as a quick-change feature for changing blades. It's nifty, but not exactly quick-change (more like quicker change).

Thanks for all the great advice and suggestions. I've ordered a new blade. It seems to be an uncommon size, 72". Once that gets here, I'll run it and see how it does.