Bandsaw safety

Re: Bandsaw safety

Keith Tompkins

>HI John, when I teach a bandsaw course, I stress keeping your balance, and planning each cut in advance. I like to reach behind the blade, and pull the wood through the blade to finish the cut. This is safer than two hands approaching the blade at the end of the cut.

When cutting bowl blanks, there is one area that is the most risky.....if the blank is "square" there are four points where the blade will come close to the edge of the blank. If the blade leaves the wood, it may do so with a sudden lurch, causing the operator to push his left hand right into the blade. The chance of this happening are higher when the blade was cutting with the grain, then begins to cut across the grain. Having the left hand behind the blade helps eliminate this danger.

An old trick, use the BACK edge of the blade as a guide, much like a turner uses the bevel to control a cut. With practice, the operator can gain much more control by using this method.

Re: Bandsaw safety

Dave Shombert

>John,

Two things come to mind immediately, and I imagine that they're both on your list already:

(1) The cut has to be supported - no cutting a log section off the centerline.

(2) Use a sharp blade. A dull blade leads one to force the cut, always dangerous on any saw.

There's lots of other stuff, of course, but those are two biggies.

One other thing, which may sound nutty but it works for me: I'm a fiddle player. I have a picture of myself playing fiddle, taken by a friend at a festival, taped to my bandsaw. It reminds me how much I like having my fingers. Most people could easily think of an analagous activity for themselves.

Dave Shombert

Elkins, WV

Re: Bandsaw safety

Dale Stansbery

>Never free hand cross cut a round cross section log. Wow, that can be scary when it grabs and gets away from you, especially with a 4 tpi blade.

Re: Bandsaw safety

Mark Kauder. Phenix City, AL

>John,

As I push wood of any kind/shape through the BS, I always try to think, based on the pressure I am exerting with my hands, where would my hands/fingers go if all resistance disappeared. If the answer is into the blade - they are in the wrong place.

Also, like Keith, when making straight cuts/resawing, I like to reach behind the blade and pull the last few inches through, rather than push.

Mark

Re: Bandsaw safety

Peter Teubel

>Try that with a 3tpi blade....even scarier!

Re: Bandsaw safety

john Lucas

>Keith

My technique exactly. I try to keep my hands out of the line of the blade at all costs.

Re: Bandsaw safety

john Lucas

>Dave

I play guitar. Good idea on the photo. I used to have a piece of plywood over my table saw. It had a huge gouge in it where it got away from me. Fortunately no injury. I wrote "Think" on it and hung it where Ihad to see the gouge and the words every time I use the saw.

Re: Bandsaw safety

john Lucas

>DAle and Peter. I agree. I build a V shaped support for my saw to hold pieces like this. I don't have one for new saw so I need to build it.

I also use an L shaped jig to rip round pieces. I clamp, nail, hot glue, wedge etc, whatever is needed to hold the piece for the first few cuts.

Re: Bandsaw safety

john Lucas

>Good idea Mark. I think that goes along with planning the cut.

Keep sending these in. I'm copying them down so I won't forget to mention anything.

Re: Bandsaw safety

Pete in Holland

>1) Never put your pushing hand in the path of the blade.

2) Never cut round stock without putting some means of keeping it from turning (V-block is not a good fix)

3) Make sure the blade is tracking in the guides properly (don't know how many times I've used band saws here at work and have spent several minutes tuning the allignment)

4) Never run without the blade fully guarded (other than the cutting area). Broken blades can lance out of a machine or get tangled in the wheels and create a macabe scene.

5) Always unplug a machine when opening any guards or changing blades.

6) Make sure all adjustments are tight before starting the machine.

7) Keep the upper blade guide assembly close to your work piece to minimize open blade exposure.

Re: Bandsaw safety

Raymond Overman in SC

>As a fairly new amateur woodworker, one of the things I've noticed getting me into a position that could potentially be dangerous is not evaluating whether the tool was right for the job.

Just because you can rip a 6 inch wide board on your 14" bandsaw from a log with a Timberwolf AS series blade doesn't necessarily mean you can cut a 6 inch deep bowl blank with the same speed or intensity. Overloading the tool can cause unexpected and dangerous results. Giving specifics on blade type, width, and capacity with some examples of different woods in a course would be useful and help with safety. A spreadsheet handout with that type information for different woods would be excellent! Send me a copy if you develop one please.

Re: Bandsaw safety

Dick Hines

>As I have said many times before when band saw safety comes up,use a pust stick. I keep a few of these laying around or on the was table at times. Thay way I have one handy when I need one. NEVER let any part of your body cross the blade center line.

The only true way to cut ood on a band saw is have someone else do it for you.

No wants to be called stuby. Be careful.

Re: Bandsaw safety

Arch

>All very good cautions for us to keep in mind. Some are intuitive for many bandsawers, but the risk is in _not keeping them in mind. Inattention injures and kills. Wool gathering complacency, epecially when cutting batches, or listening to the radio or looking out the window, steals safety when using any tool. Since we turners often cut green logs, the wet, heavy, unbalanced wood with unknown innards makes the bandsaw a special thief.

ATTENTION must be paid!

Turn to Safety, Arch

Re: Bandsaw safety

Doug in Md

>Hi John,

One thing that I saw someone do (in a video I think) was to paint a two inch line on their bandsaw table back from the blade to remind them of the cut zone. It helps you to keep in mind that if your fingers are in that red area, then you're in the danger zone.

About a year ago, when I first started lurking on the board, there were several postings from 4 or 5 guys who had had bandsaw accidents. It's real easy to get complacent on the band saw and those posts woke me up real fast. I think that one of the most important things is to not get too smug, especially when you are cutting alot at one time. You really need to stay focused.

Doug

Re: Bandsaw safety

Andy in Raleigh

>Don't forget blade care - wear gloves and use the same technique consistently to coil/uncoil blades. Secure coiled blades in at least two places 180 degrees apart.

Don't use the wrong blade for an operation, even if it is just a quick cut. I have used to small/fine a blade to cut stock just because I only needed a couple of cuts and I was trying to save time. Instead I wasted a bunch of time getting a bound blade out of the cut.

BS SAFETY**KIDS**

Bernie

>I use small padlocks on all my tools when not in use. They fit perfectly in the hole in one of the plug prongs. I have two boy 3 and 6 I don't

ever what a machine to turn on when I am not there. PS only I have the key.......

Re: Bandsaw safety

Bob Hackett

>Think like a newbie.

I keep forgetting that everybody in the world doesn`t know about tacking a plywood disc to the top as a guide for sawing out a half log.

Talk about guides,how to set them,check them,clean them,proper clearance to blade(folded dollar bill works well)and how to keep the thrust bearing in back clean and working.This bearing seems to be the most abused part on most turner`s saws.

Demonstrate how to properly round the back of a blade.It makes more difference than you`d think.

Stess having a properly aimed task light where it will do the most good.A good light keeps you focused and helps avoid mistakes.

Mainely,Bob

Re: Bandsaw safety

dick mcneill

>Happened to me. Resawing a board on a typically small 14 inch saw table, I enlisted the aid of a student to hold the board as it was being cut. Thinking I was finished the holder let the board go. The weighht of the board caused the wood to rise up, the blade swerved to the right into my hand (still guiding the wood) and cut the top of my thumb off

Re: Bandsaw safety--Keith

adrien

>Keith, you said, "An old trick, use the BACK edge of the blade as a guide, much like a turner uses the bevel to control a cut. With practice, the operator can gain much more control by using this method."

Would you kindly explicate in more detail? It sounds like it would be very useful.

Re: Bandsaw safety

Rodney in Maypearl, TX

>The closest I have come to having an "event" on the bandsaw, and it's happened a couple of times, is nearly getting grabbed by the blade as it was emerging from a thick bowl blank that I was roughing to round. The "spring-back" from the emerging blade has my full attention now.

Also, I've broken 2 blades. Both occured when I put the blade in a bind while attempting to cut too tight a radius in a thick blank.

Re: Bandsaw safety--Keith

Keith Tompkins

>Hi Adrien, Try this. Draw a straight line on a piece of scrap, and start a cut on the bandsaw, following the line. Stop the cut somewhere near the center of the piece, then practice just skimming along the line, using the back edge of the blade to limit the depth of cut.

Once you get the idea, you can use the same method for circular and fancy cuts also. I worked in a furniture factory, some of the guys there did nothing but bandsaw work. I learned the technique from them....their speed and accuracy was incredible.

No small pieces handheld

Mike Brazeau

>I have written on my bandsaw table with a permanent marker - No Small Pieces. Twice I had the coarse blade usually in my saw take them through the plastic insert and jam the blade, ruining it except for roughing work. I now hold anything small in an old fashioned wooden clamp. Ditto for table saw when applicable.

Mike