Band Saw Safety

[hockenbery]

the chain saw and face shield threads are important.

Most serious injuries to turners I know have come from the handsaw.

I remember from high school shop that the bandsaw is in the grocery cutting meat.

Never push any body part toward the blade
keep the saw adjusted properly
be sure the piece being cut is properly supported.
be attentive

two bad ones:
a guy was cutting a bunch of 2x2 into bottle stopper blanks. He was running them through the saw thumbs pushing on each side of the blade. He lost his concentration and ran one through with his hand shifted so that he ran his thumb through behind the wood. It was reattached surgically.

the worst one. a guy was rushing too much in cutting a bowl blank. He was using too much pressure. The blank had a big pocket of punky wood which the blade fed through quickly. his palm and wrist hit the blade. 30-40 stitches but he may well have bled to death if a friend had not been working in the same shop at the time.

 

[flyrod444]

After teaching high school shop for 27 years I would say the bandsaw has caused more injury's than any tool in our school shop. Luckly only one of them needed to see a Doc and it didn't take but a few weeks for this student to get over his mistake. This student had his thumb in the path of the cut and took about 1/3 or his thumb nail and some flesh off with this mistake. The one thing that has bent and even broke a few blades in our school shop is when a student tries to cut something round on the bandsaw and it catches which rotates the piece into the blade. I've had a few blades bent from students tring to to cut a piece of wood that is uneven on the side that is resting on the table. It is very important to saw a flat surface on your blank before you put it on a bandsaw to cut a blank and keep you hands located where they are out of the path of the blade if a slip does occur. Last but not least, keep sharp blades on the saw, never use a dull blade, this causes one to put to much force on the wood which can lead to a bad slip. Dull blades are ready to break sometimes as well. I've never seen a broken blade exit the saw and I would like to keep it that way.
Jack

 

[George Guadiane]

Years ago, I was at a school meeting for one of my kids...
I overheard a discussion about a bandsaw accident, so I muscled in...
The guy was showing off his "battle scar" and explaining how, with a dull blade and an attention lapse, he had managed to collect more than two dozen stitches in the palm of his hand.
Since that night, I visualize that hand and as many of the other possible hazards as I can, before I start up the saw...
I feel like (for me) reviewing the results of dull tools and more importantly, bad judgment, will keep me from making most of those mistakes, most of the time, and reduce the odds that I manage to hurt myself.

 

[john lucas]

I had to photograph in a foam factory. They slice the foam into 8 foot wide 1 foot thick slabs using what looks like a horizontal bandsaw but has a razor blade for the band. It makes almost no noise, just a whir of wind. That thing is incredibly scary, it actually made me shiver watching it cut.
I read that Sawstop is working on a bandsaw version of their sawstop. That would be a welcome tool if it comes along and isn't priced out of reach.
I try my best to never let my hands get in the path of the blade no matter how thick the wood. I feel it's a bad habit. It's probably the scariest machine in my shop. Of course I don't own a shaper, those things really scare me.

 

[robo hippy]

Paying attention is probably the most important safety reminder for any work. Having sharp tools so you don't have to force things through is another. I would add stay out of the line of fire as well, weather pushing some thing through, or cutting some thing that is in motion, or cutting on a table saw.

I would love to see a Myth Busters episode on table saw kick back. 12 inch blade on 5 hp table saw..........

robo hippy

 

[ray hampton]

Paying attention is probably the most important safety reminder for any work. Having sharp tools so you don't have to force things through is another. I would add stay out of the line of fire as well, weather pushing some thing through, or cutting some thing that is in motion, or cutting on a table saw.

I would love to see a Myth Busters episode on table saw kick back. 12 inch blade on 5 hp table saw..........

robo hippy

I do not remember the date but a student at a local voc. school were using a table saw and the wood got caught by the blade and were throw across the room and stuck another student in the head

 

[waltben]

This and the other threads all point to the fact that every tool we use as turners has the potential to be deadly, or at least very injurious. The neophyte is the one that needs the most 'padding' and safety equipment for certain. These folks are the ones who also have the most respect for what they are using though. The folks with moderate to good experience levels are those that tend to sometimes loose focus, forget to follow basic techniques, or whatever. Almost all tools, powered and hand, have well documented and understood ways to be used. The reason a standard power drill has fifteen pages of safety stuff in its manual and three pages of how to use it is because of people who think they can do whatever they want with them and then sue if they get hurt. My personal belief is that anyone stupid enough to let even a part of a finger get in the path of a band saw blade (and I've an MM20) deserves what they get - myself included. Trying to make a chain saw cut without having firm footing and full range of motion is in the same category. Forrest had it right as far as safety with power tools goes: "Stupid is as stupid does".

 

[robo hippy]

Or another quote from Robert Heinline from Time Enough for Love,"Stupidity is a fatal disease."

robo hippy

 

[Bob Hadley]

Our shop teacher reinforced the concept every afternoon.
At the 10 minute bell he'd hold up both hands, fingers stretched out, including the one stub and say: "Nine and a half minutes."

 

[hockenbery]

Two things I keep in mind.

Your most important piece of safety equipment is an alert mind - Clay Foster

The most dangerous tool is the one you are using - Steve Gleasner

Not sure if these guys invented the phrases they are just the people I heard t
them from.

Happy Turining
Al

 

[alexc]

I got lucky once, somehow I stuck my thump in the way of the blade it caught and pulled my thumb down, luckily it was only a flesh wound and just needed a couple bandaids.

 

[rjandre]

Machine Safety

A lot of good advice on safety in this thread. I am a shop teacher in middle school and I place a very high emphasis on safety. Every student must be able to demonstrate safe and proper tool operation and pass a written safety test with a 90% or better score. Sharp blades, don't line any body part up with the blade, pay attention, always have your hands in sight, and TTD (think then do) are just a few of our mantras. 8'th graders in wood shop are certainly an attention demanding bunch but it's the best job I've ever had.

 

[Richard Baker]

It is good to have these safety reminders frequently on the forums. I like to use a push block against the area that is headed toward the bandsaw blade, even when it is several inches from the blade.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I have raked my hand against a bandsaw blade when the saw was not running and got a fairly nasty cut -- it gives me a case of the willies to think what it could do to my hand if actually running. BTW, I guess that most of use know that butcher shops use bandsaws to cut meat and bone -- a job that it does quite well.

 

[Joe Greiner]

On another woodworking forum, a bloke has signature lines:

Any thing with sharp teeth eats meat.
Most power tools have sharp teeth.
People are made of meat.

 

[Roger Chandler]

safety space triangle

Hello all,

I have been woodworking for over 21 years, and the bandsaw was one of my first purchases. I also cut meat for a number of large retail stores in the east, and the meat bandsaw was an all day, every day, deal, as well as knives etc.

Thankfully, I have all 10 of my fingers still [I thank God] and that is because one has to think the whole time one is using a saw of any kind, especially a bandsaw, and tablesaw [radial arm, also].

For the bandsaw, there is a safety triangle that should always be maintained, that is the with of a closed fist on either side of the blade. the point of the triangle is at the front of the table when you line up your cut, and then widens out as you move towards the blade.

A great idea is to mark some lines on your bandsaw table in the shape of this triangle, as a reminder to place hands properly on the piece being sawed, and to trigger that safety issue to the front of your mind. I think that a red colored "sharpie" is the best as red will make you think "blood."

 

[craterdog]

Bandsaw Safety

Does anyone have a set of plans for a bandsaw jig to hold and support round logs, so they can be cut safely with less concern about them catching and twisting? I have used large hand screws on small logs but they don't have enough surface area to grip a log more than 4" or 5" in diameter.

 

[Richard Baker]

Crater, I made a crude sled with a piece of 2x4 across the front for logs to 5" (capacity of my saw). The log is clamped to the cross bar with a large C clamp. It takes some fiddling to be sure the log is securely clamped. Not really a good method but ok for small logs and at least it feeds the log straight through the blade with no twist or wiggle. A better way might be a sled with a V bed for the log and sturdy hold down from the top. Have seen pictures of one like this that should work well. Surely someone here has a good design.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I prefer to screw the log to the holding fixture. I'll go ahead and state the obvious: make absolutely sure that the screws will not be close to the path of the cut.

 

[robo hippy]

I have been thinking about building a sled for some time. There seems to be one problem, and that is blade tracking. Every time I replace a blade, the tracking changes slightly, so any sled would have be able to change with the tracking, or you would have to be able to set up the blade exactly the same way each time. If the sled is off slightly, then your blade will bind. I have been attempting to do this by leaving the thrust bearing in place when I change, then adjusting the wheels till the blade is back on the thrust bearing. It would be neat if we could have a laser guide or some thing we could hook up to the bandsaw to show us exactly how the blade is tracking, then lining up the sled would be simple.

robo hippy

 

[waltben]

I tried a sled on my first band saw, a 16" Jet, and really didn't like it. I've found it's a lot safer and easier to just use a chain saw to halve logs. Once cut in half, you've a flat (or almost flat) surface to lay it on your band saw table.

 

[john lucas]

A sled works extremely well. You can put wedges under the piece to keep it from shifting on you. This really saves your blade from binding and potentially saves your fingers because you won't be pushing the wood so hard.

 

[waltben]

But if your smallish sized band saw doesn't have the horsepower, it takes forever to slice a decent sized green log in half. A chain saw will do it in much less time.

 

[Joe Greiner]

I have been thinking about building a sled for some time. There seems to be one problem, and that is blade tracking. Every time I replace a blade, the tracking changes slightly, so any sled would have be able to change with the tracking, or you would have to be able to set up the blade exactly the same way each time. If the sled is off slightly, then your blade will bind. I have been attempting to do this by leaving the thrust bearing in place when I change, then adjusting the wheels till the blade is back on the thrust bearing. It would be neat if we could have a laser guide or some thing we could hook up to the bandsaw to show us exactly how the blade is tracking, then lining up the sled would be simple.

robo hippy

Google [duginske bandsaw] to find his book. I don't have a copy yet, but I think he recommends "tuning" your bandsaw to account for off-axis tracking, i.e. adjusting a fence to match the blade. Considering how tenuously a narrow blade is held in position, it's a minor miracle that any of them track at all.

A sled guided by the miter slot might have a chance with a wide blade.

For cutting circular blanks, it helps to alternate the direction of spinning, so that the blade set is diminished more equally on each side of the blade.

 

[craterdog]

Bandsaw Safety

I think I may have answered the question I posted yesterday about plans for a jig to cut logs on the bandsaw. I found an article/plans for one at www.laymar-crafts.co.uk called a log cutting sled. It looks like it answers most, if not all of the issues raised and it's simple to make.
Tim Carter

 

[Roger Chandler]

log sled

I made a log sled for my band saw. I have 3, one of which is an 18" Jet, and the sled is capable of cutting log pieces up to 24 inches or so long. It is marked with 1 inch increments so I can make boards or I can use it to split logs in half, with a 1-1/4" x 1-1/2 tpi blade. It is adjustable if I want to make a slab of 3 or 4 inches thick.

My biggest drawback is the saw only has 12" of clearance under the upper blade guard rollers, so I have to limit the size of log I mount. I agree with Bill Boehme, I use screws to secure the log to the sled, so it won't roll, but make sure I stay away from them in the cutting process.

A secure log is a lot to handle and you need outboard and side support, and you definitely don't want it to roll - very dangerous!

 

[Vaughn]

Does anyone have a set of plans for a bandsaw jig to hold and support round logs, so they can be cut safely with less concern about them catching and twisting? I have used large hand screws on small logs but they don't have enough surface area to grip a log more than 4" or 5" in diameter.

I've posted pics of my sled and bandsaw outfeed table on the Family Woodworking forum. You'll need to be a member to view the pictures, but the thread is here:

http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?p=139159#post139159

I didn't have any plans...just made it to fit my saw.