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Against the Grain: Bone-Headed Bandsawing

Ed Pirnik, Senior Web Producer

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What's wrong with this picture? In this latest installment of our Against the Grain game, we've asked you to identify the five woodworking no-no's seen in this photograph--but in reality, there's a sixth problem hidden somewhere in the photo. The first person to identify it will get a copy of Fox Chapel Publishing's "Built to Last: Outdoor Furniture."

Learn how to build 14 outdoor woodworking projects including chairs, benches, tables, and swings.

What's wrong with this picture? In this latest installment of our Against the Grain game, we've asked you to identify the five woodworking no-no's seen in this photograph--but in reality, there's a sixth problem hidden somewhere in the photo. The first person to identify it will get a copy of Fox Chapel Publishing's "Built to Last: Outdoor Furniture."

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Against the Grain: Bone-Headed Bandsawing
Resawing is one of those tricky woodworking skills that seems rather black and white when you first see it done. Fact is however, it requires proper preparation and set-up, and the subject in this latest installment of our Against the Grain game obviously hasn't done his homework.

Play Against the Grain 4: Bone-Headed Bandsawing

Actually, the fellow in the photo is my Fine Homebuilding colleague, Patrick McCombe, and in reality-he does know what he's doing-but I thought it'd be amusing to put him in the position of a woodworking newbie. Identify the five woodworking no-no's in this photograph and you've won the game!

New Zoom Function
You'll notice in this new Against the Grain game that we've added a new zoom function to help you hunt for clues as to what's wrong in this shop scene. Simply move the slider left or right, and navigate around the photograph using the scroll bars at the bottom and right side of the image.

Free Book Giveaway
But wait, there's more! Hidden in this image is a sixth, previously unmentioned mistake. Identify it correctly, and I'll send you a copy of Fox Chapel Publishing's book, Built to Last: Outdoor Furniture. Just in time for Spring and the return of patio furniture. The first person to ID that sixth mistake takes home the book.

Enjoy!

Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Bandsaws
by Roland Johnson $24.95 more info...

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UPDATE: Back to Basics: Fundamentals of Sharpening from Fox Chapel Publishing

Comments (45)

stewartpatch writes: When push comes to shove...

"...a blade that's too fine for the height of the stock your[sic] cutting."

Surely the editors of Fine Woodworking know he difference between you are and your. It seems that English teaching is no longer up to the atandards of yore.
Posted: 10:50 am on September 3rd

Fabuladico writes: Did anybody notice the lack of hearing protection?
Posted: 12:03 am on April 16th

9michael9 writes: Ok here goes nothing.
# 1 Didn't brush teeth before sawing.
#2 No hat that says; FINE WOODWORKING
#3 Black knob not turned the right way
#4 No fingernail polish
#5 Clean shaved, ruining the image of a rough and tough woodworker.

Everything else looks OK. Its the way I re-saw, so it must be.
Posted: 7:25 am on April 9th

jimboni writes: His eyes are looking at the outfeed hand and not the blade nor the hand that is in the path of the blade.
Posted: 1:01 pm on April 6th

DrChops writes: there are several things which bother me about this. lack of hearing protection and incorrect blade tension have been mentioned, but there is no outboard support. where he's standing, he'll have to reach way out to catch the board as it goes through, putting his body much too close to the blade. also, the table doesn't look to be set horizontal. finally, i hope he has some form of dust collection hooked up, or (1) he'll end up breathing it, and (2) dust will get between the blade and the wheel tire which will skew the blade tracking even more.
cheers, bert
Posted: 2:07 am on April 3rd

Diotte writes: Hey this was good one....being a relative newbie to bandsawing I got to practice virtually what I have read in the two books I got from Taunton on the bandsaw.
Posted: 10:42 am on April 2nd

berferdt writes: A new low has been found. The selections are as poor as the photography.
Posted: 11:54 pm on March 31st

MDCustom writes: Catstail, the chain looks like it is attached to the table alignment plug/bolt where the blade is removed. It isn't coming from his pocket. I lost points on that one until I zoomed in closer.

For the other Firefox users- the game works fine for me. Have you done all your updates? Adobe Flash, etc?
Posted: 7:36 pm on March 31st

cosmec502 writes: wow I found all the errors and ended up with -170! I started good with 200 points but I never thought that the face against the fence wasn't planed yet.
Posted: 1:05 pm on March 31st

hhmacdonald writes: I noticed he wasn't wearing any chain mail. My old shop teacher Mr Dugan's methods for safety was to scare every kid so bad that no one would dare use any tool more complicated than a hammer. We did not produce much but we did it safely.

Glad to see some sanity.
Posted: 5:08 pm on March 30th

Catstail writes: He has a chain from his rear pocket, a dangerous thing around moving machines, switches, etc.
Posted: 10:03 am on March 30th

crapot writes: I am surprised, he does not wear any device to protect his ears
Posted: 1:58 am on March 30th

Robinwood1 writes: That was a good one! Can I add that unless he is using the world famous Wobble Power 1/16" resaw blade,his tension (as indicated on the gauge to the right) is WAAAY off.
Posted: 8:15 pm on March 29th

jbgriffin writes: I went from a perfect score to -70 trying to click on the table angle!! I didn't see the side against the fence not being machined...
Posted: 7:39 pm on March 29th

Sandtazam writes: I noticed the table being out of square as well but I clicked on it and lost points. This is a great way to get woodworkers to avoid disaster.
I'd like to throw in an "Almost a disaster" Moment I had happen. I was using a pencil as a push stick on the bandsaw. I forgot to lower the upper guide down to the thickness of my material. By the time the pencil had pushed the piece of wood through the blade, I started feeling the wind off the blade on the top of my hand. Because I was pushing at an angle, by the time the wood was through, my fingers were about 1/2 an inch from the blade with out me even realizing it. Remember guys, always lower the top guide to the surface of your material. BTW the blade I almost got ate by is a 1-TPI carbide nick-named snagletooth. It would have cut my hand down the middle in a nano second. Thank God I felt the wind off the blade.
Posted: 7:28 pm on March 29th

cwschnepf writes: no ear protection
Posted: 4:53 pm on March 29th

epirnik writes: finefinefinewood: Have you seen the FW issues from pre-1995? Talk about facial hair! Woah!
Posted: 3:27 pm on March 29th

Red_F writes: FineFineFine, I'm not sure where the plaid in my closet came from. As far as facial hair, I remember that before I went to furniture school I couldn't grow a beard to save my life (neither can my dad). But about the time I graduated it seemed to fill in almost overnight. I consider it my diploma.
Posted: 1:22 pm on March 29th

finefinefinewood writes: lol, fair enough. I would love FWW to do an article on the mysteries surrounding plaid shirts and stylish facial hair in the woodworking community. Being under 25 years old, I can't seem to quite grasp the significance of 'the uniform'
Posted: 12:47 pm on March 29th

epirnik writes: Hey finefinewood: WHAT ABOUT PLAID!!???? LOL
Posted: 12:39 pm on March 29th

finefinefinewood writes: Woodworkers should always wear beige or brown shirts, so they aren't all dusty lookin' when they go for lunch. Black? Big no-no
Posted: 11:15 am on March 29th

carpentersbench writes: He should be using a vertical pivot bar to stay on the line for one thing.He's pinching the blade with the sawed slot.No push stick.He did not turn the board around to finish cut from other side.He has an elbo on the table,I think its better to operate woodworking machinerey the way a machinist thinks when operating metal working machinery- No body parts near or on the table and out of the line of fire if something went wrong,with everything securly clamped in an appropriate fixture or holding device.Im not sure if you can buy one since I do not own a band saw but, there should be an (adjustable feather board )that pivots with the board on the axis of the pivot bar, or possibly a spring loaded roller to keep presure on the board against the pivot bar about a sixteenth ahead of the cut so you can keep your hands off the table.
Posted: 10:55 am on March 29th

epirnik writes: saschafer:
I just noticed you pointed folks to the Flash update. Thanks for pitching in - it's much appreciated.
Best,
Ed
Posted: 8:30 am on March 29th

epirnik writes: Congratulations Texaswoodturner - you've got the book!
Cheers,
Ed
Posted: 8:28 am on March 29th

epirnik writes: Hi folks,

Anyone having issues with the game not playing in a particular browser should update their Flash player. It's actually a Flash update that is required.
Cheers,
Ed
Posted: 8:28 am on March 29th

saschafer writes:
@CreativeWorks:

I've confirmed that it works fine in Firefox 3.6.x with Adobe Flash 10.2.x, but does not work with Flash 10.1.x.

Firefox is the only browser of the ones I tried (IE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari) that doesn't automatically update the Flash plug-in; you have to go to the Adobe download page and install the update from there.

-Steve

Posted: 8:24 am on March 29th

B_Large writes: The picture makes me cringe, almost to the point of sickness. I am sure he will be suprised as that saw bisects his left hand leaving it severed on the table.

Perhaps the game is wrong here? Name something going RIGHT in that picture!

Safety Glasses?
Posted: 8:17 am on March 29th

CreativeWorks writes: Definitely does not work in Firefox. If he's almost through the cut, his hand should NOT be behind the board
Posted: 7:51 am on March 29th

Steven321 writes: His right hand should be useing a push stick or anti-cut glove.
The fence is not the right size for the stock being resawn.
There is no kerf spacer to keep the blade from closing in on the sawn stock.
The hieght adjustment isnt right for the board being sawn.
There should be an out feed table to support the length of stock being sawn.
The Blade is incorrectly tensioned, and perhaps the wrong blade to use for resawing with the grain. (its hard to see the blade).
He's haveing way to much fun.
Posted: 7:36 am on March 29th

biltut writes: Too narrow a blade for resawing......if not the blade width adjustment is set incorrectly.
Posted: 7:25 am on March 29th

c4cet writes: When you zoom in,it looks like a he has a cell phone on the table in the very dark section. Is this too make a call to 911 when he cuts his hand.
Posted: 7:20 am on March 29th

Monark540 writes: Hmm, seems like he can't easily reach the shut-off switch from where he's standing.
Posted: 6:55 am on March 29th

Monark540 writes: Hmm, seems like he can't easily reach the shut-off switch from where he's standing.
Posted: 6:55 am on March 29th

rickjoyce writes: fence height too low, no push stick, hand forward of the piece, appears he is putting too much "push" on it - forcing it, i can't make out the blade, but it should not exceed 3 tpi
Posted: 6:51 am on March 29th

woodpuppy writes: I would also have surfaced one side of the lumber to gain a better chance of getting a straight cut.
Posted: 6:45 am on March 29th

Greg Scala writes: No hearing protection.

Posted: 6:40 am on March 29th

trkremser writes: The blade has too many teeth. Should be 3 tpi or less.
Posted: 6:33 am on March 29th

woodpuppy writes: I also don't think he should be standing directly behind the saw and pushing the lumber thru with his hand.
Posted: 6:32 am on March 29th

woodpuppy writes: Looks to me like the lumber is not dried to the proper moisture content and I don't see the resaw bar mounted to the fence.
Posted: 6:30 am on March 29th

knottless writes: In reference to the Bone-Headed Bandsawing no-nos, I would say that for resawing the incorrect size of blade type is installed.
Posted: 5:59 am on March 29th

fraser howard writes: OK, so how do I play? Do I give my answers here for all to see? Or, if not, then where? And when I click in the image I receive a negative score. Is this a clue as to how to play your game that I'm not picking up on? Totally, utterly, completly stumped.
Posted: 10:07 pm on March 28th

tsangell writes: The tensioner reads "0" - I am betting he isn't cutting with a zero-inch blade, so his blade is not properly tensioned.
Posted: 9:44 pm on March 28th

saschafer writes:
@redryba:

I think you just need to upgrade to the latest version of Adobe Flash (10.2).

-Steve

Posted: 9:14 pm on March 28th

redryba writes: Unfortunately, the new enhanced version of the game doesn't work worth diddly in Firefox.
Posted: 4:57 pm on March 28th

texaswoodturner writes: table is at an angle to the blade (not perpendicular).
Posted: 4:25 pm on March 28th

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