I just got the Feb, 2005 Fine Woodworking and there’s an article called “Listen to your tools.” It mentions the tick tick tick of a bandsaw with a bad blade.
When I was in college (1974) I worked in a small custom sawmill for a summer. One day I was stacking on the re-saw and I heard a tick tick tick. Looking up, I saw the guy feeding the saw hit the red button and start running for the door. Then I noticed that everyone else was running for the door – including some old fat guys I didn’t know could run at all. Needless to say, I did the same.
Eventually, the saw spun down and we all went to look. This saw had six foot wheels and the blade was 8″ wide. And there was a crack through six of those eight inches. Then they told me why everyone was running: if it broke, it would go flying and would cut through whatever it hit. That would include people, building support posts, etc.
Kinda gave me some respect for the equipment.
I guess little bandsaws are probably not so dangerous, but I think I’d be pretty careful if I heard that tick tick tick. At least turn it off and hand turn the wheels until you’re sure you know the cause.
Replies
That sounds like a scary experience!
Would that happen on our (relatively) small machines? I've been reading about bandsaws and I remember reading one passage that mentions if a bandsaw blade brakes, it's extremely likley that since the blades themselves don't really have any inertia and without any tension on them from the wheels, they just kind of bunch up in the wheel housings.
Should I toss this bandsaw book out for giving bad advice or is this more of a worry on certain sized machines?
Regards,
Donald
I think the only problem could come from the drive wheel area. If something pinches the blade against the drive wheel, it'll keep feeding it out. Once the blade is out, problem should be gone. With luck, it'll snake into the upper housing. Without luck, it'll feed out of the upper housing wherever it can go, but you can't really push a rope. Not that it would be a best-case scenario, it would be worse with a much wider blade.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I'm no expert in these matters. I just told what happened to me. It was a big saw with a lot more power than the little ones we use. (I have a Delta 14".) It was a good point about these smaller blades having less mass. And it was a good point about "pushing a rope". But when the rope snaps, and it is under very high tension, it can also do a lot of damage. (I will forebear from telling my breaking towing hawser story.:-) A broken blade may not cut your arm off, but it seems like it could still shred some skin. I think the point of the article was to pay attention and listen to the tools and take action before they bite you.
I'm not too eager to be near a blade when it goes, but at least with a 14" it's not quite as dangerous as a big saw. Was this 8" blade on an old bandsaw without covers on the wheels? I wouldn't want to work on one of those. That's just asking for trouble. I thought the 7.5 HP radial arm with the badly sharpened blades was bad enough.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
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