Resawing on Bandsaw: What safety precautions or devices do you use?

[Stephen Edwards]

I'm curious to know what techniques folks use for safety, you know, keeping your fingers, when resawing on the the BS. Are there any special safety devices, guards, etc. that you use? I know about push blocks and push sticks.

What do you consider to be the most dangerous type of cut on the BS. What do you do, when resawing, (especially thin stock) to make SURE that your hand doesn't go into the blade when the trailing end of the piece of stock passes through the blade? At the moment that the board is through the blade, and there's no more resistance, that's the really scary moment IMHO.

Again, I'm just curious to to hear from others about BS safety techniques, especially in regards to resawing.

Thanks!

[Dave Sweeney]

If you keep your fingers at least 3" away from the blade 100% of the time you'll be golden. Follow that rule and regardless of what type of jig or fancy dodad you buy your fingers will be safe.

[Dan Mitchell]

I think the bandsaw is generally considered one of the safer machines in the woodshop, (certainly compared to the table saw) though I did cut myself on a bandsaw badly enough to require stitches back in my high school shop class days, many moons ago.

Wasn't all bad, I milked the injury to get me out of GYM CLASS for a couple weeks... :D

I find a featherboard to be very helpful when resawing. I recently got a couple of the double sided magswitch ones which I find work especially well on the smaller bandsaw table http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2005970/22521/Magswitch-Universal-Magnetic-Featherboard.aspx.

Dan

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Personally, I just use a good fence and a push stick. I also think that cutting curves in thinner stock, so the work can move pretty fast, is probably the most dangerous thing that I do with a bandsaw. Resawing is slow enough that it seems safer.

One thing to note with resawing, make sure the push stick is on the table as the saw blade leaves the stock, and potentially enters the stick. If its not, the blade will grab it hard, and push it to the table violently. At the least, it really gets your attention.

[David DeCristoforo]

Rule 1: Don't stick your fingers in the blade.
Rule 2: Don't stick any other body parts in the blade.
Rule 3: Don't expose any more blade than you need to for the cut.
Rule 4: Make sure your blade is sharp.
Rule 5: Remember to be extra careful when "breaking through" the end of the cut. Push stick or block is good here.
Rule 6: There is no rule six.
Rule 7: Don't think that the bandsaw is any less dangerous than any other power tool. It's not. That's the kind of thinking that can get you hurt.
Rule 8: Take your time. Let the saw do the work. Don't try to force the cut especially when resawing wider stock.

[David Freed]

I am 99.99% sure you won't want to consider this option, but I cut several thousand bf using an industrial resaw feeder that I bought a few years ago. It works fantastic. Perfect cuts every time. 8 speeds to feed properly into 1 to 20 hp saw. The drawback, and it's a big one, is the pricetag. Almost $2000. I am trying to sell it now, by the way. I don't have any need to resaw now.

[glenn bradley]

David's rule 7 is common sense but the idea that bandsaws are "safer" is pretty widespread; they're not. You have seen the butcher cutting up meat, right?

As to resaw; I follow all David's rules. I use infeed and outfeed supports, a tall fence, stacked featherboards and a push stick. On long stock I change to a pull position vs. pushing for the last few inches of the cut.

[Jim Finn]

yes when re sawing use a push stick and saftey glasses and don't forget a dust mask. re sawing generates a LOT of sawdust.

[John Coloccia]

IMHO, the most dangerous part of the cut is not the end. We're all expecting it to ease up around the end, and are extra vigilant. It's quite dangerous, however, when you hit a soft spot, and the same pressure that gave you a slow feed now suddenly give you a quick feed....

...and of course you're not ready for it, so things shift and the workpiece comes off the fence a little bit...

...and you were doing a relatively thin veneer, so the blade actually breaks out of the wood...and now there's no resistance...

And if you were pushing hard, with you're hand in line with the blade....well, you get the picture.

And if you're paying attention, none of this should ever happen, but it always seems to happen at just that one instant when you're scatter brained, and as much as I wish I could say that I'm always 100% attentive, the fact is that occasionally a random thought will distract me. And I have a couple chewed up push sticks to prove it. So to make it as safe as I can, I ALWAYS use a feather board and I ALWAYS use a combination of push sticks, shoes and hold downs to guide the work into the fence and into the blade. This also means that I have a very well tuned band saw so that I can use a straight fence, and not have to bother with curved fences and my hands to feed the work.

The other thing is to make sure you have a good, square board. At a minimum, the side against the fence and the side on the table should be jointed and square to each other. Trying to get a square cut by pushing an out of square piece against the fence is just asking for trouble.

All just my opinion, by the way.

[Myk Rian]

I always have push sticks nearby for when I get towards the end of the cut. Other than that, the band saw is one of the safer tools.
I am always careful when using ALL my machines. Ford Motor Co. made a point of cramming safety down our throats. I'm retired now but the lessons have stayed with me.

[Stephen Edwards]

Thank you, gentlemen, for your responses and suggestions. They all sound like good advice. I've been doing all the steps and taking all of the precautions mentioned thus far, with the exception of infeed and outfeed supports. Most of the boards that I've been resawing are 48" or less. At that length on my "G0555X I do as Glenn suggested; walk around the saw and finish the cut with a pull instead of a push. I need to build some supports.

David, I agree. I don't think for moment that the BS is any less dangerous than any other tool in the shop. I have a lot of respect for it, which is why I asked for you guys' opinions.

John, you make a good point on the "soft spots". I've just recently (within the past 18 months or so) begun to use a BS for resawing and haven't encountered that situation, yet. Thanks for that tip.

Again, I appreciate the your responses.

[Rick Moyer]

Rule 1: Don't stick your fingers in the blade.
Rule 2: Don't stick any other body parts in the blade.
Rule 3: Don't expose any more blade than you need to for the cut.
Rule 4: Make sure your blade is sharp.
Rule 5: Remember to be extra careful when "breaking through" the end of the cut. Push stick or block is good here.
Rule 6: There is no rule six.
Rule 7: Don't think that the bandsaw is any less dangerous than any other power tool. It's not. That's the kind of thinking that can get you hurt.
Rule 8: Take your time. Let the saw do the work. Don't try to force the cut especially when resawing wider stock.

I'm sorry that I have nothing to say, but I wanted to tell David that I thought his: Rule 6: There is no rule six was, as FOX likes to say,
"Very Funny":D

[David DeCristoforo]

"...I thought his: Rule 6: There is no rule six was, as FOX likes to say,
"Very Funny"..."

Yes, it is. But I have to confess that it's not "mine". I stole it from Monty Python...

[Ben Galluzzo]

David's rule 7 is common sense but the idea that bandsaws are "safer" is pretty widespread; they're not. You have seen the butcher cutting up meat, right?

If that doesn't put it into perspective...

Good point. ;)

[Curt Harms]

Not safe. There's no "catch it, lift it and throw it" tendency to band saws like there is with table saws. For resawing I use a featherboard to keep the bottom of the stock tight against the fence or fixture and use a push shoe to feed the stock so my fingers are not near the blade when it exits the work. I find myself using a band saw more and table saw less as long as I'm going to joint the edge anyway.

[Jeff Willard]

You have seen the butcher cutting up meat, right?


Don't need to see that, for I am he.

I use a tall featherboard that I made out of ash. Secured to the table with two Magswitches. This is actually for the sake of the wood, not myself, but anything that eliminates flesh from the equation enhances safety. Of course, a push stick is always at hand. I have a pair secured right to the saw frame with magnets. I think that outfeed support is often overlooked. Particularly in the case of those of us with smaller machines. Resawing a thick board of even moderate length can get a little dicey as you approach the end of the cut and the overhang starts to gain an advantage through leverage.

[glenn bradley]

I need to build some supports.

I have found that due to the way I move material onto and off of the saw when resawing, the caster-type supports work best. This is an old pic showing the change from the roller balls (very poor for WWing support stands as the area of contact is so small, they leave marks) to $1 HF casters. I'll try to get a new pic as I added a second row of casters since this pic.

[Dan Mitchell]

Why I consider band saws safer. Not safe. There's no "catch it, lift it and throw it" tendency to band saws like there is with table saws. For resawing I use a featherboard to keep the bottom of the stock tight against the fence or fixture and use a push shoe to feed the stock so my fingers are not near the blade when it exits the work. I find myself using a band saw more and table saw less as long as I'm going to joint the edge anyway.

Well put. Every machine in the shop is potentially hazardous and needs to be treated with respect, but I think it's pretty obvious that the table saw is by its nature inherently more dangerous than is the band saw. I've seen no data on the subject (would be interesting to do so), but I would also guess that on average, injuries inflicted by a TS are more severe than those done by a BS.

Dan

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

keep body parts from contacting the blade.

One of the easiest mistakes to make is leaning in toward the cut.

When it works it saves you a little effort but, when it goes badly it takes parts of you with it.

[glenn bradley]

Here's a more recent shot of the caster / roller stand idea.

[Erik Frederiksen]

At the moment that the board is through the blade, and there's no more resistance, that's the really scary moment IMHO

I was cutting a small curved piece and at the moment above, pushed my thumb into the blade. Not a particularly deep cut (kerf really) but painful.

Definitely not a "safe" tool.

Keep your wits about you is about all I can advise.

[jim gossage]

I agree with the other posters here about push sticks, etc. I also set up so that the "keeper" piece is between the fence and the blade, rather than the other way around - this minimizes the chance of the blade coming through the other side (unless you get greedy and try to resaw the remaining 3/16" piece). I also like to use a gripper-ripper to hold the board against the fence as I push the piece through. It gives you excellent grip on the wood, and it puts something between your hand and the blade - but I still use a pushstick to push the cutoff through at the end of the cut.

[Rick Moyer]

Here's a more recent shot of the caster / roller stand idea.
I see in this post that you seem to have adapted these yourself. However, the first post looks to be a commercially made caster stand. I haven't seen any of those. Any details on both?

[Stephen Edwards]

Here's a more recent shot of the caster / roller stand idea.

That's slick......the only outfeed rollers that I ever had were some cheapos that I ended up giving away. That looks like a good solution, the casters. Thanks for sharing.

[Chip Lindley]

Ah, David! But, there IS a Rule #6!

Since the power of suggestion is sometimes mesmeric and overpowering, Never use a meat-cutting bandsaw to resaw wood!! Never use a wood-cutting bandsaw to cut meat!

Great bandsaw safety advice comes from the oddest places! As the Doctor, Sir Lawrence Olivier, asked Dustin Hoffman, in "Marathon Man," Eeees Eeeet Safe?

[Alan Zenreich]

"Rule 6: There is no rule six."

Hear hear, well spoken, Bruce.