Bandsaw kickback

[Anthony Whitesell]

Anything is possible. I was cutting a a piece about 4" square. More of a resaw cut. Just as the cut finished, the piece rotated about the blade, came back through towards me. One piece hit the tips of my fingers shattering the ends of a few fingernails then proceeded to curl my fingers and skin some knuckles. The other piece hit me in the stomach. Ironically I have never had a kickback from the table where the piece got launched. I have had a few situations where it almost or could have happened but was able to save or stop it.

[Roger Pozzi]

I've read this over and over but still don't understand just what you're describing.
Since a bandsaw blade's force is straight down, what caused the piece to be "launched" back at a 90 degree angle from the original driving force?

[Anthony Whitesell]

The piece came out of the saw like a frisbee on end. What I am thinking is somewhere in the top half of the trailing edge the blade caught causing the front edge to lift up and then proceeded to rotate up and back.

[Rod Sheridan]

I've read this over and over but still don't understand just what you're describing.
Since a bandsaw blade's force is straight down, what caused the piece to be "launched" back at a 90 degree angle from the original driving force?

He was cutting a 4" square piece in a resaw type of cut.

The 4" square piece is an unstable shape, the same as cutting a round cross section object.

All pieces that are capable of rotation must be held in a jig or clamp when sawing.................Regards, Rod.

[Matthew Hills]

Bandsaw kickback was the topic leading off the 18-March episode of the ShopTalk Live podcast.
Someone had followed a FWW article on a bandsawn box, and likely hadn't kept the leading edge flat on the table...

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/...ter-jim-richey

Anthony: what blade were you using? (am wondering if a coarser blade might be more likely to grab?)

Matt

[Anthony Whitesell]

To the best of my knowledge the leading edge was flat. But the piece was short (not a lot of leading edge weight to help resist lift or rotation). I was using a 1/2" 0.025" 4TPI blade. It has a nice twist in it now. At least I had gotten some use out of it before this happened.

[Jason Beam]

What were you pushing it through with?

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks for the safety reminder. The risk makes perfect sense. I have unwittingly made the same kind of cut in fact just this week.

[Chuck Raudonis]

I agree. I wasn't aware that this was even a problem and I've been bandsawing for years. It opened my eyes to something I need to be aware of. My fingers thank you.

[Anthony Whitesell]

What were you pushing it through with?

A regular push stick in my left hand for feeding and a safety push stick (narrow grrriper style) in my right to keep the piece against the fence.

I'm trying to recall if I had ever attempted to cut something of this size or shape on the bandsaw before. It was only about 4x4x5 and I was trying to rip cut a 1" piece off. It was too big for either the scroll saw or the table saw. The bandsaw was the first and logical choice.

[Anthony Whitesell]

My eyes were wide open as well. (about like that)

[Anthony Whitesell]

Bandsaw kickback was the topic leading off the 18-March episode of the ShopTalk Live podcast.
Someone had followed a FWW article on a bandsawn box, and likely hadn't kept the leading edge flat on the table...

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/...ter-jim-richey

Anthony: what blade were you using? (am wondering if a coarser blade might be more likely to grab?)

Matt

I would think finer (high TPI, shorter tooth height, shallower gullet) would have been better. The rule of thumb I had read was at least 4 teeth in the piece, I had 16 total (4 tpi, 4" tall).

Interesting commentary on the ShopTalk podcast about having the contact point of the blade being on the table or a cut that won't allow the piece to rise or pivot. If you were to follow those rules, what kind of jig or rigging would you need to cut cookies (large round slices from a log or branch) to meet that requirement?

[glenn bradley]

Thanks for sharing this Anthony. I can really see that frisbee effect in my mind and it is not a comforting visual Too many people consider the bandsaw a "safe" tool. We do know what they saw up animal carcasses with right?

The bandsaw is amazingly forgiving when cutting un-milled material due to the bands flex. This is what draws me to it for roughing out parts blanks prior to jointing, planing, etc. I do use some sort of carrier to cut small parts on any tool; a handscrew, a temporary sled, whatever.

That being said I did manage to embarrass myself at a woodworking gathering. I had been cutting discs off a large round limb at home. At the event I tried the same thing with a smaller piece. I must've been in a woodworking coma since I was NOT using my head about this. The piece grabbed and frisbee'd off into a corner. I froze hoping everyone was looking somewhere else . . . they weren't. Thankfully the only blood was the blood rushing to my face.

[John Schweikert]

Do you adjust your blade guard/upper guide bearings to sit close to your workpieces? That alone creates a blockade and prevents the wood from rotating up and flying at the woodworker.


I'm religious about adjusting the bearings to sit at most a 1/4" above the workpiece. Not for the rotation issue but just because excess open bandsaw blade is a recipe for something bad.

[Anthony Whitesell]

We do know what they saw up animal carcasses with right?

I tell my daughter the same thing my father told me. Saws don't know the difference between cutting wood, metal, or flesh and since flesh is softest it will the easiest.

I allow her to use a coping saw and she is very careful about it. She also has her own safety goggles, hearing protection (ear muffs), and work gloves that she uses willingly.