bandsaw near accident

[moyo]

Been woodworking for a number of years now and recently took up woodturning. Getting sidetracked is a nemesis of mine and yesterday was no exception. I took a 6" diameter piece of spalted maple branch to the bandsaw to cut 1 inch disks. Didn't think about using my jig that I built just for this purpose, guess I figured that I could hold the wood with my right hand. That blade snatched that piece of wood outta my hand and somehow all at the same time jerked the insert out of the table, jammed the wood sideways and bent the blade. All this with my hand about 1 inch from the blade....technical term for my actions was DumbShit...

Looks like lady luck smiled on me. Think I need to play the lottery

Moyo

[charlie b]

Ah freehanding. I've heard that's how Sam Maloof lost part of a finger. Got is smashed between the piece he was freehand cutting and the bandsaw table top.

So was this a "time to change my shorts" incident?

Glad you're ok and that you were willing to share the experience to perhaps save others (me for example) some grief. Thanks.

charlie b

[Jim K]

snipped

[Silvan]

Funny... Me too, sort of. I was attempting to make a little pointy thing out of steel rod to stick into a dowel hole, so I could locate the precise point on the opposing piece for drilling the other hole. I made it too long, and I was trying to cut the end off on my metal bandsaw. Too short to hold any other way, so I tried to freehand it. Lost control, and it jerked my hand into the blade.

That's the good thing about a metal-cutting bandsaw though. It'll cut your finger off if you can stand to hold it there long enough, but it isn't going to do it fast. It didn't even break the skin.

I came to my senses after that, chucked the piece into my bench vise and cut it with a good old fashioned hacksaw.

Then I stuck it into the hole, and... Now it's glued inside that piece forever. It was too short, and I couldn't extract it without destroying the piece.

DumbShit is right.

[Andy Dingley]

Only accident I've had on my (wood cutting) bandsaw was when someone used to freehand-cutting on their metal cutting bandsaw came over to borrow it for a while. "Culture shock" bit them.

-- Smert' spamionam

[BUB 209]

When you're using a bandsaw, "anything round is out of bounds," I've had the blade grab dowel rods even.

[Silvan]

I can imagine...

I keep mine at the lowest speed all the time too. I think it's 80 FPM.

What's low for a wood cutter? I haven't ever used one, actually, but I gather they crank the blade around rather faster than that.

[clutch]

Wow, a new way to get hurt. Do you have more details since I can't understand the dynamics of what happened. Since I encountered a too close one that I recovered from, I have become very interested on how some one gets hurt.

Wes

moyo wrote:

[Mark Ohlund]

For about $2.00 you can buy "center points" at the BORG that do exactly what you're trying to do for 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 inch holes.

[Silvan]

I'd be shocked if they have them at the local BORG. I know what you're talking about, but I haven't seen them. Anyway, it was one of those gotta have it right now things, and I was trying to be inventive.

[Jim K]

[Silvan]

Um. Yeah, that's just a smidgeon faster, isn't it? :)