The focus of this guide is to show you the many uses of a band saw.
When you need a power tool for artistic wood designs, band saws should be among the first tools to purchase. This tool isn’t only restricted to woodcutting as you’ll soon find out.
With the information provided here, you’re able to make better use of this tool.
Band Saw Uses
Band saws have lots of uses.
This section considers some of the many uses of this power tool. A few of these uses include re-sawing logs into sizeable pieces, cutting structural steels, for decorative cuts, meat cutting, cutting curves & circles, and creating a tenon joint.
Other band saw uses include billet shaping and making notches. Listing band saw uses alone won’t do justice to our discussion.
As such, we’ll get into the basics of what each of these points actually means.
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Re-Sawing Logs to Sizeable Pieces
With a wide blade selection, setup, and cutting tips, and shop-made jigs, you can use band saws to re-saw large logs to lumber, veneer, or thin boards. You must use your band saw correctly to avoid the breaking of blades.
Apart from knowing its uses, you also need to know how to operate this piece of machinery. Safety precautions should be paramount to avoid accidents that may arise.
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Cutting Structural Steels
Apart from wood, band saws are also used on metal and steel. This power tool is effective in metal fabrication workshops for shaping and cutting all sorts of steel and metals.
Despite its many benefits, band saws can only cut through thin steel sheets.
Anything more than this will prove difficult due to the power rating of the tool. Despite the limitation of band saws for structural steel cutting, they’re still useful tools to have around.
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Making Decorative Cuts
Decorative cuts are among the most popular uses of band saws.
These saws make it easy for your users to manipulate their material in creating unique shapes and designs. Decorative cuts are possible because there are minimal vibrations on the stock.
Fewer vibrations or disruptions translate into more precision. This makes the band saws a favorite tool for technicians and professionals alike.
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Meat Cutting
If you thought band saws were only for wood and metal cutting or shaping alone, you’re wrong! This tool is also useful in slaughterhouses for meat processing. But meats are soft right? They are! However, the bones aren’t. It takes a special tool such as band saws to neatly cut through bones.
If you’re a butcher or know one, you’ve likely seen or used a band saw before. These are specially designed band saws for this purpose.
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Cutting Curves & Circles
Curve and circles are among common patterns applicable to furniture and several other items. To make or create these patterns requires getting a band saw. The stability provided by less vibration means you get to push or guide your material around your band saw effectively.
What results is a perfect curve or circle. Curves and circles come in different radii, therefore, tight curves will require using an appropriate blade. There are various blade sizes for different types of jobs.
You only need to choose what will be most suitable for a particular job.
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Creating a Tenon Joint
If you’re into woodwork or have the knowledge or interest, you should know about mortice and tenon joints. The aim is to fix or join two planks of wood firmly together. To do this, you’ll need a band saw to create a tenon tongue. This tool helps you create one to accurately fit into a mortice.
When crafted, the tenon tongue is inserted into the mortise hole. Some glue may be added to increase the strength of the bond.
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Billet Shaping
The application of band saws for cutting and shaping extends to this area. Here, bar stocks or billets are shaped using band saws to create a variety of shapes. The use of band saws for billet shaping is mostly done by machine manufacturers.
However, even in such situations, band saws are quite limited as they mostly cut square or rectangular shapes.
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Making Notches
Band saws see a lot of applications in the woodwork industry. These range from furniture production to roofing among other things. As a carpenter, you should find this power tool very effective in creating or making the right cuts.
Popular Band Saw Brands to Consider
Band saws come in various models and power ratings. These and more will influence your selection. Different tasks require a different band saw tools.
For example, those designed for meat processing are much different from those used for metal cutting, and so on.
We’ve added a few of the popular band saw brands to consider. They include Grizzly G0555LX Deluxe Band saw, WEN 3962 Band Saw, the RIKON 10-305 Band Saw, SKIL 3386-01 Bench Top Band Saw, and POWERMATIC PWBS-14CS Woodworking Bands.
Others include the JET JWBS-14DXPRO Deluxe Pro Band Saw and POWERTEC BS900 Benchtop Band Saw.
What to Consider when Choosing a Band Saw
Not every band saw is suitable for every work. There are certain considerations you’ll need to make when selecting your preferred power tool. These range from the horsepower, frame, table, throat, weight, blade width, as well as accessories.
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Horsepower
The power rating of a band is very important. Now, there are three main categories when it comes to power rating; those below 1 horsepower; those with a 1 horsepower rating, and those above 1 horsepower. Heavy-duty jobs will require more power (horsepower above 1).
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Frame
It’s important to consider the type of frame involved. Durable frames are those made of steel or cast iron. This consideration should be paramount in helping you make a decision.
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Table
Like the frame, the table should be made of durable material. These include cast iron or steel. The stronger the table, the more support it offers for your material.
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Throat
The throat determines the width your model handles or contains. As such, large materials will require similar-sized band saws.
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Weight
To choose the right band saw, you’ll need to consider its weight. What do you need from your power tool? Certain band saws are very heavy while others are light.
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Blade Width
We earlier mentioned that blades come in various sizes. You should choose a band saw that fits blades within a specific range.
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Accessories
The more accessories accompanying your band saw, the better. Some accessories might not be needed at present but may become very useful in the future.
By now, you should have a better picture of what band saws can be used for. We’ve listed the different uses of this powerful tool and also included critical points to consider when buying one.
