How to use a bandsaw in home workshop tips, Cutting advice, Property woodwork guide
How to Use a Bandsaw at Home Workshop
2 August, 2021
Bandsaws are the tool of choice for both expert and amateur workers who are looking for a tool that can give a piece of wood a compact shape as well as a curve. Be it a large wood bandsaw, a medium-sized meat bandsaw, or a hand-held one, they are proven to be the best tool to do such work. But many people, especially amateurs, struggle to properly use a bandsaw in their homes.
Band Saws are usually vertical saws that are placed on a table and the wood is passed along the blade to cut the wood according to the worker’s preferred shape or size. It is extremely easier to use than other kinds of saws like jigsaws.
Let me now show you how to use a bandsaw at home workshop:
What is a bandsaw
First, let’s have some idea about what a bandsaw is. It is a power saw having a usually long blade that is extremely sharp and used to cut wood, metal, and other materials. There are a few advantages of using a handheld metal bandsaw other than a jigsaw – https://toolshaven.com/best-portable-band-saw.
- Due to the blade of the jigsaw being short, you can only cut one or two pieces of wood simultaneously. But as the bandsaw has a long blade, you can easily cut more than 6 pieces of wood at the same time.
- After cutting with a jigsaw, the dust is deposited on the top of the surface which is bothersome. But a bandsaw cuts downward, which makes the dust fall down, so you don’t have to worry about cleaning your wood.
How to use a bandsaw for different types of cuts
Now that we know about a bandsaw, let’s see how to use a bandsaw at home-workshop.
- Curved cut:
You can easily cut various shapes and curves with a bandsaw, which is its primary use. Draw a curved line on your board and just guide it along the blade to get your preferred shape and curve.
- Circular cut:
You can even cut a circular shape. You can do it in two ways. One is that you draw a circle on the board and rotate it along the blade and you’ll have a circular cut. But the problem with this is it may not always be a perfect circle and you have to use a sharp chisel to cut out the extra wood. But if you make a pivot in the circle and rotate it around that, you will get a perfect circle.
- Resawing lumber:
Another way you can use a bandsaw is by resawing lumber. It means you saw an already sawed piece of wood in smaller pieces. At first, make sure both your lumber and the saw are at 90° angles. If the lumber isn’t, then run it along with a joiner and then draw a line along which you want the saw to go through. Then all you have to do is hold the piece of wood in its place and the saw will do the rest. By this process, you can easily get as many smaller pieces of wood as you need without any fuss.
- Cutting Notches:
You can also cut notches in woods which is extremely difficult to do with either circular saws or jigsaws. Circular saws leave overcuts and are not exactly safe to use for notches. But with a bandsaw, you can cut notches like nobody’s business. It can be done in the same process as any other cuts.
- repurposing scrap wood:
Another excellent use of a bandsaw is repurposing scrap wood. If you do woodwork at your home workshop, there has to be a ton of unused pieces of wood lying around. Instead of throwing them away or wasting them, you can use a bandsaw to make suitable shaped and sized pieces out of these.
It is difficult to do with any other saws as jigsaws won’t allow larger pieces to be cut and circular saws won’t always give you the right shape. But a bandsaw will give you exactly the shape you want and help you make good use of these scrap woods.
How to use a bandsaw in home workshop Final words
We now have learned how to use a bandsaw at home workshop. But always remember, no matter how efficient a saw is or how many safety features it might have, it is an extremely sharp and dangerous tool to use, especially if you are inexperienced. So, use proper safety gear and maintain safety measures while using it. Now, it is your turn to give this tool a go. Have a nice day!
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