Learning About Bandsaws19

Learning About Bandsaws

Bandsaws are machines powered by a variety of different sources. These machines use a blade that is long, narrow, flexible and a continuous band. The bandsaw blades have teeth that span the entire circumference of the blade. The bandsaw blades move on two pulley type wheels. A bandsaw is good for working with metal, wood or other materials and are very handy for cutting odd shapes. The width of the band determines how big of a radial curve can be cut with that particular saw.

Automated bandsaws are used in mass production environments. There are advantages to this automation. All feed rates, returns, falls, part clamping and part feeding is preset and automatic. In many manufacturing facilities it is neither possible nor cost effective to have an operator to run each saw. In the case of automation, one operator is capable of overseeing many saws at one time. Many automated saws use CNC or NC controls to perform precise, accurate and faster cuts.

Headsaws are most often used in logging and milling. They are bandsaws that are large enough to cut through large logs. The teeth on a headsaw are usually spaced about two inches apart on the cutting side of the blade. The back of the bandsaw blades are equipped with sliver teeth which serve to move the slivers out of the path of the blade as it backs out of the log. When cutting logs for boards and veneers, the cut is made along the grain with a resaw. Resaw blades are wider than normal bandsaw blades, usually about three inches. Another type of large bandsaw is the double cut saw which is equipped with teeth on both sides of the band's blade.

Bandsaws are preferred and used by logging mills for the ripping process because they have a smaller kerf than circular blades and produce much less waste. Bandsaw blades in logging mills can be as wide as sixteen inches. They are tightly stretched across two wheels which drive the blade in a circular motion. Saw filers and saw doctors are the men responsible for the blades and the saws in a sawmill. They maintain the machine itself, determine the needed depth of the teeth, and make sure that the bandsaw blades are sharp to avoid damaging the lumber.