I had an interesting little research session on wrangling band saw blades several weeks ago. I seemed to recall being shown how to fold a band saw blade MANY times and each time I took a mental note of how it’s done. Unfortunately this is the same part of my brain that gets confused about tying knots. Inevitably I forget each and every time I’m faced with a band saw blade.
tame me.
Even more upsetting was the realization that I didn’t know how to properly UNfold a band saw blade. In school I vaguely remember being shown how to just toss the blade out onto the floor. I did this in my shop and managed to not let go soon enough and then watched with dismay as the blade landed teeth down on my concrete floor. Those band saw blades really take a bite while unfurling! “I can do better” I thought to myself and vowed to finally master the art of band saw blade wrangling.
So I hit my ever-ready source of knowledge-lending– the interwebs. I quickly found the method of folding a band saw blade that worked best for me, the one handed method, which apparently is recommended only for smaller band saw blade diameters. It’s easiest to remember and I avoid getting nicked by the teeth. And then in the same video the biggest revelation– there IS in fact a safe way to unfold a band saw blade. Here is the hands down BEST instructional video clip on band saw blade coiling and uncoiling.
The man in this video is a master, I never tire of watching it. Safe and controlled. Beautiful.
If you want to do it the hard way… follow any number of the other videos I unearthed during my research…
Here’s the ginger one footed twisting method… note how it only gently whips around at the end…
Here’s the “willing it to turn out right” method… don’t miss the uncoiling in the last seconds of the video!
And my FAVOURITE… tossing band saw blades in a field… just me, the field and my band saw blade…
Coming up next I’ll discuss a repetition injury, and later a few words on my employment situation.
Warped Boards 