Bandsaw Accident

Whew. This one hurt. Although, it shouldn’t have because it shouldn’t have ever happened. Please learn from my mistake here.

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40 COMMENTS

  3. One of the first things I learned in Shop Class was; “never cut a round item on the band saw without securing it in a fixture.”

  5. Thanks for sharing. Really helpful in understanding how things like this happen, and how to prevent it in my shop. Glad you’re ok.

  6. Would using a jig made from the board bandsaw cut-offs been safer to have fully supported the cut? Especially if you are making several pieces and need full radius support against the table.
    Glad you weren’t seriously hurt. You have taught me a lesson. I didn’t think the band saw could kick back like that since the blade moves toward the table.

  7. That is one big lesson. Thank you for sharing it. Glad you aren’t hurt worse than you did.
    I don’t use round objects without a jig to support it. I find it too scary. I also hear you about the distractions, I need to do better with that as well.

  8. Thank you so much. This is going to help me be safer and will no doubt save injuries. As you said, mistakes are incredibly valuable as a teaching tool. Thanks for sharing.

  10. Thanks for sharing ! Never even thought of this procedure on cutting circles. But will keep it the front of my head for future projects. Glad you ok !

  11. So glad that you are ok. I have used wedges of scraps of wood to put on the front side of round or any odd shaped piece that I have been cutting to add support that way I can cut right through the support piece to without worrying about it. I had a somewhat similar experience several years ago except I was cutting a piece of a 1 1/2” diameter dowel off of a relatively small section (maybe 6-8” long) and was only using the miter gauge. Surprisingly that ended up catching and bent the blade pretty bad. When I went to take it off I noticed that it seemed really loose, I opened the lower door of my bandsaw and noticed that the blade had fallen off the wheel and had partially broken.

  12. Thank you for the safety lesson. I have always thought of the bandsaw being much safer than a table saw or miter saw. This demonstrates the need for planning the movement of bandsaw cuts in the same way you should with any power saw.

  13. yup yup yup . . . cross cutting 1/4 plywood drawer bottoms; 10″ table saw. blade bound in kerf against fence. reached over to push kerf down, kerf pinched left index finger and kicked cut back taking finger with it into blade. cut halfway through first joint of finger. the time delay caused the breaker to trip (AT injury) so i was left in the dark to find my way from shop-to-house/mi’lady. 4.5hrs micro surgery. finger saved/loss of motion (point better around corners).

    lessons learned: stop/spacer blocks usage
    lighting wired independent of tools

  14. Thanks for sharing and glad all ok.
    My son did something similar on my 5hp 24″ 3ph bandsaw cutting firewood.
    About the same diameter log as your board, the blade had big aggressive teeth, the log is not straight and the cut area is unsupported….. hence the same result with a new resaw blade in the bin. But no injury thankfully. In an ideal world, we all should do our dimensioning PRIOR to shaping.
    All the best from down under!

  15. My bandsaw accident happened 2017 and just like yours it was so quick I couldn’t even see it happen.
    Other than knowing I was cutting something freehand that was relatively tall compared to the base, I do not know exactly what the blade caught on. It’s possible my wedding ring touched the blade first.
    I had to get stitches but was fortunate enough not to have any tendons cut.
    I am glad you escaped mostly unscathed.
    Thanks for the video.

  17. Thanks for the video. We all are guilty of getting complacent and not taking the extra time to do things safely. Thanks for the reminder…so glad it wasn’t worse!

  19. Possibly one of your best videos EVER! Your explanations of what happened, how it happened and why it happened are great lessons for anyone using a bandsaw. Not only distracted by music and focusing on making the video, even your knowledge and experience didn’t prevent this from happening. This video alone makes me re-evaluate how I approach my saw, prepare for the cuts, and think about what could go wrong before I even make my first cut. Thank you for your courage to present this and your genuine concern for other woodworkers. If I had this same mishap, I don’t believe I would have taken the time to fully evaluate how I could have avoided it. I would have been too angry at myself and the damage I caused to the tool and project to focus. THANK YOU!!

  20. There are three things in life that are very difficult to say. Those are “I’m sorry”, “I was wrong”, and ” Woosticher… Wooostach… Woosttishhis .. saauce” Well either way Thank you so much for sharing. :-)

  21. I did a similar thing with my table saw a couple of months ago. Did the operation I’ve done 1000x too fast and absentmindedly. And boom my push block was in my groin and I was headed to the floor in pain. I laid their about five minutes.

    Thankfully my hands were uninjured and I had repositioned the stop switch to be right were my knee is so I instinctively turned off the blade on my way down.

    I had one heck of a bruise and a knot on my abdomen that is finally gone.

  22. My first kickback on my table shocked me big time!! The board took off and dented my shop’s metal mandoor about 25 feet away. I remember grabbing my hand and instantly think I hope my fingers are still there!! That day, I started saving for a SawStiop.
    Jay, I’m glad you are OK, and thank you for warning about a bandsaw. I hadn’t thought about bandsaw cautions, but I am now aware. Thanks

  23. Thanks for this video. It helps me realize how quickly things can happen AND I learn from it. I’ll cut a segment ring in half to make 2 but I use double stick tape on a sacrificial fence which I will now reevaluate.

  24. Hi, Jay. Been watching you for several years. You did use one of your ‘lives’ that day!
    In my first career, as I trained to be a chef, my mentor, a renowned chef in his own right, forbade any music in the kitchen, (regardless whether we were ‘making dinners’, or prepping for the meal rush). Granted, there’s not the ‘potential’ for severe damage, (although slipping near a deep-fat fryer is unthinkably a great danger), concentration towards accuracy and efficiency of work would have suffered.
    You got off very easy, as you acknowledge. It hurts and I shudder, just seeing that. Owwwch!

  26. Any time you can walk away with all your digits and a small bruise is win in my book.

    An accident isn’t something (most of the time) that randomly happens. Nine times out of ten it is someone doing something they should not or not paying attention. There are rules, laws, and instructions for a lot of the stuff in our lives. When you break those we get what people call accidents, I call it my stupid bone-headed moment of idiocy.

    Glad that you are ok, stay safe.
    RH

  27. Oh men you’re in a luck. Thank goodness just in a nick of time you managed to get away with it. The force of the cutting board was so violent and omg 🙏 it did not hit your eyes it would have been worst. Please do not do the same mistake again. I have been watching you since 2011 and I know you have a high regard to safety. Sometimes we are over confident but with regards to machine like that it’s very dangerous to be out of focus. Be safe Jay all the best from Vancouver Canada 🇨🇦

  28. That video was a real eye opener. I was trying to cut a sewer pipe in half and didn’t even think there would be a problem. Same as you I started to cut it and it flew up into my face. It bent the small ring on the table where the blade goes through and knocked the blade right off the wheels. I just stood there for awhile trying to figure out what happend. I’ll never do that again.

    I am so glad that you came off with only minor injures. Your gardian angel must have been with you.

  30. Glad you are Ok. Yes these things happen fast. My learning experience was with a router table. The wood caught and flicked my finger into the bit. Routed a groove in it, lots of pumping blood that took about 8 stiches to stop. Have been VERY careful ever since.

  31. Wow. I’ve done that. I put the piece on my workbench and labeled it the “Dumbass Award”. Totally a distraction thing. I’m glad you are ok and mostly uninjured. Stay safe.

  32. Thank God you are ok Jay. Thanks for sharing this incident! Your life can completely change in a split second. Take care buddy!

  34. Ok I did a rough calc, and assuming in 2 frames it went a distance of one foot..thats about 12.5 ft/sec. …thats 8.2 mph. So the speed of the wood is not terribly fast…however the rotation of the wood was about 1100 rpm…I think thats what hurt.

  35. Glad that you’re not too injured. Your video gave me an idea for maybe another series of videos you might think about doing – what about showing a series of videos of WHAT NOT TO DO in a woodworking shop, but don’t actually do them, just talk about what could happen given various mistakes that are helpful to explain what’s being done wrong and then take about what the right way to do them so you can be as safe as possible? Mistakes for routers, bandsaws, tablesaws, hand tools, etc — power and hand tools all have potential to do harm if something goes wrong.

    Take care and thanks for all you do to help show us how you do your woodworking.

    -bob

  36. ALWAYS LOOK AT THE SNAKE. IT ALWAYS WANTS TO BITE YOU.
    Glad you are OK.
    I have one hand (birth) – I try to be extra paranoid around power tools of all kinds, because I’m out of spares. (We call folks with two hands “Those with spares”)
    Another safety tip: NEVER come behind anyone using power tools to get their attention. Instead, stand in their line of sight, which allows them to recognize you require their attention. This allows them to safe the work and machine.

  37. Thanks for taking the time to share. you have potentially saved much bloodshed .too bad about no more music in shop as I find it keeps the creativeness juices flowing .glad you are ok. Maybe soft rock or mellow tunes.

  38. That hurt just watching it happen. I am glad your right hand didn’t continue into the band saw blade when that piece flipped up at you. I had a piece kick back on my table saw once and I keep that piece of wood in my shop as a reminder. Once something like this happens, I am done in the shop for the day. These types of incidents really shake my confidence and comfort around the tool for a short period of time.

  39. Thanks for sharing. Lucky you are! As an ED doc I see table saw injuries weekly. I respect the table saw immensely however obliviously need to understand and respect the band saw more

  40. Thank you Jay, that is a great video… certainly not one I expected to see on a bandsaw, but it was perfectly presented and very easy to see — just not what I would have suspected — but clearly should be aware of! And yes, this may most likely be one of your most important teaching videos. Beautifully captured and explained… a little different placement of the handle could have really clipped you — but thankfully no major harm was done — we are all gratetful. Appreciate your work.

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