PSA: Had a band saw blade snap on me while breaking down a side of beef

I was at the shop last Thursday, working on a 600-pound side of Angus, when the 144-inch blade just popped. It whipped back and scared the hell out of me, but luckily the safety guard caught most of it. I had to stop everything, put on a new blade, and recalibrate the whole machine, which took about 45 minutes. Has anyone else had a blade fail like that, and what's your usual check routine before a big breakdown?

4 comments

4 Comments

grant.anthony2mo ago

Check the gullets for cracks and always run the blade slow for a minute first.

williamw752mo ago

Yikes, that's a good rule for power tools and honestly most of life.

emery1011d ago

Yeah, you ever had a blade let go on you? I was helping a buddy swap out a miter saw blade a couple years back, one that had been sitting in a damp garage. Looked fine at a glance but when I ran it slow you could hear this faint tick every rotation. Pulled it off and sure enough there was a hairline crack running from a gullet almost to the arbor hole. Would have come apart at full speed for sure. Now I always spin them by hand and look close before even thinking about powering up. Better ten minutes of checking than a trip to the ER.

williamw752mo ago

Holy crap, that's terrifying. Glad the guard did its job, man. I always check for hairline cracks and give the tension a test run first.