MRO Today - Refresher on bandsaw safety for today’s tight times

Refresher on bandsaw safety for today’s tight times

by Marty Waldman

Bandsawing has been an integral part of metal production, distribution and fabrication since the beginning of industrialization. And unfortunately, so have the associated accidents and injuries.

In today’s tight economy, the risk of accidents is especially high because of cutbacks in new-equipment investments and work forces. This leaves the bandsawing to be done on older machines and by fewer employees who often must cover a wider range of tasks. The employees may never have been properly trained about bandsawing safety.

Rest assured that bandsawing is an essentially safe operation, provided that everybody observes all the rules and equipment and blades are in good shape and correct safety equipment is worn. Unfortunately, things are not always ideal and care should be taken when operating the machine.

Here, then, are the top 10 bandsawing safety guidelines for today’s environment. They are based on 25 years of personal hands-on experience with bandsaws in metal producing plants, metal service centers, forging shops and airframe plants. It will pay management in such plants to spend a few minutes re-emphasizing these points with all their people who may be asked to operate or maintain a bandsaw.

The top 10

1. Wear goggles, wear goggles, wear goggles. Eye injuries from flying chips remain the leading cause of bandsaw-related injuries

2. Wear gloves, but use some kind of hand tool to remove the workpiece once it’s cut. To wear or not has been debated for years. The argument in favor is obvious: protection against a lot of sharp things. The argument against it has always been the risk of getting the glove caught in the moving blade, like any other piece of loose clothing or jewelry. The best solution: wear gloves, but fashion some sort of hook or pusher to remove the finished workpiece. That way, no hands need go near the moving blade.

3. Insist on hearing protection. Bandsawing can be a very noisy operation, especially on thin stock and on high alloys. High-alloy bandsawing gives off a very characteristic scream.

4. Keep all machine guarding in place, especially the bandwheel enclosure. This minimizes exposure to the moving blade, and also helps keep chips out of the mechanism, which can create their own hazards. Many newer machines have safety lockouts that shut the machine down if any guard or cover is left open.

5. Move the blade guides as close to the workpiece as possible. It makes the operation more stable and keeps more of the moving blade under cover. As a rule, guides should be set within ¼ to ½ inch of the workpiece.

6. Open up new blades carefully. Don’t just grab a spot and toss the rest out onto the floor to uncoil. The blade can come back and bite somebody; it is very springy. Instead, be sure to wear gloves, then open it up one coil at a time. Many blades come with plastic protectors over the teeth. They protect the operator as much as the teeth. When ordering blades, in fact, always ask them to ship them with blade protection. If your vendor doesn’t provide it, consider switching to one who does.

7. Put all operators and maintenance people through basic bandsaw safety training. Run refreshers from time to time. Even though bandsawing is such a basic operation, don’t assume everybody knows what to do. There are a lot of high forces involved in production bandsawing. Many bandsaw blade and machine manufacturers offer such safety courses at no cost.

8. Keep the area clean, including the floor. Chips and cutting fluids can be very slippery. Unfortunately, it’s all too common practice to sweep chips and cutting fluid away from the cutting area and onto the floor. Better to install a vacuum or blower system to direct the chips and cutting fluid completely out of harm’s way. And clean chips away from the guards and guides.

9. Keep bandsaws well maintained. A well maintained machine is a safe machine. Enforce lock-out procedures during all maintenance. There should be no way the machine can start up while it is being maintained.

10. Use the right blade for the application. It’s safer as well as more productive. Blade changing takes only minutes. Using the right blade minimizes the risk of a blade snapping midway through a cut.

And two for good measure
Well, that’s my top 10 list. Most are plain common sense, worth a reminder from time to time. None of them are difficult or take much time. In fact they’ll save time and reduce hazards.

These hints don’t cover the ground completely, and in no way are meant to replace or override manufacturer’s recommendations or OSHA safety standards. For further safety guidance, consult the operators’ manuals for the equipment or bring in the bandsaw or machine manufacturer for a safety workshop on your shop floor. Bahco, for example, offers the service free of charge and does more than a hundred such hands-on workshops each year. It won’t take much time and truly could prevent one more accident.

And here’s one more hint: Change the blade before it breaks. A broken blade can send shards of hardened steel flying, not to mention damaging the part and running up the scrap rate. Remember, the machine is still running, trying to move the blade.

By looking or listening for telltale signs, a smart operator can tell when a blade is due for replacement. Clicking can mean a cracked blade or missing teeth. Slower cutting or a rough finish means the blade is going dull. Crooked cutting usually means loss of set. The trick is to change or act before the blade fails completely.

Finally, never allow use of carbon steel blades on alloys; such materials can strip the teeth right off the blades. In fact, consider moving up to carbide-tipped bandsaw blades for reasons of safety as well as productivity. Carbide-tipped blades may cost more than three times as much as a carbon steel or bimetal bandsaw blade, but on a good machine they will cut five to ten times faster. Carbide-tipped blades are definitely the wave of the future, so why not make the move now, for safety’s sake?

Marty Waldman is part of Bahco-Milford’s bandsawing application support team. Over the past 25 years, he has provided technical support for both bandsaw machine builders and Bahco’s high production bandsaws. Based in Milwaukee, he serves metalproducers, metal service centers, forging shops and aerospace manufacturers throughout the Midwest.

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