On 23 Nov 2004 08:13:23 -0800, (brian lanning)
wrote:

"Scott Willett" wrote in message ...
I am getting conflicting advice about the band saw. Can you cut curves
effectively with a band saw.

yes, blades go down to 1/8". The smaller, the easier it is to cut
curves. There's a demo that I see at all the woodworking shows. I
think it's the guy pushing carter guides. He cuts a reindeer out of a
small block of wood. He was cutting 180 degree curves with a 1/4"
diameter.

I was also told it was a safer machine than
the table saw.

Yeah, no kickback. And if you do hit the blade, it's less
catastrophic. You can still cut things off easily though. I'm always
reminded by this when I look at bandsaw catalogs. There's nearly
always a model designed to cut meat.

If you get a big enough one, then they're really impressive. The two
I've got at work (.056" x 1.25" x 16' blades) could lop a person in
half in about 5 seconds (depending on how the feed rate is set) That
being said, I've never even come close to getting hit by it, or
anything that it's cutting.



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