Maximum safety: Bandsaw vs TKS 80 with Jessum Guides

[urowho]

Maximum safety: Bandsaw vs TKS 80 with Jessum Clear Stock Guides

As it says on the tin. I would really value keeping all of my fingers. Any thoughts on which of these is likely to be safest. I mostly use hand tools with the use of tracksaw for sheets, bandsaw for ripping larger pieces and chop saw for instant right angle cross cuts from time to time. Excluding the money part (not being able to work again, play the viol and piano is way more expensive than kit cost). What do people think?

I have a healthy paranoia around tools, but no-one's concentration is 100% and accidents can always happen. Not doing woodworking is not the answer I'm looking for in case you're tempted. Wood working with maximum safety between the tools I've listed is!

Thanks in advance;-)

 

[AlexThePalex]

I am not familiar with a bandsaw as I never worked with one, but it seems to me it is a safer saw than a table saw because the blade doesn't move as violently as a table saw does.

That said, you can't really beat a blade that just vanishes in milliseconds when you touch it like on the TKS-80.

 

[simonh]

I've only ever cut myself on the bandsaw and visited minor injuries... I was not using a push stick and using my hand to push through the blade because I felt "safe" with a measly bandsaw.  Lesson learnt.  Meanwhile, on the table saw, I use Jessem guides, two long push sticks, a riving knife, a blade guard... My hands rarely go near the table. So safety is definitely down to the user as much as the equipment.

I haven't got the TKS-80 (no mitre slot) but it's going to take away blade contact as a problem, although you still need to watch out for kickback, and if you're ripping rough cut lumber you probably best getting it to size on a bandsaw anyway.

 

[urowho]

You describe what I envisage, have you had any kickback with that set up?

 

[kevinculle]

A bandsaw does not typically produce smooth, polished ready to join edges, so it isn't a universal replacement for other saws.  Where a bandsaw does excel is in ripping solid lumber down to size and, of course in cutting other than straight lines.  Ripping solid lumber, which often has internal stresses that cause pinching and binding at the blade, can be a risky operation on the table saw and tricky with a track saw.  On the band saw where the cutting forces are strictly vertical pulling the workpiece down against the table all you need do in the event of a bind is stop feeding.  There is no force towards the operator so the workpiece is stable.  When I start with a wide piece of solid rough sawn lumber that has no straight edges I just snap a chalk line where I want to make the first cut leaving a pretty straight edge.  A quick pass or two on the jointer, which sits directly adjacent to the bandsaw and there's a straight line to work from for subsequent operations.

 

[simonh]

You describe what I envisage, have you had any kickback with that set up?

The Jeseem clear-cut guides are probably one of my best purchases for the table saw.  No more worrying about pushing stock against the fence or keeping it down to the table when it wants to ride the blade.  I feel much comfortable just using the long bird's beak style push sticks to guide it through rather than getting my hands near the table to hold the wood down or control over the push direction.

I'm not a big table saw user as I have a bandsaw, track saw, mitre saw and table saw and router table so pick the tool I feel is safest and most suitable for the job.  It's mainly ripping narrower parts, cross-cutting small pieces or making some basic joinery cuts (rest on router table). Most of my lumber is already dried rather than ripping slabs...

 

[Cheese]

A band saw is more benign than a table saw, not saying you can't hurt yourself with one but you have to work at it. With the table saw you don't even see it coming and then it's over.  [sad]

I worked with just a band saw, miter saw and a circular saw for many years before I purchased a table saw. Even now, I prefer to rip on the band saw and clean up the cuts on the table saw or using a track saw, especially for solid wood. Cutting plywood is a different story. I've had my share of kick-backs on a table saw so I have a healthy dose of respect for them.

Having said that, I recently read an article that stated the two groups of people that had the most missing digits were woodworkers and....................butchers.  [tongue]

 

[madjalapeno]

I'm redoing my wood shop at the moment. The Jessem Clear Stock guides were one of the best purchases I've made in a long time.

Even with a SawStop, I feel safer.

 

[ChuckM]

Having said that, I recently read an article that stated the two groups of people that had the most missing digits were woodworkers and....................butchers.  [tongue]

 

[ChuckM]

I'm redoing my wood shop at the moment. The Jessem Clear Stock guides were one of the best purchases I've made in a long time.

Even with a SawStop, I feel safer.

The SawStop's riving knife reduces kickback...the Jessem Clear Stock Guides, if used and used properly, almost eliminates all kickback. In addition to adding safety, the stock guides make ripping a large sheet of plywood a lot easier.

Edit: Some people mount their stock guides with mag-switches. I don't want my guides detachable because I could be too lazy to put them back after they are unmounted. I want the guides there at all times...of course the rollers can be slid out if needed. Plus I use the front roller as a stop block from time to time.

 

[wibble1]

In order to mount the jessum, you need to drill into the festool tks 80 fence? Mag switches won’t work?

I find it strange that the tks80 manual states to use feather boards but doesn’t provide a straight forward way to achieve this..

 

[DeformedTree]

To the point where Cheese was going, the danger with bandsaws is you are just zipping stuff thru so easy, it so easy to run your hand into the blade, thus the issue butchers have, as they are using bandsaws all day doing just that.

My experience with bandsaws is doing a lot of work with small bits close to the blade, so real danger. But of course the blade is smaller than a table saw, not moving, and if you have the guard/guide up high enough you really see where it is located.  A table saw you tend to have hands much farther from the blade and are often using miter gauges, fences and such, thing to generally don't use with the freehand nature of bandsaws. Plus work with table saw tends to be bigger bits of wood, with the extreme opposite would be if you are ripping timbers on a bandsaw.

I don't know if I would go down the one more dangerous than the other. I would saw the nature of bandsaws is it is just so much easier to push part of your body thru it, things just run thru bands saws easier/quicker and hands much closer to the blade.

Like anything, what tools some people find extreme danger, others find very safe.

 

[CeeJay]

I find timber push blocks great for the bandsaw. Can use them to push right into the blade to get the workpiece through the cut then pull the push block back.

Plastic push blocks can be dangerous if they are pushed into the cut as coarse bandsaw blades tend to catch them and drag them out of your hand.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[urowho]

In order to mount the jessum, you need to drill into the festool tks 80 fence? Mag switches won’t work?

I find it strange that the tks80 manual states to use feather boards but doesn’t provide a straight forward way to achieve this..

No, it actually mounts directly to the T track on the top of the LA fence. It is a brilliant and confidence inspiring set up. It's expensive to have to buy this in addition but it is the best way ahead I'd argue.