Woodworking: Bandsaw Essentials

From tight curves to large sweeping curves, thin stock to thick timbers, bandsaws can handle it all. Equipped with the right blade, and correctly set up, the versatility of a bandsaw is amazing. This course, brought to you in conjunction with Woodworkers Guild of America, will provide you with the information you need to get the most out of your bandsaw, use it safely, and make it a go-to tool in your shop.

What A Bandsaw Offers

What makes bandsaws so great? Lots of things. They have a significant thickness capacity, with most saws able to cut 6” or more. The kerf of a bandsaw blade is quite small, so there’s very little waste going up the dust chute. Combined with the ability to cut curves or dead straight lines, a bandsaw can be one amazing machine.

Set Up

Many woodworkers consider their bandsaw only a coarse, rough cutting tool because they never learned to set it up correctly. It’s critical that the blade tracks correctly on the tires, the tires are clean, the guide blocks and thrust bearing are correctly set. Each of these aspects has a cumulative effect on how well (or how poorly) and bandsaw performs. Woodworkers Guild of America instructor George Vondriska takes you step-by-step through set up to make sure you get it right.

Using The Saw

In addition to being able to correctly set up the saw, we want to make sure you’re using it properly and safely. Our tips on controlling and steering the material will help make your cuts more accurate. And we’ll simplify the set up required for resawing.

In total, you’ll get over 115 minutes of hands-on video instruction in this course. In addition to the detailed video help you’ll receive, we have included downloadable resources and helpful information to print and keep, including: a detailed Guide you can follow and use as a reminder for the key points of the course instruction; and a resources document that will give you information on the products you’ll see in the course, including a handy Blade Radius Chart.