My old band saw finally gave up after 12 years of service

Last Tuesday I was breaking down a half beef and the blade just snapped mid cut. Not just a small pop either, it sounded like a gunshot in the shop. Had to finish the rest of the primals with a handsaw and a cleaver, took me an extra 2 hours. Anyone else have a tool just die on them at the worst possible time?

2 comments

2 Comments

grant.parker14d agoTop Commenter

Had a similar thing happen with my table saw a few years back. Was ripping some oak for a bookshelf and the arbor nut just came loose and the blade wobbled right off the spindle. Took out a chunk of the throat plate and scared the living daylights out of me. That old saw was probably twenty years old and had seen better days but it always got the job done. Had to finish that project using just hand planes and a circular saw, which taught me a lot about patience but cost me a whole weekend. Sometimes I think these machines know exactly when to break down, right when you need them most.

ivan4014d ago

Read a blog post by a woodworking guy who said he always checks the arbor nut before turning on his saw now, no exceptions. He called it the "five second rule" after a close call similar to yours. Makes me wonder how many of us have gotten lucky with loose parts we never even thought about checking.