The Band Saw for a Woodworking Business: What It Makes, Sizes, Blades and Safety

A band saw is a continuous loop of blade running over two wheels, with a table where you feed the work. It cuts curves and shapes, rips boards, and slices thick boards into thinner ones, a job called resawing. For many woodworking businesses it is the second large machine after the table saw, and for some it comes first.

This post covers what a band saw lets you make and sell, how resawing saves wood, the sizes and features to look for, which blades to buy, how to use it safely and how to keep it running.

What a Band Saw Lets You Make and Sell

• Curved and shaped products. Cutting boards in shapes, signs, toys, ornaments, chair parts, curved legs, spoons and spatulas start on a band saw. A jigsaw can cut curves too, but a band saw cuts faster, cleaner and through much thicker wood.
• Band saw boxes. Boxes cut from a single block of wood, with drawers and compartments sawn out of the solid, are a product made almost entirely on the band saw.
• Thin stock. Box sides, drawer parts, inlay and small projects need wood thinner than lumberyards usually sell. Resawing gives you exactly the thickness you need.
• Bookmatched panels and veneer. Slicing a board and opening the two halves like a book gives matching grain for cabinet doors, box lids and wall pieces, which buyers pay more for.
• Turning blanks. Cutting round blanks for bowls and preparing spindle blanks for a lathe.
• Batch parts. With a template or a fence, you can rough out many identical curved parts and finish them with a router or sander.

Resawing Saves Wood and Money

Resawing turns one thick board into two or more thinner ones. A business can use it to:

• make thin stock from standard 4/4 or 8/4 boards instead of planing most of a board away as shavings;
• buy thicker, often better-figured boards and get more usable surface from each one;
• make its own veneer from special boards, so a small amount of a rare or figured wood covers more pieces;
• offer bookmatched panels without buying matched pairs of boards.

Resawn boards usually need planing or sanding to remove saw marks, so allow a little extra thickness. Freshly resawn boards can also move as tension in the wood is released, so let them rest before final milling.

Sizes and What to Look For

Size

A band saw’s size is the diameter of its wheels, which roughly sets the throat: the width of cut between the blade and the frame.

• Benchtop saws (about 9 to 10 inches) suit small curves and thin stock in small shops.
• 14-inch saws are the most common size in home and small-business shops. Many accept a riser block that increases resaw height.
• Larger saws (17 inches and up) have more power, more resaw height and take wider blades. They suit shops that resaw often.

Resaw Capacity

Resaw capacity is the height of board the saw can slice, measured under the upper blade guide at its highest setting. If you plan to resaw, check this figure against the widest boards you will slice.

Motor

A 14-inch saw usually has a motor of around 1 to 1 1/2 horsepower, enough for most work. Resawing wide, hard boards needs more power, which larger saws provide.

Fence, Table and Guides

• A tall, sturdy fence helps straight cuts and resawing.
• The table should be flat and tilt for angled cuts.
• Blade guides above and below the table should be easy to adjust.
• Blade changes and tensioning should be straightforward, since you will change blades often.
• A good dust port matters; band saws send dust down below the table.

Search for “14 inch band saw” and compare resaw capacity, motor power, fence height and the maximum blade width the saw accepts.

Choosing Blades

The blade decides what a band saw does well. Narrow blades turn tight curves; wide blades cut straight and resist wandering. Fine Woodworking recommends three blades for most shops:

• 1/4 inch, 10 teeth per inch, regular tooth: for curves as tight as about 5/8-inch radius and for thin stock.
• 3/8 inch, 6 teeth per inch, hook tooth: a general-purpose blade for ripping and gentle curves in stock up to about 2 inches thick.
• 1/2 inch, 3 teeth per inch, hook tooth: for resawing and heavy ripping in stock from 1 to 6 inches thick.

Blades come in carbon steel, bimetal and carbide-tipped versions. Carbon steel blades are cheapest and suit most domestic woods. Bimetal and carbide blades cost more but last longer and cut better in hard, abrasive or very thick wood, which can make them worth it if you resaw often. Check your saw’s blade length and maximum width before buying, and search for blades by that length, width and tooth count.

Using a Band Saw Safely

Because the blade pushes the wood down onto the table, a band saw has a lower risk of kickback than a table saw. It still causes serious injuries. Canada’s Centre for Occupational Health and Safety advises:

• Set the upper blade guard about 1/8 to 1/4 inch above the top of the wood being cut.
• Keep hands out of the line of the cut, braced against the table, and use a push stick when they get close to the blade.
• Do not back the wood out of the cut while the blade is moving if it binds or pinches. Switch off and wait for the blade to stop.
• Hold the wood firmly and flat on the table, so it cannot turn and pull your fingers towards the blade.
• Keep the blade at the right tension, and use sharp blades suited to the job.

Some other practices help:

• When cutting a tight curve, make relief cuts first so waste falls away in pieces and the blade does not bind.
• For round stock such as logs and dowels, use a jig or cradle that stops it rolling.
• Feed hard wood slowly. If the saw bogs down, ease off rather than forcing it.
• If a blade breaks or comes off the wheels, step back and switch off. Do not reach in until the saw has stopped.

For the full set of shop safety habits, see woodworking safety rules.

Keeping a Band Saw Running

• Release the blade tension when the saw will not be used for a while, if the maker recommends it, to protect the blade and tires.
• Clean resin from the blade and dust from inside the wheel covers.
• Check the tires on the wheels for wear and cracks, and the guides for wear.
• Keep spare blades of each type you use, so a broken blade does not stop production.

For a full maintenance schedule, see woodworking tool maintenance.

Practical Tips

• If you make curved products or need thin stock, consider a band saw before a second saw of any other kind.
• Check resaw capacity before buying if you plan to slice boards or make veneer.
• Buy a few good blades rather than many cheap ones.
• Use templates to make repeated curved parts quickly.

For the other tools a small woodworking business needs, see tools for a woodworking business. For buying thick and figured boards to resaw, see where to buy lumber.

Sources

• Johnson, 2015, Essential Bandsaw Blades, Fine Woodworking
• Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, 2025, Woodworking Machines: Band Saws, CCOHS