I just got a box of coiled blades it looks more than dangerous to uncoil. Any suggestions?
Some are born with a gene that allows them to uncoil those, the rest of us just find a pile of fresh sawdust and enjoy the "sproing" sound.
:D
Grab 2 of the 3 loops firmly with heavy gloves on. Let the 3rd loop fall down below you about 45 degrees. If it wont, hold one of the other loops till it does. Then turn your hands outwards looking for the "X' . Slowly opeh your arms holding the blade firmly till the band is wide open.
Here is my Grandson Luke coiling and uncoiling. Drop the loop that leaves an X behind.
IMG 7510 - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR82hKoJzcY)
And he's wearing shorts!? I was going for full welding gear. On my metal cutting bandsaw I use the chuck and duck method. The 13' blades are a little more scary.
I can uncoil and coil at will, by hand. No problem. Trained in person at the WM facility. :D :D
Coiling is easy.
Uncoiling by hand takes heavy leather gloves, safety glasses, concentration, the occasional cuss word and drop of blood.
Or take a sip of coffeee, toss them on the grass and take another sip of coffee while picking it up. No gloves, safety glasses or concentration needed.
I saw alone, so don't have to worry about anybody seeing me do it. If someone is watching, I toss the coiled band their way to watch them jump back like a mouse trap was trying to get them. :D :D
Practice with a lawn mower belt.
The mechanics of motion are the same, but a bit less like an angry cat.
Here's a video that I made when I wore a younger man's clothes (actually, my wife could argue that I still wear the same shirt):
band handling - YouTube (https://youtu.be/btOSZNjWMyk)
That was back when blades were made from stone!
I pull at individual loops until it leaves the other two crossed over as mentioned above, or a figure 8 sort of (the same cross over you see as the loops form when coiling up). I do it while walking from the truck to the mill without gloves which I suppose isnt smart but, it soon becomes a non event
@Chuck White (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=7517) has a nice video of him coiling, uncoiling, and turning a blade inside out.
I rarely use gloves, but it's a good idea to wear them.
I distinctly remember the first time I tried to uncoil a band. I got the coils apart and realized that I had no idea what I was doing. I was stuck with a half uncoiled band, and couldn't coil it back up, or safely uncoil it. I let it spring hoping for the best. Ended up with a gouge in my palm.
The guy that I bought my sawmill from taught me coiling & uncoiling and I always wear gloves. I have never thrown a blade on the ground to uncoil. ::)
Yes, stuff can happen. This happened this past Summer when I accidentally let a coil slip:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/IMG_2298.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1653004696)
It is important to know when to duck. This is especially true when the teeth are inevitably pointed at your face as the blade springs open.
I have tried throwing a blade somehow uphill. I felt like I was in a cartoon as it rolled downhill towards me. It fell over before it go to me. I don't throw blades anymore
Coiling, uncoiling and inverting blades can be hazardous.
The accompanying video is how I handle them.
See post #42.
Saw Mill Video-Blade Direction?? in Sawmills and Milling (forestryforum.com) (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,73467.40.html)
I'm hoping this helps you out.
Band Saw Blade Handling on Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/97887842)
My front yard is mostly zoysia grass. It makes a great spot to let the blades uncoil on their own. I don't throw them exactly. I pull it open a little bit and then gently toss it to the ground for the rest to happen on its own. I would like to learn to do it without the grasss though, now that I am sharpening my own blades. I will watch some of these videos today and report back after I've tried it, hopefully with no blood leaking.
I did one and had it rotate in my hand and make a puncture that felt a bit like a fish hook in my palm. I had to look at it and think a bit to get it out of my hand without making it worse. only once! the tricky part is when it is half open and under some spring forces and needing to change hands on the the loops!
Yes, look for the X where the blade crosses over itself. You can easily hold that X with one hand while you get your composure back.
Nothing to it, just like putting the pin back in a grenade. :D
I simply except the fact that I am about to bleed
Yea, me too.
Getting cut handling bands is always a possibility, but I can't remember the last time one got me. Folding them is easy. Uncoiling can be tricky. If I'm sawing every day, it becomes intuitive. But if I don't touch a band for a month, sometimes I'm scratching my head when I try to open one.
I really dislike throwing them. I feel like I'm tossing the band and just hoping fir the best that fate hands me. Doing it the other way, I'm in control.
Wait until your bands are 6 inches wide and 27 foot long: you don't even throw them you lay them on the grass and poke them with a stick.😂
The real trick to uncoiling a sharp band is keeping control of it continuously, and never letting it get out of control.
I spent an entire semester of high school geometry, after they showed us a Mobious strip, turning a flat rubber-band back and forth on itself; that's all I needed to know how to do it instinctively.
The points of the blade are always pointed away from you, coupled with knowledge of how a 3-d looped surface can loop back on itself is key to this task.
If you can keep the flat body of the blade in continuous contact as you uncoil the band, you will not get cut.
I use my forefingers in unison/together against the flat backstop of my palm and thumb-mound when uncoiling.
Some others encouraged practice with a mower or similar drive belt. Yes. Do this. I can do it by now with out thinking. It just "is" how it works.
Uh, if I have to think of the simple yet profound concept of the Mobius strip when I'm uncoiling a band, I'm probably on my way to getting cut😁
Here's how I get started. Holding the blade in my right hand, I find where 2 of the coils cross each other at the top. Then take my hand and hold the blade at the X.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11286/20230121_161700.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1674347056)
This is a very simple and SAFE SAFE SAFE method: Walk out to your grassy lawn or other similar area.
Toss the coiled blade about 20 feet away from you while WEARING Gloves!!!
Then walk over and pickup the blade.
SIMPLE - SAFE
Did I mention SAFE???
Safer yet is to never coil blades. But, still, you'd better watch out when you separate one from the flat stack. My Cook's 1 1/2 x .055 blades are very stiff, so I don't coil them.
I used to just throw them into the sawdust pile until a couple of years ago when the blade somehow found a rock through all the sawdust :-X And it
broke the tips off a half dozen teeth. After that I learnt how to uncoil by hand 8)
I bought a 10 pack and they came coiled. Thanks for all the tip, pictures and videos. If I never post anything again, it didn't work out so great.
The one video I gave a definite "hell no" to was tucking the blade under your belt and uncoiling in the house.
I did a quick look at a couple of the videos and went for it. When it says heavy gloves it should say don't use your old Tig gloves. Other than breaking in a new set of Tig gloves, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
A while back I asked for questions to ask WM on my visit in September and thus was the first I got answer.
You Asked And We Answered! Subscribers Questions For Wood Mizer - YouTube (https://youtu.be/_m6nnNf6obU)
I have been doing it this way and it feels more controllable than flinging it around.
https://youtu.be/6nIjGLJ5sbo (https://youtu.be/6nIjGLJ5sbo)
I learned how to coil and uncoil bandsaw blades way back when I was a kid, but that was on a small 16" wood shop saw. Those blades are very tame and easy to coil and uncoil. Same principle applies for the big blades, just takes a little more strength to do it. And.... With the big ones, I wear welding gloves.
I do it by grabbing the blade on sides, and twist the blade lengthwise. Hard to explain, but it's tame and works. I have to learn the WM way I think that looks easier.
The method in the video before this post looks really good. It's basically the same thing I've been doing but looks easier.