Before you make cuts with a bandsaw, you will need to mark a straight line on where to follow up with your cut. This is important. However, when cutting the wood, it is advisable to cut on the outside edge of the line.

Band saws often leave saw marks when you cut on wood. It is therefore very important that you allow some extra material that you can work on to smooth the plank. It gives you enough time to get the wood in exact measurement without eating into it.

In case you are working on hardwood or non-ferrous metals including brass, copper, and aluminum, it is important to use hardened teeth for your band saw. This will help you to cut for long and also prevent you from using too much effort too.

In case you realize slower speeds, increased difficulty when following the line, or sudden burning and increased temperature, it might mean the blade is dull or clogged up with resinous wood including pine.

Replacing a sharp blade or cleaning up the clogged blade will be the only solution. To clean your band saw blade, simply coil it and then soak it in the main blade cleaner that is often used for your table saw blades.

If your band saw blade sits idle for slightly over three days, keeping it on the tension in the band saw will be a de-service. It will cause metal fatigue that, will eventually lead to the premature breakage of the blade.

In addition to that, it can also cause tracking problems as in many occasions it flattens the crowns on the main rubber tires of the saw. Therefore, make sure to use the saws quick-release mechanism or the tension knob to release the tension.

To improve the performance of your saw, our advice to you is simple; always replace the blade that you first bought your band saw machine with. Look for blades with hardened “cut” teeth and not pressed teeth. Apart from this, also consider these two essential blade features too.

When starting on a contoured cut, make sure that you start out from the shallowest angle as you approach the larger angles. Doing the opposite can easily result into rugged edges; this is quite common because a wider angle can easily cause the blade to veer off its line and possibly pop out of place.

In case you have a plank with shallow angles at both end, it is advisable that you begin your cut from each end and meet both cuts in the middle.

More importantly, the manufacturer’s manual is the cardinal rule. In case you want the best experience with your band saw, make sure that you follow it always.