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How to use a bandsaw

Updated: 21 October 2026

The manual is thin, and you want the first cut in scrap to stay on the line. How to use a bandsaw starts with the plug out, then tension, then tracking, then the guard. A blade that leaps off the wheels is sometimes an adjustment and sometimes a fault in the saw. This page is for a benchtop wood saw. It is not a repair manual for a buckled wheel. The seven listings are on the [bandsaw comparison](/hub/power-saws/bandsaw). The Products Compared editorial team used the UK listings, HSE Woodworking Sheet 31, and two maker manuals as examples of method. We did not run these saws. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The manual is thin, and you want the first cut in scrap to stay on the line. How to use a bandsaw starts with the plug out, then tension, then tracking, then the guard.

Our top picks

KATSU Tools KATSU Tools 200 mm bandsaw 100552

Best overall

KATSU Tools KATSU Tools 200 mm bandsaw 100552
6.2/10about £119.99
View offer
KATSU Tools KATSU Tools benchtop bandsaw 100555

Rank 2

KATSU Tools KATSU Tools benchtop bandsaw 100555
7.4/10about £109.99
View offer
Draper Draper 200 mm bandsaw 82756

Rank 3

Draper Draper 200 mm bandsaw 82756
5.3/10about £138
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Before you switch it on
  2. 2.Tension and tracking
  3. 3.Guard and hands
  4. 4.When to stop

Before you switch it on

Unplug the saw, or switch it off at the socket, before you open the doors or move a guide. HSE’s bandsaw sheet treats isolation as the start of tracking and tension, and that order still holds in a shed. On the KATSU 100552, one of four reviewers said the blade was not centred out of the box and the manual could not fix it, so they copied a video of a similar saw. The Draper 82756 bullets name a no-volt switch, so a power cut should leave that saw off until you start it again. The other listings do not say they have one. Confirm the doors are shut and the blade is in the guides before you restore power. Throat and cut height are on the bandsaw buying guide.

Tension and tracking

Back the side guides and the thrust support off the blade before you judge tracking. Guides that pinch the blade will push it off the wheel, and HSE’s sheet says the guides must not grip. Turn the top wheel by hand, with the saw still isolated, until the blade sits in a steady place on the tyre. Then set tension the way your own manual describes. A finger-deflection figure in a Charnwood or Record Power manual belongs to that saw. Do not copy it onto a KATSU, a Draper or an unbranded compact. After the blade tracks by hand, fit the guides so they are just clear when the blade is running idle, then make a short cut in scrap. A wheel that looks bent, or a tyre that has left the rim, is a fault, not another feed.
KATSU Tools KATSU Tools 200 mm bandsaw 100552

Testsieger

KATSU Tools KATSU Tools 200 mm bandsaw 100552
6.2/10about £119.99
View offer

Guard and hands

Bring the guard down until it sits just above the work. HSE Woodworking Sheet 31 puts that four-sided guard, and a push stick, in the safe use of a vertical bandsaw. The stick is for the last part of the cut, when your fingers would otherwise be in front of the teeth. Keep it on the table before you start. Feed at a pace the motor holds. Forcing a 350 W hobby saw through a hard knot is how a blade stalls and then snaps or jumps. You do not need the guard off to see the line. Which blade can follow a tight shape is on bandsaw for curves. These listings do not state a port size. HSE wood-dust guidance treats the dust as a health risk. Extract it or let it settle and clean it up, rather than blowing it across the bench.

When to stop

Some faults are not a technique you can feed your way out of. Across 90 Draper reviews, people describe a blade that will not stay on, a rubber tyre that comes off, and a bottom wheel that is warped. The KATSU 100555 file includes blades that jump off the wheels and saws that would not start. A bent wheel, a tyre off the rim, or a saw that is dead at the switch is a fault in the goods. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 expects satisfactory quality, and the route is the seller, not another hour of tracking. Slack the tension if the saw will stand unused, which is what the Record Power manual tells its own owners, and check your own manual before you copy that. If that first scrap cut fails, stop while the saw is still returnable. Which row is the sensible first buy is on the best bandsaw UK page.

Common questions

How high should the blade guard sit?
Bring the guard down until it clears the top of the timber by a small gap, close enough that the unused blade stays covered. HSE’s bandsaw sheet describes a guard on four sides, including the front. The gap is so the wood can pass, not so you can watch the teeth. Raise it only as far as the thickness of that piece requires, then lower it again for the next, thinner cut.
How do I tension the blade if the manual is poor?
Isolate the saw, free the guides, and use the tension control your machine actually has. A finger-deflection figure from a Charnwood or Record Power manual is an example from that maker, not a setting for every 200 mm bench saw. If your manual is only a diagram, still follow its knob rather than a video of a different brand. Then prove it with a scrap cut. A tension meter is the accurate tool, and most home workshops do not have one.
Why does the blade jump off the wheels?
On these cheap saws the reviews name three different causes: tension and tracking that were never set, a tyre that has come off, and a wheel that is buckled. The first can be an adjustment. The other two are defects. One correction of the guides is reasonable. A bent wheel is a return. Do not keep raising the tension to glue a buckled wheel into service.
Do I need a push stick?
Yes. Use it for the end of the cut, when your hand would pass the front of the blade. HSE’s sheet includes a push stick in ordinary bandsaw use, including in a small workshop that is not a factory. Have it on the table before the motor starts. A scrap offcut is a weak substitute, because it is short and your fingers end up where the stick should be.
When is this a return, not a technique problem?
Stop and contact the seller if the saw will not start, if a wheel is bent, if the tyre has left the wheel, or if a new blade still will not track after one careful setup. Those are quality problems under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and the seller is the route. Another afternoon of feed-rate experiments will not straighten a buckled wheel.

Related pages

Benchtop or floor-standing bandsaw

Bandsaw

Best bandsaw UK: sensible shortlist for small wood

Bandsaw buying guide: throat, fence and blade size

Bandsaw for curves: blade width and minimum radius

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Shelf date 19 October 2026.

  1. HSE WIS31 (retrieved October 2026)
  2. HSE WD1 (retrieved October 2026)
  3. HSE: Wood dust (retrieved October 2026)
  4. PUWER overview (retrieved October 2026)
  5. Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 (retrieved October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK machinery guidance (retrieved October 2026)
  7. Axminster, what bandsaw to buy (retrieved October 2026)
  8. amazon.co.uk Band Saws Best Sellers (retrieved October 2026)