Band saw

The band saw is a cutting machine in which a continuous toothed blade—a loop of welded steel—runs in a single direction around two or three wheels, enabling curved, shaped and straight cuts in wood, metal and plastics. The cut geometry is not confined to a single straight direction, making the band saw irreplaceable for cutting organic profiles, faceted shapes and curves of any radius. Wood versions use wide blades for ripping and narrow blades for tight curves; metal versions use bimetallic fine-toothed blades, much lower blade speeds and often flood coolant. In the maker context the band saw is one of the first purchases after the table saw: it covers cuts that no other tool can perform as easily.