Woodshop Tutorials
The wood shop’s pair of vertical bandsaws can be used for wood, plastics, and thin pieces of aluminum. If you would like to cut aluminum under 1" thick, use the metal lubricant tube that is on the bandsaw.
Ensure the blade guard is as low as possible for your cutting operation. Ideally, it will be about 1/8" above the top surface of your part.
Make and/or use a push stick when you are pushing towards the blade.
Never use excessive force when cutting. Excessive force can damage your part, the saw blade, and most importantly, your fingers.
To stop the blade, turn the machine OFF and step on the brake at the base of the machine.
Make sure the blade has come to a complete stop before you walk away from the machine.
Changing the Bandsaw Blade
Follow these steps to change the dull or inadequate blade.
If you are not a proctor, ask the proctor on duty to change the blade for you.
Unplug the machine
Open the top and bottom doors and take out the circle plate holding the blade in place on the table
Loosen 2 screws at the top and bottom of the guard to take off the guard
Loosen tension on the blade by turning the blue wheel
Put on gloves in the wood shop and pull the blade out
Fold the blade into three circles by putting one foot on the blade, grabbing the blade underhand and sweeping arms in a hugging motion
Insert a new blade - unfold slowly with gloves or toss it away from you and other people - and make sure that the teeth on the right side is pointing downwards
Close the machine up by undoing steps 4-1: spin the wheels slightly while increasing blade tension to let the blade align on the wheels
Plug the machine back in and turn it on to check that it runs normally
For cutting wood only, NO PVC pipes!
Do NOT hold work pieces close to where it is being cut.
Let the blade come to a complete stop before raising the blade to its upright position.
Instead of using the laser guide, do a dry run and touch your work piece to see where the blade will cut the wood.
Especially when cutting compound angles, do a dry run to make sure the saw blade doesn't cut anything it shouldn't.
Do NOT try to cut small pieces with the miter saw, get special instructions from a proctor or machine shop manager.
Can be used to drill holes in a verity of materials.
Always secure work firmly to the table or use a vice.
Do NOT use a spade drill to make an existing hole larger!
If the workpiece is long, make sure the workpiece is to the operators left side. Otherwise if your workpiece comes unsecured you might get smacked.
Do NOT drill sheet metal! Use a hole punch…
SawStop table saws sense any conductivity in the material it is cutting. This means if your finger is on the blade while it was running, the SawStop will recognize it and stop automatically (destroying the blade in the process). However, this means you can't just cut conductive materials on the table saw. Here are some tips in using the SawStop:
Do NOT cut conductive materials including wet wood, or materials with mirror coatings. If you really need to, talk to a proctor or machine shop manager to turn on bypass mode.
If you are cutting material that is not wood, let the machine shop manager know so you can get a special blade for plastic
If you are unsure about whether your material is conductive, please ask the machine shop manager
Only use the machine when the solid green light is on
To change the height of the blade, turn the large handwheel on the front of the machine
To change the angle/tilt of the blade, turn the small handwheel on the side of the machine. The black knob at the center locks the wheel
Use either the sled or Magswitch guides when making cuts, especially angled cuts
For long narrow pieces, use the stop block to push piece further out from the fence, in order to prevent your piece from flying off, ask the machine shop manager for instructions
In order to cut slots (1/8" or less) follow these instructions
Turn off the machine and change the blade height
Remove the table insert
Inside cavity, lift the lever - the whole guard lifts out - and store the guard under the table
Use the riving knife (stored on the side of the saw) in place of the guard
Hold workpiece down against table firmly at all times.
Do not sand workpieces that are too small to be safely supported.
Keep the floor around the machine clean and free of scrap material, oil and grease.
Always use appropriate table insert for the selected spindle or drum. Do not sand without a table insert in place.
Remove loose items and unnecessary work pieces from the area before starting the machine.
Allow machine to reach operating speed before beginning to sand.
Do not operate this sander with a damaged spindle or sanding sleeve.
Always feed work against direction of spindle rotation.
Read the operating manual before use.
Learn how to use the wood lathe before you try to use it. Ask a proctor!
While cutting, have the tool rest and guard in place.
When sanding, move the tool rest out of the way and do not press the sandpaper against the workpiece with your fingers. Hold the sandpaper taut and keep it in motion against the part's surface.
The thickness planner is for WOOD ONLY!
Do NOT insert pieces of wood that are too short for the planer to auto-feed the wood in automatically. You will get a chunk of wood stuck inside the planer.
Do NOT place your fingers inside the planer! If I need to explain this one to you...
Do NOT plane wood that is taller than it is wide. This will cause chatter or jam the planer. Use the jointer instead.
Never run wood through the planner if it has nails, staples, screws, or any other foreign objects in it. You'll break the planer blades.
Do NOT exceed the recommend amount of wood to be removed, see gauge in front of the machine. The depth varies with the wood width.
Read the operating manual before use.
The Shopbot is the most complex machine in the woodshop. For tutorials and documentation, click here. Before you use the Shopbot, speak to someone with experience, like a proctor or shop manager (Drew)!