Learn How To Coil A Bandsaw Blade

1. Go get a bandsaw blade to practice with, preferably between 1/4" and 1/2" wide. Hold the uncoiled blade in a horizontal circle in front of you, teeth up. For the purpose of this discussion, we'll identify 6 o'clock as the point nearest your navel; 12 o'clock is the point farthest from you.
   
   
2. Support the bandsaw blade with your left hand at about 9 o'clock: palm up, fingers below the blade pointing toward 2 o'clock, thumb closing lightly over the top.


3. Hold the other side of the bandsaw blade with your right hand at 3 o'clock: palm down, fingers above the blade pointing left toward 10 o'clock, thumb wrapped lightly beneath.


4. Move your hands toward each other to halve the distance between them, squeezing the blade into an oval.


5. Without moving your elbow, bend your left wrist up toward you as if you were tipping a beer.


6. Without moving your elbow, bend your right wrist down as if you were casting a fly. When both fists are roughly vertical (like holding a steering wheel), the bandsaw blade will be bent into the shape of a saddle, with high lobes left and right, low lobes front and back.


7. Without moving your elbow, rotate your left wrist 45° clockwise, bringing the left lobe of the saddle down to the right.



8. Without moving your elbow, rotate your right wrist about 45° counterclockwise, bringing the right lobe down to the left above the left lobe. As you rotate your wrists you'll see the low lobe at your navel moving up and forward, while the front low lobe moves back toward it. It doesn't matter which lies above the other.


9. Keep on rotating your left wrist, letting your hand migrate toward 6 o'clock, until the left lobe (now a loop) is horizontal.


10. Rotate your right wrist, letting your hand move to 12 o'clock, until its loop, too, is horizontal.


11. Step back and admire. If you've been living right and thinking good thoughts, you just coiled a bandsaw blade! If it didn't work perfectly, never fear. It was only a first try, after all. Have another go at it, one sentence at a time. Sooner or later it'll work, and there'll be a new bandsaw blade coiling expert in the woodworking world.



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Learn more about using, setting up and tuning Bandsaws:
Understanding Bandsaw Blades - Everything you need to know!
Are Your Bandsaw Wheels Coplaner
Resawing on a Bandsaw Explained
What is the best Resaw technique: 3 Ways To Resaw


Shop:
Bandsaw Blades
New Complete Guide To Band Saws - Mark Duginske's highly recommended book on how to use bandsaws



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