How to Use a Meat Bandsaw

What Safety Equipment is Necessary?

Using a saw of any kind can be incredibly dangerous and requires a very serious focus on health and safety to keep employees safe. 

Protective Cut Resistant Gloves

Cut-resistant gloves greatly reduce the potential of receiving serious cuts on your hands or potentially the loss of fingers. They are essential when using any kind of sharp-bladed equipment, especially a bandsaw. 

Goggles

Protective goggles will help reduce the chance of any damage occurring to the eye from flying debris, splashes, or other potential hazards. They should be worn at all times around mechanical equipment to reduce eye injury which could lead to loss of sight. 

Apron or other protective clothing.

Aprons, coveralls, and other protective clothing will protect your clothing from splashes or debris damaging or staining your clothing. It can also prevent any baggy clothing from being caught in the blade. 

Hair Ties or Hair Nets

Long hair should be kept away from the bandsaw as it can cause severe injury if caught in the blade. 

No Jewellery 

Long chains, bracelets or other dangling jewellery can get caught in the blade, potentially damaging both the jewellery itself, the blade and also the wearer. Be sure to keep any jewellery away from the blade, and the equipment. 

What to Consider When Setting up the Bandsaw.

Safety

Make sure the location you’re setting up your equipment in is safe and appropriate for this type of machinery, as well as being away from any potential hazards. 

Flat Surface

To cut smoothly, the surface your blade is on needs to be a smooth, flat surface with no obstructions. 

Power

Make sure your saw is located close to an appropriate power source so it can be plugged in correctly without having to leave trailing cables which could lead to potential trips and injury. 

Step-by-Step Set-Up Guide

1. Ensure Your PPE Is Correctly Worn

• Make sure you’re wearing goggles and protective gloves before using the machine or handling the equipment.
• Ensure anything (hair, jewellery, clothing) that could potentially get caught in the blade is kept away from the equipment.

2. Set Up Your Machine

• Make sure your saw is on a stable and level surface with no obstructions or mess. 
• Ensure you have the correct type of blade for the meat being cut as the wrong type of blade can be damaged if it’s not appropriate. 
• Correctly adjust the turnbuckle on your blade. If the tension is too much it will potentially snap your blade, while insufficient tension may cause it to bend, and won’t correctly cut the meat. 
• Make sure your blade is positioned correctly in line and centred on the wheels. This will reduce the potential for early wear and tear on the edges of your machine blade.
• Set the Cut-Guide to the correct distance from the blade for your requirements.

3. Turn On The Equipment

• Ensure the space around your saw is clear and nothing is in contact with it before starting.
• Wait for the blade to reach full speed before using it to ensure a proper cut

4. Begin The Process

• Feel free to test the blade settings first with a spare piece of material or meat before starting in full. 
• Slowly feed the meat into the blade, holding onto it with a firm grip and feeding it into the blade at a consistent pace to ensure a smooth cut.

5. Turn Off The Equipment Correctly

• Be sure to wait until the blade has completely stopped moving before turning it off.
• Do not touch the equipment until it is completely powered down and unplugged from the mains to avoid potential injury. 
• Thoroughly clean the area in full to avoid potential contamination, and so it is ready for the next person to use. 

Discover Our Range of Meat Bandsaws

Here at First Food Machinery, our aim is to provide and supply a variety of machinery to every corner of the food industry. Completely independent as well as family-owned, we specialise in supplying, servicing, and repairing a huge variety of food processing and packaging machinery for businesses of all sizes.

For any questions or enquiries, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0121 568 7100 or via our online web form which can be found on our website.

For more information on How to Use a Meat Bandsaw talk to First Food Machinery Ltd