I had a similar thing happen with a small piece I was shaping. The throat plate actually broke and the piece got sucked into the throat. It pulled my finger to the blade and it just barely grazed me. Scared the heck out of me- I thought for sure I had cut the finger off. My first thought was that I had broken the blade. It took me a few minutes to figure out what happened.
I agree with those that theorize that the piece rotated, but also a flexy throat plate could have trampolined it back at you.
Everytime one is foolish enough to think a bandsaw is safe, just recall that the roasts, ribs and steak you eat is cut using a bandsaw....Too many woodworkers go on and on about how safe the bandsaw is compared to the tablesaw. The bandsaw will bite deep if provoked.
It came to pass...
"Curiosity is the ultimate power tool." - Roy Underhill
The road IS the destination.
Reviving this thread. Was browsing Youtube and found this interesting video of a common accident on the bandsaw. It's in Italian but you'll get the idea quickly. I have witnessed this precise accident happen at trade shows and seen the piece go jumping off the table.
Erik
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-D0AvWAq4U
Ex-SCM and Felder rep
If the part of the blade that was close to the table came out of the cut before the blade at the top of the piece finished the cut, it is likely that you would get the type of kick back you describe. The front edge of the piece probably lifted up off the table slightly when the blade started coming free and the top of the piece was still being cut with the down force being applied. That would cause the top corner of the piece to be rotated downward at a speed of 25 ft per second or so.
Lee Schierer
USNA '71
Go Navy!
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