What happens when band saw blades break?

[Cliff Furman]

Hello,
Terry Hahn - a kid I went to high school with, had the blade on the shop bandsaw break on him one day. It came out & hit him square on the top of the foot. No biggie.
By the time the story got around the school though, the blade had gone through his foot and impaled him onto the wodden floor of the shop.

A lot stories grow with each telling.
Back in 1963 or so I had a job in the meat department of a A&P food store.
The old guys told a story about one time in a store, they came in in the morning and there was a butcher lying next to the band saw, with his head lying near by! It was said he had a heart attack, and somehow fell into the blade. Hard to imagine, but, thats the story!

[george wilson]

I knew a guy who had most of the fingers on his left hand sawed off at an angle. He grabbed the blade when he fell down. He was still a good fiddler! Other than that,though,he was a total moron.

[John McClanahan]

I've had several break on the saw I use at work. The saw is a special purpose saw with only 1-1/4" thickness capacity. One blade did hit the table hard and poke out several inches. The edge of the blade was curled a bit from striking the table. It could have resulted in a cut finger, but nothing major. Every blade has broke at the weld. The saw takes on a different sound just before the blade breaks.

John