I chose the band saw over the hand saw for my shop, and I'm not sorry

Everyone in my shop kept telling me hand saws give you more control and better feel. I ran a whole beef breakdown with a hand saw for 6 months in Denver and hated every second of it. My wrist was killing me after every shift, and I couldn't keep a straight line on rib bones no matter how careful I was. I finally dropped $400 on a used band saw from a restaurant supply place, and it changed how I work. Sure, the setup took a day and I had to learn blade tension the hard way after snapping one on a brisket. But I can break down a full side in 45 minutes now, and my cuts are way cleaner. Has anyone else switched from hand to mechanical and dealt with the old timers giving them grief about it?

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lily_sullivan8212d ago

Oh man, I feel this so hard. I did the same thing a few years back, except I was stuck with a hand saw for a whole year because I was too stubborn to change. The old timers in my shop would watch me struggle and just say shit like "you gotta feel the bone" and honestly it was useless advice. Once I got my band saw dialed in, I never looked back. Yeah, I snapped a couple blades learning the tension thing too, but that's just part of it. My cuts are straighter, my wrists actually rest now, and I can do in one morning what used to take me all day. The grief from the old guys faded pretty fast once they saw me finishing way ahead of them.