The band saw was the second machine for sawing wood invented at the beginning of the nineteenth century, after the circular saw.
The invention is often mistakenly attributed to the Frenchman Thouard around 1842, but actually the Englishman William Newberry had already patented a model in 1809, and a second patent was registered in 1815 by the Frenchman Touroude (source: Molesworth, 1858).
The true origin of the band saw can therefore be attributed to the initial idea had by Newberry; however, although it was defined in almost all major parts, the machine initially did not catch on due to the poor durability of the blades available on the market at that time. About 40 years later, in the middle of the same century, the Frenchman Anne Paulin Crepin invented an alloy and a welding technique that allowed blades that did not deform too much during processing. He applied for the patent in 1846, then quickly sold the rights to the manufacturer A. Perin & Company of Paris.
The evolution of the band saw
Saw flywheels were initially made of wood, a cheaper and lighter material, but soon cast iron ones, more solid and durable, were preferred. The movement was transmitted by belts that connected the steam engine to the lower flywheel.
It was a big step forward, but the lack of ball bearings made it slow, and the quality of the cutting finish was far from current standards.
The rapid evolutions of those years and the advances in technology allowed band saws to be made more functional, which soon became popular and widespread, especially on construction sites and among manufacturers of timber products of various kinds and types.
It was in 1873, with the development of the electric motor, that the machines became more efficient: the limitations linked to the position of the steam engine and the size of the belts could finally be overcome.
Then in 1899, with the introduction of ball bearings, machinery was able to meet the high quality and mass production needs of the period.
(Garuffa E. 1898. Technology of the mechanical industries. Vol. III – Wood processing. Stone, glass and clay processing. Milano. Hoepli).
The spread of the band saw in Italy
In Italy the diffusion of the band saw, and of sawing machines in general, was slower than in other countries. Thanks to the scarcity of coal needed to fuel the engine and a general social and economic backwardness, the first industrial revolution and its innovations influenced a few limited cities, mostly in the northern areas. The exception was Venice, where the Venetian saw had been in vogue for a long time.
It was towards the end of the 19th century that the spread of electric energy, innovations in the processing of metallic materials and general progress gave the decisive push to the spread of carpentry machines in the center and south, finally relegating the effort of manual sawing and increasingly isolated cases.
Today, centuries later, this apparently simple and versatile machine is the protagonist of new evolutions that are increasingly closer to the specific needs of those who use them.
