Invention

• William Newberry is credited with inventing the band saw in 1808 even though his idea was not yet workable. He didn't have a way to keep the metal blade together to form a continuous loop. It was 1846 before Anne Pauline Crepin patented the process for brazing the ends of a band saw blade together.
  
  

Late Bloomer

• The band saw was a late addition to the woodworking world. The circular saw was invented by Samuel Miller in 1777. Thousands of years earlier, ancient Egyptians were using a copper saw to cut stone as well as wood.
  
  

Uses

• Most people think of the band saw as a woodworking tool, but it has many other uses as well. Specialized band saws are also used for cutting metal, stone and meat. Meat band saws, which are found in most butcher shops, but they are designed with meat cutting in mind. They are generally made of stainless steel and have grooves for draining fluids from the table.
  
  

Motorized Band Saws

• Delta obtained a patent for the first home shop band saw in 1933 but had already been selling them for three years. Modern band saws look very much like the original Delta.
  
  

Metal Band Saw

• The metal band saw was also patented in 1933 by Leighton A. Wilkie, founder of the DoAll Sawing Products company, which is still in operation as of 2010. Wilkie was not only an inventor and businessman but also a supporter of anthropological expeditions and museum exhibits, such as the "Civilization Through Tools" exhibit.
  
  

Make It Yourself

• The band saw was included in the Popular Mechanics publication "Forty Power Tools You Can Make." The book was created as a possible solution for the rationing that was necessitated by World War II.