• 22 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Bandsaw

A woodworking bandsaw from the front with its covers off, then the table close up.

Parts of a Bandsaw

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
More options

Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Table
  2. Bandsaw blade
  3. Upper wheel
  4. Lower wheel
  5. Motor
  6. Switch
  7. Frame
  8. Tire
  9. Blade tension handwheel
  10. Blade tracking knob
  11. Drive belt
  12. Dust port
  13. Guide post
  14. Blade guard
  15. Rip fence
  16. Table insert
  17. Miter slot
  18. Upper blade guides
  19. Thrust bearing
  20. Guide post lock knob
  21. Lower blade guides
  22. Trunnion

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the parts of a table saw

All 22 parts on the diagram

Show the list

The whole saw 12

  1. Table The work slides across it into the blade. It can tilt for angled cuts.
  2. Bandsaw blade One long strip of toothed steel, its ends welded into a loop.
  3. Upper wheel It carries the blade over the top. Raising it tightens the blade.
  4. Lower wheel The motor turns this wheel, and the wheel drives the blade.
  5. Motor An electric motor; on this saw it sits in the stand.
  6. Switch It turns the motor on and off.
  7. Frame It holds both wheels in line and carries the table.
  8. Tire Each wheel wears a rubber tire. The blade rides on the middle of it.
  9. Blade tension handwheel It moves the upper wheel up or down. That pulls the blade tight or lets it go slack.
  10. Blade tracking knob It tilts the upper wheel. This makes the blade run in the center of the tire. On most saws it is on the back. Here it is drawn at the side.
  11. Drive belt Runs from the motor pulley to a pulley on the lower wheel.
  12. Dust port A short pipe low on the saw. A vacuum or dust collector hose fits here.

At the table 10

  1. Guide post It holds the upper guides just above the wood. It slides up and down.
  2. Blade guard A cover over the blade. It runs between the top of the saw and the guides. It moves with the guide post.
  3. Rip fence It locks to the table at a set distance from the blade. It is for straight cuts along a board.
  4. Table insert A removable plate that fills the hole in the table. The blade passes through that hole.
  5. Miter slot The bar of a miter gauge slides along this groove. It is for cuts across a board.
  6. Upper blade guides One on each side of the blade, set close to it. Then the blade cannot twist in the cut.
  7. Thrust bearing A bearing behind the blade. It takes the push when wood is fed into the teeth.
  8. Guide post lock knob Loosen it to raise or lower the guide post. Then tighten it again.
  9. Lower blade guides They steady the blade below the table. The upper guides do the same above it.
  10. Trunnion The table is bolted to it. It lets the table tilt, and a lock holds the angle.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where at least two of these use it. (1) A maker's owner's manual for a 17-inch woodworking bandsaw, full text at https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-642407 : tension indicator, blade tension handwheel, blade tracking knob, guide post, guide post lock knob, blade guides, table insert, trunnions, miter slot, rip fence, dust port, motor, switch, wheel tires, upper and lower wheels, frame. (2) A second maker's user manual for a 14-inch bandsaw, full text at https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5943000 : blade tension handwheel, blade tracking knob, guide post lock knob, upper and lower blade guides, thrust bearing, blade guard, table insert, trunnion, rip fence, dust port, motor, drive belt, tire, frame. (3) A third maker's owner's manual for a 12-inch band saw, full text at https://archive.org/details/manuals-plus-craftsman-12-inch-band-saw-owners-manual-models-113-248211-d40a31f8 : upper and lower wheels, rubber tires, tension knob, tracking adjustment, blade guides, thrust (back-up) bearings, guide bar lock knob, blade guard, table, miter gage slot, drive belt, frame, on-off switch. (4) A woodworkers' club bandsaw manual, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5649584 : guide post, thrust bearing, throat plate, trunnion, tires. (5) Wikipedia, Bandsaw, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandsaw : the blade is a band welded into a loop and stretched between two wheels, one of them powered. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's saw, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A floor-standing woodworking bandsaw in two views: the whole saw from the front with the wheel covers off, then the table close up, where the guides steady the blade above and below the wood.

Read the full guide

How the blade runs

The blade is one loop of toothed steel stretched over two wheels, each wearing a rubber tire. The motor turns the lower wheel through a drive belt. The blade tension handwheel raises the upper wheel to pull the blade tight, and the blade tracking knob tilts that wheel so the blade stays in the middle of the tire.

What holds the blade steady

Above the table, the guide post carries the blade guard, the upper blade guides and a thrust bearing: a guide either side of the blade and the bearing behind it. A second set of guides sits under the table. The table is bolted to the trunnion, which lets it tilt.

  • Tension and tracking are two jobs: tension pulls the blade tight, tracking keeps it in the middle of the wheel.

Questions and answers

What are the main parts of a bandsaw?

A frame, two wheels with rubber tires, a blade looped over them, a motor and drive belt, a table, and blade guides above and below the table. Two controls on the upper wheel set the blade's tension and tracking.

What does the thrust bearing do on a bandsaw?

It sits just behind the blade. When wood is fed into the teeth, the back of the blade presses on the bearing, which takes the push and keeps the blade straight.

What is the difference between blade tension and blade tracking?

Tension is how tightly the blade is stretched between the wheels; the handwheel sets it by moving the upper wheel. Tracking is where the blade rides on the wheels; the knob tilts the upper wheel until the blade runs mid-tire.

What is a trunnion on a bandsaw?

The curved support under the table. The table is bolted to it, and it lets the table tilt for angled cuts. A lock holds the angle you set.

More quizzes

Show 6 more

Browse Science Quizzes