Horizontal bandsaws hold the workpiece stationary while the blade swings down through the cut. This configuration is used to cut long materials such as pipe or bar stock to length. Thus it is an important part of the facilities in most machine shops. The horizontal design is not useful for cutting curves or complicated shapes. Small horizontal band saw machine typically employ a gravity feed alone, retarded to an adjustable degree by a coil spring; on industrial models, the rate of descent is usually controlled by a hydraulic cylinder bleeding through an adjustable valve.

When the saw is set up for a cut, the operator raises the saw, positions the material to be cut underneath the blade, and then turns on the saw. The blade slowly descends into the material, cutting it as the band blade moves. When the cut is complete, a switch is tripped and the saw automatically turns off. More sophisticated versions of this type of saw are partially or entirely automated for high-volume cutting of machining blanks. Such band saw machine provides a stream of cutting fluid recirculated from a sump, in the same manner that a CNC machining center does.