Bandsaw
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- This topic has 8 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 6 months ago by Ed.
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In another thread, Peter said, “That’s where the band saw can be useful for the donkey work. It’s the power tool that sees the most use since I’ve moved to mostly hand tools.”
@pjgeorge , How much do you think a bandsaw could substitute for a table saw for ripping and cross-cutting? I still enjoy doing those by hand, but I increasingly feel like I want to get a bandsaw for resawing and some kinds of shaping, so I am curious how much a bandsaw can replace a table saw. When we built chests, tables, and chairs in Paul’s class, Paul did all the wood prep with machines and this included ripping to width and cross cutting to rough length on the table saw and chop saw. I’m wondering how much of that could be done on just the band saw. Thoughts and experiences?I use the bandsaw for ripping and occasionally for crosscuting within the 14″ limit of my machine. The chop saw is ok but I prefer to cross cut by hand. My table saw is sitting unused waiting for me to find the time to sell it, along with my jointer. The bandsaw cuts do require cleaning up with a hand plane, whereas the table saw cuts can come out essentially ready to go. That spinning blade, however…. I don’t want to deal with it any more. The bandsaw is much safer, though it can do harm as well like all machines.
MarcHi Ed
if your thinking about getting a band saw get good one with at least a 24 inch square table.
some makes have a sliding fence which is handy for rough cross cutting small stuff. due to the table size on even the biggest machines your very limited on length when cross cutting.
a band saw with a #
course rip blade is great for ripping wider stuff as long as its set up properly.
for small stock a bench saw would work better you can double the height/depth of cut by ripping from both sides.cross cutting can be accurately done with a sled you can make yourself. theres loads of ideas for these on you tube.
as far as shaping goes, a good jigsaw with a blade thats suited to what your cutting will do all most all a band saw will do but not as fast.
i have a bandsaw, jigsaw and bench saw and i think for small stock you would get better use out of a decent table saw than a bandsaw
thats just an opinion of coursedaragh.
30 September 2016 at 9:01 pm #141098You can rip, crosscut, resaw and cut curves on a bandsaw. No kickback on a bandsaw. And it takes up less floor area.
Table saws give me the creeps. I had no tears after giving mine away.
Also, a bandsaw is much quieter than a table saw, creates far less dust and is many, many times less dangerous, too. Besides, they are cheaper.
The table saw excels when working with sheet goods (plywood etc.) and for production work and situations where you make a lot of repetitive cuts, as when Paul prepares stock for a class.
30 September 2016 at 10:36 pm #141100many many times less dangerous. I disagree Dave all power saws can be dangerous if not used correctly and with respect & care.
Anything that can cut wood can cut human flesh and bone and should be considered dangerous. (I have gotten some wicked cuts from chisels and plane irons, for instance, in cases where I was not paying enough attention to what I was doing.) Some woodworking machines are more dangerous than others and tablesaws are among the most dangerous. (Ask a hand surgeon or your insurance agent if you doubt this.)
- This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by Dave Ring.
- This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by Dave Ring.
- This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by Dave Ring.
1 October 2016 at 2:43 am #141107The table saw still gets some use, mostly with sheet goods. I mostly use the band saw for resawing and for long rip cuts. The band saw is very restricted for cross cuts due to the throat depth. If you’re looking to cut components to size the table saw is probably the more versatile machine. It and the router table still see use for “quick and dirty” projects.
My jointer has not been fired up in a couple of years (easier and more fun to flatten by hand) but the thickness planer still sees use bringing material to rough thickness.
In my view though, if you want a machine which takes most of the drudgery out of hand work, I would vote for the band saw. However if I could have only one machine, it would be my lathe.
Thanks for all your thoughts. How would you select a saw, e.g., what size and what things to look for? I imagine the primary uses are going to be resawing, shaping cabriole legs and chair backs, and long rips of thick stuff like chair legs. Mostly, I use my hand tools, but as my ambitions grow, I think I’d like to deal with some of the donkey work.
One thing is not clear to me about cross cuts…supposing the piece fits on the table, if you use a miter gauge and set a stop, will you get repeatable cross cuts, or is it always cutting by eye to a line and then cleaning up? I’ve cut a ton of plastic on a bandsaw in a previous job, but it was all shaping, not dimensioning. My guess is that this won’t work very repeatably, but maybe our saw wasn’t tuned well since it was used for roughing literally tens of thousands of parts which would then be refined with routers.
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