what do you reckon- Table saw or band saw

[Gussy]

Hi, I'm a new memeber and I'm trying to decide on a band saw or a table saw. I have a compound mitre saw and my immediate need is to rip down some timber to prepare for laminating.

What would you recommend?

[echnidna]

table saw is far and away ahead of a bandsaw

[dazzler]

Hi, I'm a new memeber and I'm trying to decide on a band saw or a table saw. I have a compound mitre saw and my immediate need is to rip down some timber to prepare for laminating.

What would you recommend?

Ripping = table saw with a ripping blade

[Big Shed]

Yep, tablesaw much more accurate rip over any distance than bandsaw.

[plino]

Gus, have a look at the Festool Forum and read over the reviews of the TSS55 plunge saw and the MFT tables, really cool and practical options to a table saw.

All the best

Plino

[jerryc]

Gussy,

It's not such a simple answer as you might think. The question band saw versus table saw is a constant question raised in this forum. There is no doubt the table saw is so easy any fool can cut a straight enough line, whereas a band saw needs a little more practice. But to get the best out of it, any tool needs to be learned and because the band saw is so much more versatile it is worth the effort to learn.
I have just come up from the workshop where I had to cut from thicker jarrah stock, a plank five mill thick by one fifty wide by two metres long. Yes it probably could be done on a table saw by making two rip cuts but it was no problem for the band saw to do it in one pass. I'm not alone, where budget or space dictate a choice between the two, in choosing the band saw over the table saw. A few years ago Mario Rodrigez in Fine Woodworking came to the same conclusion. With the right blade and technique a very accurate cut can be made that requires only a few passes with a plane or a thicknesser to clean up the kerfed side and as you have saved that amount of wood by using the thinner bandsaw blade there is no loss at all.
I speak from experience of both machines as I have both in the workshop, so it's not just an opinion plucked from the air.
Read the threads on band saws and gather as many viewpoints as you can before you purchase. I went the table saw first route and thought the bandsaw no more than a roughing out tool or something for cutting the occasional curve. After I had bought one, I learned my mistake and quickly traded in my first el cheapo for my second band saw.

Jerry

War does not decide who is right. War only decides who is left

[dazzler]

What size bandsaw / blade do you recommend jerry ?

[Gussy]

good advic, would you consider using the band saw to cut 38mm sips off at 19mm x 5m plank, or would you recommend using table saw,
need the lengh for ribs on a boat projec, previously i have always bought strips pre cut but it coss a bomb

gussy

[echnidna]

if you cut those strips on a bandsaw you will need to put them through a thicknesser afterwards to eliminate the wandering cut of the bandsaw.

If you cut them on a table saw with a suitable blade and a featherboard you will have nice straight strips without any further machining being needed

[dazzler]

I think there is some misunderstanding about using a bandsaw to resaw. As with most things using the correct tool for the job is important. I once used a bandsaw with a 1" "resaw" blade with few teeth per inch and it was a ripper (pun intended), but have tried with a narrower blade and I sucked bigtime....great if you need planks of varying thickness . So the bandsaw with the right blade was great, but I dont think my ability would allow me to go down to the tool shop and grab a bandsaw with the normal blade and have much success.

I think it far simpler to use a tablesaw with a rip blade as the variables are less. (longer table, longer guides and kerf guard) But, obviously a bandsaw will work if you have the right technique and blade

[munruben]

Resawing on a TS is limited by the diameter of the blade of course.

[jerryc]

Dazzler,

As you state, the basic of band saw is the right blade for the job. Blades are relatively cheap and I have blades from 1/8th inches to 3/4. The blade I use for veneer work is bi metallic 3/4 in 3tpi. I keep it solely for this fine work.

Gussy,

A 5metre plank such as you are thinking of using would need good support whether it was on a table saw or band saw. My set up is a little unusual in that I have set my router table at the same height as my band saw table so each acts as the out feed table for the other. And I use a roller system for the infeed. In your case two sets of rollers or similar support will be necessary.

I am careful when using either band saw or table saw to make sure cutting blade and fence are properly aligned and because of the action of the teeth both a piece cut on a table saw or on a band saw will need some cleaning up after cutting to give a perfect finish.

The trick in cutting on the band saw is in setting the fence. I use a fence on the band saw but it is angled to the drift of the blade and not set at right angles.

My photos are not the best because I took them quickly this morning to illustrate the cut side of the 5 mill plank I'm working on. I also deliberately took a photo of the one spot where I hit a problem with feed. When you consider the piece is no more than five mill thick you can see the one deviation was quite minor. I was in a hurry and as the plank is to face an inset oven and only one side will be showing I was not unduly upset. You can see however that generally the kerfed side will need very little clean up

If you want to know how to set up a fence for drift I can advise you.


Jerry

War does not decide who is right. War only decides who is left.

[old_picker]

depends on what you do really
if you do a lot of ripping, make lots of things that are straight sided and require excellent accuracy the table saw is king. used cunningly it will do all sorts of things like for an eg cut circles or cut a fine edge for ege to edge glueing.

if you are cutting lots of curvy shapes or resawing timber into thin slices the bandsaw is king - it can also cut square but does not cut clean like the TS

really, if you are heavily into woodwork you find a lot of use for both machines - i make guitars so do more on the bandsaw but i could not do without the dead accuracy of a well tuned table saw

[Harry72]

If your making cabinets go a tablesaw... if your into turning get a Bandsaw.

Or just buy both... and be happy.

[Studley 2436]

I think both are great. My 10 inch table saw can go through about 75mm of board thinkness when you are ripping but I have many times turned boards over to get double.

What I think is that the Bandsaw gives you curve cutting ability. A ripping blade can give you the ability to rip big boards.

BUT

What I did notice is that when I had a look at the numbers on them. Table saws were running 3hp and Bandsaws 3/4 that would be a big difference if you were ripping some heavy timber.

If I was cutting a decent amount of timber to a size I would go for a Table Saw, if that wasn't so important a Band Saw might be better.

Something that it an advantage of a Band Saw is it's thinner blade. It can help you get more boards from a plank.

How much heavy stuff are you doing? That is what it pretty much comes down to. Unless you want to get a 5 or 10 HP Bandsaw. *L* I want a 40 HP lathe but you know how it goes!

Studley