Thread: Bandsaw versus Table Saw

You need both!!!

The band saw I find really useful when I want to cut very small pieces of timber that I would be frightened to cut with a table saw. The bandsaw will cut to a drawn line on timber, sometimes a crosscut comes off the bandsaw cleaner, and table saws usually only cut around 2 or 3 inch thick timber. Bandsaws cut upto 12" thick timbers.

Robert,

I asked much the same question about a year ago, and one of the guys here said to me that if I bought one, I would wonder how I ever did without it. I did, and he was correct.

I find myself using it for all sorts of cuts, but especially when I have a cut on the table saw which I think might be a bit risky, I ask myself, "can I do this on the bandsaw, where it will be safer ?" Quite often the answer is Yes.

Well that's certainly food for thought. The price of bandsaws seems quite reasonable for semi-decent ones.

They've always terrified me though, as they strike me as inherently more dangerous than other power tools. Is there more risk of losing your fingers compared to a table saw?

I'm no expert (been in the trade for years and still haven't lost a finger) but I believe the table saw has more potential for causing injury. A kickback has the potential to grab the bit of timber you're hanging onto and dragging it and your clutching fingers into the blade. You'd have to be really trying to get your fingers into a bandsaw blade if the guard is properly adjusted.

Mick

In my workshop the bandsaw is most probably the most widely used machine of all. Everyday I find new uses for it....it is still just cutting timber, but there are so many tricks to make work easier. Buy one and you'll be amazed at how much you use it.

All machines are dangerous. However in my opinion a well set up bandsaw, with the roller guides set to the correct height for the timber being cut, is less daunting than a tablesaw whirring away at thousands of rpm. Maybe it is just one's own perception, who knows. It is almost like trying to understand how woman that pour hot wax on themselves and rip off big patches of hair can do that but be scared of a small spider.

Anyway....I like my bandsaw....a great machine!

Forgive my ignorance, I'm trying to decide between the two for building ukuleles, where I think I need a band saw to rough out the neck: If a band saw does all these things so well, what does one need a table saw for?

A tablesaw is great for when you want straight, square cuts. Correctly set up ith a good, sharp blade you get a finish that allows you to use the piece straight off the saw.

A TS'll also cut rabbets (rebates) while a BS will only do through cuts. Sure, a router can also be used to cut a rebate, but a TS will cut it in a matter of seconds while a router takes minutes.

Building a lot of furniture? Productivity an issue? Then a TS is a "should have" item.

A BS, on the other hand, is safer - esp. for small pieces - and handles curved cuts. However you usually need to clean up the cut before you can consider the piece "finished."

For cutting guitar bodies, bowl blanks for turning, veneers, etc. where you're more concerned with getting the right shape than "cut quality," where finishing work is going to be done anyway, then the BS is the tool of choice.

Each excels in it's own area... which you "need" depends on what you do. Me, I have both... and wouldn't be without either.

Don't think you could improve on wot Skew said.....

I have both, & would hate to be without either, but if I had to give up one, it would be the bandsaw, in my case, simply because the sort of work I do most involves lots of straight, square cuts. If I was an instrument maker, I think it would be t'other way round....

Cheers,