Thread: what do you use bandsaws for?

Depends on the size and shape of the timber you want to slice up. You can use a bandsaw or a table saw as I said depends what you are cutting up.

Bandsaws are designed for cutting non rectanguar shapes curves etc, but they are also very well suited for general cutting and resawing (converting large sections into boards), if youare going to only but one machine to cut timber, the get yourself a bandsaw. From personal experience I would recomend the Woodfast brand, they are not the cheapest but they are an exelent machine

bandsawn box making ~

Bandsaws make like work of cutting joints and ripping timber with little waste as the blades are relatively thin compared to saw blades. The output though usually needs to be touched up by a planer/plane/thicknesser, etc.

They are also great for making garden stakes out of your crappy timber, very quickly and much safer than trying to do it on the tablesaw

And of course they cut curves and allow you to resaw. There is one big proviso to all these, a crappy bandsaw will probably do all of the above really badly.

I have a HAFCO BP355 and I am pretty happy with it. PS in the the price you must account for the cost of a few quality blades, a bandsawa with crappy blades is much worse than a tablesaw with a cheap saw blade.

regards

Marios

Depending on size, a bandsaw will let you "slice up" your timber to a greater thickness and more safely.

I've got one of the smaller bandsaws, with 10" wheels and a 6" depth of cut.

Sawing 6" of timber on a tablesaw can be done if you have at least 3" of cutting depth. You make one pass, then turn the timber over and make another pass. That second pass scares the crap out of me - I've now got two unstable pieces of timber going past a very fast, very aggressive blade.

Using a bandsaw is slower, but much more controlled. I never feel unsafe, even when sawing 8-10 mm slices from a piece of wood.

My only gripe about a bandsaw is the stupidly small table size on every model I've seen. Why has no-one ever put a decent sized table on a bandsaw? Or why don't they come with "wings" for in-feed and out-feed?

Scubabob,
If you can cut up what you need on the triton then you don't a bandsaw. They are an expensive bit of gear and take a while to master. Having said that I find them a good addition to the tool kit and I use mine a lot. I got one a few years ago secondhand and to start with I was not impressed. Due to the good info on this forum I learned a lot and now get good results from it. If you get one be prepared for a learning process. I would
suggest you find someone who has one and will show you the ropes first before you commit.

Regards
John

For many years I couldn't see any point in buying a BS as - apart from curved cuts - it couldn't really do anything that I couldn't do on my tablesaw, one way or another.

However, once I finally did get around to buying one it rapidly became my most used tool! Not only for cutting veneers and resawing but for cutting any small pieces in general, such as pen blanks. No more fretting, trying to hold tiny pieces against the fence with push sticks, worrying about whether the offcut will drop down my "not quite zero-clearance slot" and jam the blade or about kick-back or losing tiny pieces between the fence and the blade or...

Orraloon was right when he said: "If you can cut up what you need on the triton then you don't need a bandsaw." But, really, having both makes life sooo much easier and safer.

Also I don't think anyone mentioned generally quieter yet?

I love my bandsaw, it is only a secondhand old carbatec (is green like a hafco). When I first got it I hardly used it, now I use it a lot. We have a 10" Jet tablesaw which I hardly use anymore.

the bandsaw is quiet, doesnt shoot stuff out at a huge rate of speed, you can control the speed it cuts, there is little kerf wastage, you can cut shapes, the back of your cut is pretty straight so you can cut the sides of tenons (and dovetails too if you want).

I cut the little 70mm cube of olive up with it into lots of bits. They are invaluable for bringing timber down to size, especially if you are into making smaller things.

I agree about table size, also mine doesnt have a fence, and only a wobbly plastic mitre thingy. Must get over and make some jigs one day.

Donna

Scubabob,

A bandsaw like any tool needs understanding and as you use it you find more things you can do it.

You can re saw wood that is much thicker than a table saw can manage and as the kerf is narrower there is much less wastage. Example. At the moment I am refacing an area around an oven with jarrah. The piece needs to be ten mill thick and one twenty mill wide at it's widest. I need two and have taken them from one plank so I know grain and colour will match.

On a boat I had to make window surrounds that were most complex and needed strips of teak five mill section and a metre long. The danger involved in attempting this on a table saw would have been horrendous and would have involved lots of jigging. I did it by hand against a fence and in safety with the bandsaw.

You may not think you need to saw curves but because the facility this there you will attempt things you haven't dared think of before. I have a jig saw but hardly ever use it because the bandsaw will do most of what I want.

Taper cutting on a table saw needs a jig. Done by hand and eye on the BS

Forget the fence normally supplied with a bandsaw. It doesn't work well and you can do better with a home made one.

Table area is easily taken care of. In my case I made my router table the same height as the BS so each acts as an out feed support. For putting long lengths through, and ones I'm working with at present are two metres long, one hundred and fifty mill wide and fifty mill thick jarrah, I have a simple roller system that is held in a work mate.

I have a table saw but my weapon of choice is the BS. First one I bought was a cheap and cheerful because I didn't see much need for a BS. Quickly traded it in for one I have now and have often dreamed of a real top of the range model but like many here I have budget restrictions. So my advice is get a BS and buy the best you can afford. You won't regret it.


Jerry

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