Thread: A Bandsaw or a Table Saw next?

I realise I can also use my track saw the same way a table saw would - make multiple cuts and break it off.

I definitely say table saw. I use it far, far more than my bandsaw.

It could be argued that a bandsaw will do what a table saw will, but a table saw won't do what a bandsaw will. This is partially true, but a table saw is vastly superior at doing what a table saw is designed to do, and the things a bandsaw will do that a table saw won't (scrolling and most resawing) are not as frequently done as the things a table saw does so well (long rips and crosscuts of shorter pieces). You can't make curves with a table saw, but chances are you won't start out making curved furniture anyway. I could, reluctantly, get by without a band saw, but I could never go without a table saw. My entire operation would be crippled.

Also, regarding your comment about hand saws, you're heading in a bad direction there. To put it in perspective, I have about $5,000 invested in my table saw, every penny of which I would spend again in the exact same way, but the first tool I grab on EVERY furniture project is a 26" crosscut profile hand saw that is 130yrs old. What do you do when you have a 4.2m board and you only need 1.2m pieces? You can't very well put it on the table saw with 3m hanging off of the side of the table, and you can’t get it past the throat of any bandsaw. In my opinion, you should buy this before either machine, and the fact that you can get one for about $10 further supports that.

I also think that, as your interest in woodworking grows, you will find the power planer less useful than you think you may now, and possibly altogether useless. I would spend that money on a benchtop thicknesser and a #5 hand plane.

Good luck. Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Luke

After reading again and thinking more about your lap joints, I still think I would go table saw. Make the cut across the grain on the table saw by adjusting the height of the blade, then use a cheap tenon saw from bunnings to make the cuts along the grain, then pare with a chisel.

Originally Posted by woodmp

Another alternative is to use a hand saw... but I'm trying not to

big, big mistake

a hand saw, chisel and mallet are by far the fastest way to knock out a half lap joint, followed by the router method. Until you invest in a cross cut sled and dado blade a table saw is slow.

Originally Posted by woodmp

Hi, I'm new at woodworking. I currently have these tools: a tracksaw, a drill press, a jigsaw, chisels, and a router. A hand planer is on the list of things to get too. I am currently building some frames for an outdoor cage, but after this I'd like to learn furniture making: tables, benches, chairs etc.

I was making my frame joints (half laps etc) using my router. I find it a bit time consuming and tedious and I think I could've done what I'm doing now with a band saw much more quickly and easily.

However, my understanding is that a table saw seems to be the "standard" tool rather than a band saw. So should I start with a TS first or a BS? I think I can make the joints I'm trying to make with a TS although not as easily i.e. make lots of cuts and break off with a hammer then smoothe away with a chisel. Vs I'd imagine with a band saw I'd just make two cuts, one against the grain and one from the end grain.

furniture making is mostly about precision marking out and then removing wood to your layout lines.

really there's nothing to it once you master marking out and the CONTROLLED removal of excess wood

Agree completely with Ian and Luke. Definitely table saw. And if you can afford it don't skimp. You don't *need* a top 'o the range but neither should you get less than a cast iron top with a proper Bessemyer style fence.

Personally I would not bother with the hand planer. It is one of the least used tools in my shed. Go for a thicknesser instead.

John

Gumtree is your friend. I picked up an old but perfectly working large table saw for $150.

If you want it for joinery, tablesaw, if your getting a lot of large rough cut wood that you need to rip then a band saw. My band saw really only does one thing, make rips that are over a couple of inches high, I would not want to rip a 25cm board down to 2 or 3 pieces on a table saw. I personally got a band saw first for that reason, I'd rather hand cut a tenon or lap joint than rip something a foot wide and 3 metres long by hand.
In regards to breaking boards down to length, I use a cheap sliding mitre saw, it does the job in 5 seconds but that said I'm considering going handsaw as well, slower but a lot less dust.
If you mean electric hand plane then skip it and get a neadertool version, more grunt work but finer results iand a lot more flexible in what you can use it for.

PS

While technically you can make a lap joint on the ends of a piece with 4 cuts (two each piece) with a bs a) it will be annoying if the piece is long supporting it while making the cross grain cut and b) it will almost certainly be rough enough that you will still need to clean it up to make it look and fit nice.

Originally Posted by chemfish

While technically you can make a lap joint on the ends of a piece with 4 cuts (two each piece) with a bs a) it will be annoying if the piece is long supporting it while making the cross grain cut and b) it will almost certainly be rough enough that you will still need to clean it up to make it look and fit nice.

Thanks! That is one very important piece of information for me. That means a bandsaw is not what I should get for now. About long piece with support, I am hoping that a roller support stand would do the trick for that, but point taken about the roughness.

However, watching youtube, it seems that people make really awesome accurate cuts with their bandsaw.

I'd go table saw too. You don't see videos of people making awesome accurate cuts with a table saw because that's just what they do.

I love my bandsaw too

Whilst on the subject ... If you do get a table saw make yourself an outfeed table and (depending on the table width) a side table. These are the two most useful accessories for my table saw. My outfeed was based on a Mark Spagnolo design since it was easy to build and cheap. It used 19mm ply but the insert top can really be anything. It also doubles (for me) as a small assembly table and sharpening station. I keep my sharpening stuff just behind the outfeed and it only takes a few seconds to get it out and put away. It could also be used as a bench in a pinch but I don't use it as such.

On the basis that you MUST have another [imprecise] power tool, we really need to know what it will be used for.

Table saws -- out of the box -- are good for ripping, and not much else.
Add in a sliding table or a good miter gauge, and a cross cut sled, and a tenoning jig, and an out feed table, and in-feed support, and feather boards and you start to have the basis for some precision work. But cutting joints in the ends of long pieces is not a whole lot of fun, and setting up a jig to do it safely can be very time consuming.

Band saws -- out of the box -- are also good for ripping, especially taking thin slices off big bits of wood, and cutting curves. But when it comes to machine-cut joints they can be as tedious as a table saw, except for cuts with the grain in the ends of long boards.

miter saws AKA drop saws are good for quickly cutting bits of wood to length

and sliding drop saws can be used to cut one face of a lap joint -- provided the saw has a depth stop like that on my Makita 1013.


It may be that your next power tool is a sliding compound miter saw.


be wary of low cost offerings. many are less precise than making 3rd class cuts with a hand saw, and only a few can rival the precision of a 1st class cut with a hand saw.
(what's this business of 3rd and 1st class cuts? Please read this Lee Valley Tools - Woodworking Newsletter Vol. 1, Issue 5 )

Originally Posted by ian

Please read this Lee Valley Tools - Woodworking Newsletter Vol. 1, Issue 5 )

Excellent article - thanks for linking

Hello Ian, have to say the tablesaw is much more than just for ripping. Stacked dado is used in my shop constantly. I find it quicker than a setup on the router table. That being said the rest of your post was agreeable to me. Made me want to get my own sliding compound mitre saw, cheers

Originally Posted by smooth touch

Hello Ian, have to say the tablesaw is much more than just for ripping. Stacked dado is used in my shop constantly. I find it quicker than a setup on the router table. That being said the rest of your post was agreeable to me. Made me want to get my own sliding compound mitre saw, cheers

fair point re a stacked dado on a table saw