Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jeff on July 31, 2010 at 5:28am

I also agree with the Band saw. This Winter I had the same dilemma and went with a Sears 10" table saw. It's invaluable in terms of getting straight cuts for laminates and cutting to length, but when doing rips less than 1/2" the part from "Walk the Line" where Johnny Cash's brother eats it on one always pops into my head. IE. In my opinion, it can get kinda scary. You'll end up with both in the long run but at this point a Band Saw is going to be the more versatile option in that you can do more controlled cuts, and some minor rips.

Keep your eyes open too, I recently scored a Jigsaw from a garbage can and that thing has become an invaluable part of my arsenal!

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Permalink Reply by Train train on July 31, 2010 at 7:30am

I agree with all that has been said. I have dis liked my low dollar table saw because I have great trouble cutting mid size and larger pieces. I have gone to using a power hand saw with a guide on saw horses. This is very time and space consuming. I have seriously thought about buying a panel saw. Anyone else have similar thoughts?

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Permalink Reply by Greg Miller on July 31, 2010 at 8:03am

If you only have $125 to spend you have to get the table saw. A band saw is much more useful but, you need a 14" or better. With a circular saw, a jig saw and some saw horses you can achieve similar results as a band and table saw, but ripping is almost out of the question. I also have a craftsman 10" table saw and almost never use it in favor of the band saw.

I would suggest save your cash and get a good band saw.

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Permalink Reply by JUJU on July 31, 2010 at 8:31am

well i dont own a Table saw all my cuts are done on the Band saw with a good blade and good fence you can perform accurate straight rips in all woods - main thing is - is knowing what blade to use for the job in hand - if i'm ripping oak i use a 3/4" blade if i'm doing curved cuts i use a 1/4" - with the 3/4" blade i have been able to make my own veneers to a thickness of 0.0595" x 8" now you cant do that with a table saw like many have said try and spend as much as you can on a band Saw - when i was looking at buying mine i was going to buy the bench top type but then i thought maybe it wont be upto the job - so i just took the plunge and went for the big floorstanding one - better to buy oversize than buy undersize and then have to upgrade ! also with bandsaws try and buy good quality blades - the one that came with mine as standard was complete trash - after fitting a good quality blade it was like using a different machine

well thats my take on it anyway

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Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on July 31, 2010 at 1:23pm

JuJu, showing off isn't nice.... lol.... that's not a bandsaw.... that's a extra heavy duty, industrial grade, do everything that I can onlly dream of band saw!!!!! the only one like that that I've seen in private hands was in the workshop of a millionaire construction contractor's 2000 foot basement shop..... I am green with jealousy.... just the ability to resaw veneers is awesome..... the best, Wichita Sam
JUJU AKA SOUNDSSOGOOD said:

well i dont own a Table saw all my cuts are done on the Band saw with a good blade and good fence you can perform accurate straight rips in all woods - main thing is - is knowing what blade to use for the job in hand - if i'm ripping oak i use a 3/4" blade if i'm doing curved cuts i use a 1/4" - with the 3/4" blade i have been able to make my own veneers to a thickness of 0.0595" x 8" now you cant do that with a table saw

like many have said try and spend as much as you can on a band Saw - when i was looking at buying mine i was going to buy the bench top type but then i thought maybe it wont be upto the job - so i just took the plunge and went for the big floorstanding one - better to buy oversize than buy undersize and then have to upgrade !
also with bandsaws try and buy good quality blades - the one that came with mine as standard was complete trash - after fitting a good quality blade it was like using a different machine

well thats my take on it anyway

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Permalink Reply by L.J. on July 31, 2010 at 2:27pm

I have to have a table saw to rip necks out of larger boards. If your using precut lumber than the bandsaw would have to come first. I bought the ryobi 10" for around 100 bucks. It does the job but makes rough cuts that require alot of sanding. I use it to rough out necks/headstocks / and the floating top cutout. saves me a bunch of time. However if i had it to do over I would have saved up and got a better band saw. something with more stability would be nice. I have a cheap tablesaw. (skill) and it works fine for ripping my boards i wouldnt change a thing on that purchase. It has handled everything Ive thrown at it without issue. Cbg's dont seem to reqiure the big heavy duty tools the way I build em. But i think an upgraded bandsaw may be a good idea. (just my opinion)

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Permalink Reply by William McCauley on July 31, 2010 at 3:55pm

To get good straight cuts on a bandsaw you will need a good fence system. same with blades, I like Timberwolf, if the price scares you, buy it anyway, you will be glad you did. Don't try to use a jigsaw for bandsaw work. Measure twice and cut once. " The Woodsmith Shop" show on PBS did two shows on using a table saw as did "The NewYankee Workshop" you can probably buy the from PBS or maybe get them from your library.

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Permalink Reply by Mungo Park on July 31, 2010 at 4:19pm

Band saw, with a fence you can make straight cuts, well a table saw will do it better for a finished edge, a band saw will be better for CBG's, do a serch of the net, lots of sites will tell you how to tune it up and build a fence, or fences. I have a homebrew fence must of cost all of $5. Cheers Ron.

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Permalink Reply by Michael R Cossey on July 31, 2010 at 10:38pm

FYI..with most if not all table top / bench top even floor model power tools especially a Band Saw may/will take some setup time to get a square non drifting cut.....

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Permalink Reply by JUJU on August 1, 2010 at 12:06am

hehe!
yep sam it's a big boy but i thought while i had the money at the time i'd opt for it in the hope that it will see me out - and at that time ( last Summer ) it was on offer - i'd just finished a Big Kitchen Refit so i had a chunk of cash , what better way to spend it on tools for my CBG obsession - i bought the Bandsaw a thicknesser and a Bench top Planer/Jointer all of which i love and i must say speed the job up no end - while i love working with hand tools machine tools offer a quicker solution and finer details can be finished off with the hand tools

Wichita Sam said:

JuJu,
showing off isn't nice.... lol.... that's not a bandsaw.... that's a extra heavy duty, industrial grade, do everything that I can onlly dream of band saw!!!!! the only one like that that I've seen in private hands was in the workshop of a millionaire construction contractor's 2000 foot basement shop.....
I am green with jealousy.... just the ability to resaw veneers is awesome.....

the best,

Wichita Sam

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Permalink Reply by L.J. on August 1, 2010 at 2:29am

my 10" ryobi drifts constantly. I have tried everything available on the machine and cannot get it to stop. I bought new blades but they only offer 1 type at the depot for it. And it seems I can only use the thinnest blades available due to the size of the machine. It is still a helpful tool for me but I remember our big industrial size bandsaws back in my schooldays being much easier to make a straight cut.
The model I have will not let me adjust the outer side bearings in anymore than they are. I noticed the newer model doesnt have bearings on the side of the blades but instead has 2 shafts that you can adjust. Do you think I need to look into those shafts? a better blade? It doesnot fit a wider blade. Any suggestions?

Michael R Cossey said:

FYI..with most if not all table top / bench top even floor model power tools especially a Band Saw may/will take some setup time to get a square non drifting cut.....

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Permalink Reply by pi_r_squared on August 1, 2010 at 4:49am

imho.....BANDSAW

if you have a good adjustable fence on you band saw, I'm hard pressed to thing of anything a table saw will do that a band saw won't, if you're patient enough, and have small quantities. I wouldn't try to rip 200 ft of 2 x 12 with a band saw, but as far as building guitars goes, even for the cases that you wish you had a table saw, it seems the band saw can get the job done if you're patient enough, there may be a situation I'm not thinking of though.

The same cannot be said for the table saw......there are A LOT of things the table saw cannot do that the bandsaw can.

I'd still plan on both, but for building something like cbg's, I'd definitely get the band saw first.

Good Luck.

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