Bandsaw versus Tablesaw question

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 22:48:49 -0500, Bob G vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

hmmm...apparently we are each welcomr to our opinions, but just need to point that out....

Reply to
OldNick
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That depends on your definition of "poor job" and what type of ripping you're doing. If you mean finish-quality rip cuts, ready for glue-up, sure, a band saw does a lousy job of that. They're not intended for that purpose.

OTOH, for ripping rough stock to approximate dimensions, the band saw excels.

Oftentimes, boards are cut at the mill with their edges not parallel to the grain of the wood. IMO projects look better if the edges of the boards *are* parallel to the grain. I can't think of a better tool than a band saw for doing that sort of rip cut.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

Reply to
Doug Miller

Brian Siano wrote in news:cv2ffs$6p6q$1 @netnews.upenn.edu:

I love the bandsaw. As alexy said, if I could have only one power tool it would be the bandsaw.

The bandsaw is unmatched for resaws and curves. It also does a credible job with tenons. I always rough cut on the bandsaw since the bandsaw won't kick back if you encounter reaction wood. Also, since the bandsaw doesn't care about board twist, you need not joint the rough lumber prior to rough cutting it.

It will rip reasonably well, but the rip width is limited to the throat depth of the bandsaw ... and the cut will not be as smooth as the table saw. Still, with a decent blade it will be reasonably smooth and will clean up in one or two passes of a handplane.

Reply to
Nate Perkins

Sometimes, it's the only way to rip with power.

Yesterday, I was working with a bunch of 8/4 hard maple, 9-12" wide, my jointer is 8" wide. After drawing some guidelines, I was able to freehand rip with very little waste. This wood is heavy, so there were several times where I needed to reposition myself. Stopping to move while holding the board in place with one hand is perfectly safe on a bandsaw, I get the heebie jeebies even thinking about it on a tablesaw.

I could then face and edge joint the parts, plane them to thickness, and rip to final width on the table saw.

Barry

Reply to
Ba r r y

No outfeed on the table saw Barry?

Reply to
Mike Marlow

Ditto. Jim

>
Reply to
Jim L.

My TS outfeed is 4 x 7, but why would that make a difference?

This is wood that is not yet prepped for table saw ripping. I'm ripping it down to less than 8" wide. The wood is neither straight or flat, and quite heavy. Ripping it on a table saw at this stage is asking for trouble.

Barry

Reply to
Ba r r y

C'mon.

Out of Nate I'd expect it, based on his other "contributions."

Surely you must realize that there are two sides to that blade. The distance to one is (supported) infinite, the other limited.

Reply to
George

Alright- before I get into my experience ripping with the bandsaw, I'd just like to point out that I've just got a little sucker, so a nice big bandsaw may be a different story.

As far as my experience goes, ripping with the bandsaw works just as well as doing it on the tablesaw, but it leaves a lot more saw marks than a nice blade on the tablesaw. Where it really shines is making stopped cuts- instead of having a curved cut that takes out more material than necessary, the blade is perpendicular to the face of the stock, and leaves a nice clean inside corner. Was using my bandsaw for that today when making the frame for my router table, as a matter of fact, and it worked beautifully.

The elasticity of the blade is really going to vary depending on the width of the blade, the amount of tension on it, and your feed rate. If your saw isn't set up properly, and/or you shove the stock in too quickly, you can get a bowed cut, but with a little practice and a rip fence it's not too terribly hard to get a nice straight cut. When the blade starts to go, it will have a tendancy to walk to one side, unlike the table saw.

As far as safety goes, my opinion is that it's quite a lot safer than a tablesaw, though that does not mean that a bandsaw is always the right tool for the job. It's quite a bit more fussy when you change blades, and the depth of your cut is limited by the depth of the throat on the saw. Of course, if you're making a curved cut it's the best way to go- so your needs are going to dictate which saw is better for you.

Then again, you've already got a table saw- get yourself a bandsaw and keep the table saw as well. You can move a lot of your jobs to the bandsaw if that makes you feel more comfortable, and still have the tablesaw to do those things which the bandsaw cannot do easily.

Hope this helps.

Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

Reply to
Prometheus

"George" wrote in news:4218d5e5$1 snipped-for-privacy@newspeer2.tds.net:

Well, that was reasonably nasty. Hope you have a nice day, too.

No, really???

Reply to
Nate Perkins

I ought to mention that the kickback incidents have been few, but _very_ memorable.

No splitter-- been doing dado cuts a lot lately. Never cut freehand. TOO damn scary, that. I checked the alignment, and it's OK. As for straight and flat lumber... that may be part of the problem.

I've started on the prototype for a radiator cover. The final product will use nice wood, like cherry or mahoghany, but the prototype's being made of cheap 3/4" pine boards. I've been ripping pieces that are about two feet long, and roughly 1/2" by 3/4" thick (for a Craftsman-style grate design). And that pine is, well, a little less that flat or straight.

It was the memory of those kickback incidents, and the thought of pushing 1/2" stock past the blade, that gives me the serious willies.

So maybe I ought to invest in a jointer-- or use that method with a straight bit and the router table.

Reply to
Brian Siano

Don't do the router table thing. To eliminate twist, you need to both face-joint and edge joint, leaving you with two adjacent flat surfaces at 90 degrees to one another This will "ride" the fence quite safely with minimal down/side pressure.

The router trick can only joint and edge, it will not flatten the face of a board or fix twist.

-steve

Reply to
Stephen M

Brian Siano wrote in news:cvfh1i$csvj$ snipped-for-privacy@netnews.upenn.edu:

Or prototype with mdf...

Patriarch

Reply to
Patriarch

I honestly have to doubt that the saw is set up correctly...The lumber does have to be "somewhat" straight and flat ...99.9 percent of my purchased lumber has been fine...from cheap #2 Common Pine to the :"good stufff".....

Bob Griffiths

Reply to
Bob G.

Either way, I'm planning on spending a few hours cleaning the saw's innards-- a perfect time to check alignments and stuff.

Reply to
Brian Siano

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