Bandsaw or tablesaw or wait?

How do you rip a 30" board with a bandsaw?

Reply to
Larry Bud
Loading thread data ...

If you can afford to buy a 30" board (any variety); you will have a bandsaw big enough to rip it.

Reply to
Alan Bierbaum

Jim,

Look carefully at the Festool system (I have no affiliation with Festool). Their saw and guide system are different than other circular saws and guides. Their guide does *not* need to be clamped to the plywood; it incorporates rubber strips that hold the guide in position. (I didn't believe it when I bought the saw and ended up buying their clamp system - which I have not needed.) Their guide system also has a rubber edge that eliminates chip out. The standard blade with the guide system produced cuts in melamine that had *no* chip-out (on the side covered with the guide). My Unisaw with a zero-clearance throat plate can't do that.

Last Saturday, I made more than 75 full-length rip cuts in 5'x5' baltic birch plywood in a little more than 90 minutes. I laid the plywood on a styrofoam insulation sheet (which was on a foldable table), set the saw to plunge about 1/8" into the styrofoam, marked a reference line on each end of the plywood, slid the guide into position and made the cuts. Every cut was perfect. When it was all over, I didn't have an aching back from sliding full sheets of plywood repeatedly over my table saw, nor did I have cuts that needed to be fixed at the jointer to clean up the edges; I had finished cuts that were as good as or better than any I had ever made with the Unisaw.

Please don't misunderstand. I would not give up my Unisaw in favor of the Festool; but, I would buy the Festool first if my funds were limited and I needed one saw that would get me by until I could buy a quality cabinet saw. In my case, I bought the Festool after I'd already bought a radial arm saw, a contractors saw, a Unisaw, a bandsaw, two other quality circular saws, various guide rails, a jointer, a 15" planner, 17 routers (I really love routers), a 2-hp shaper, a 12" chop saw, a drill press, etc., etc., etc. Were I to start over, I would buy the Festool circular saw with guide rails and vacuum, the Festool router with hole guide system, and then I would buy the big stuff when I had the need for it. As it stands now, I usually grab the Festool stuff, make the cuts, and have things put away before I could even clean off the big tools to start things up.

Reply to
Richards

Consider buying BOTH...used...either locally or on the Internet.

Have a nice week...

Trent

Dyslexics of the world ... UNTIE !

Reply to
Trent©

On Mon 01 Dec 2003 08:41:08a, Richards wrote in news:bqfjsf$q65$ snipped-for-privacy@terabinaries.xmission.com:

Do you mean the saw is underpowered for it, or is your idea of "serious" a little more than mine? :-) I bought a used Jet 14'' with a riser block and although I haven't had a chance to resaw anything yet, it sure looks to me like all I need is large enough infeed/outfeed tables and I could run a twelve-inch log through it. Seems to me anything larger than that would be better and safer done on a sawmill. Or are you lacking a riser and just don't have the clearance?

Dan

Reply to
Dan

I do the same thing. And I built a couple of notched 2x4's to go across the horses...so its easy to cut right down the middle and not lose the pieces.

Have a nice week...

Trent

Dyslexics of the world ... UNTIE !

Reply to
Trent©

I also have the riser block assembly. My problem is that the motor just doesn't have the power to re-saw heavy lumber. When I first got the bandsaw, I cut 700+ linear feet of 2x8 redwood for the grow boxes in my garden. It was easy, leading me to believe that I could resaw anything with that saw. Then, I tried resawing some old 2 x 10 white oak - it just didn't work. Yes, I was able to cut the lumber, but found that it was just about as much fun as chopping mortises in white oak with a chisel. I tried several different blades - no great improvement. I felt like I was trying to pull a house trailer with a VW Beetle. The simple truth was that I was trying to push the tool way beyound it's capabilities.

The 14" Jet is great for normal (non-resawing) applications, and even light re-sawing, but thinking that a $600 saw can compete with a $2,500 Laguna (or other heavy-duty saw of your choice), when re-sawing is the primary goal, is, in my opinion, optimistic wishing.

Reply to
Richards

Get a contractor's saw.. I have had a delta contractor's saw for a long time. I have the money to upgrade to a cabinent saw if I chose, but I see no reason too. I contractor's saw with a good fence is fine for home woodworking IMO (naturally after you add a good outfeed table).

And if you put a good ripping blade on, you can still rip through 2" maple or oak with ease. There's plenty of power.

Naturally a cabinent saw is better, but IMO if you buy a good contractor's saw, you may never have the need to upgrade.

You can even make dust collection pretty good on a contractor's saw (boxing in the bottom area with 1/4 inch plywood)

Reply to
pete rose

Thank you to everyone who has responded! It has been very helpful.

I think that for what I make, the bandsaw is probably not needed yet. My jigsaw should suffice.

My current setup includes a miter saw (non-sliding), circular saw, jig saw, routers (and table), and various other hand tools. I have been wanting to get a "big machine" to make various tasks easier and more efficient. I guess the table saw is the next purchase. As far as which one/type to get, it seems like everyone advises against buying a contractors saw in favor of a cabinet type. This seems to make sense since once I buy it, I don't plan to buy another one. I'm still not sure that I would ever push a contractors saw to its limit, but most folks here seems to wish they had started with cabinet saw so I'll rely on your experience.

I think I'll check out the used market, but possibly wait until I can afford the griz 1023. Decisions decisions.

Thanks again for all of your comments and suggestions. This group is a world of help to us novices.

YJJim

Reply to
YJJim

I must dissent. A tablesaw will give much more accurate cuts with much less effort than a bandsaw. The TS is the most important tool for _most_ small workshops. There are always exceptions, but for "bookcases and other simple furniture", the TS is probably the more useful tool for most woodworkers.

Reply to
Chris Merrill

One question - if you get hit by a truck tomorrow...will you regret dying having never satisfied your woodworking desires???

Go for it. It will do most things well enough for most home woodworkers...and many pros. I have a Delta CS and my BIL has the Grizzly. They are both good saw. I have a larger rip capacity and I like the Unifence over the Grizzly fence, but I paid considerably more. I would not hesitate to recommend the Grizzly.

Reply to
Chris Merrill

true,

maybe that's why I'm hedging my bets by having just purchased a BS just for those occasions! Just picked up a 3/16" blade yesterday so I can scroll now.

dave

snipped-for-privacy@cox.net wrote:

Reply to
Bay Area Dave

A couple of months ago I purchased myself an inexpensive Craftsman TS, $160 including legs, dust bag, and extra blade. Had a BS for a couple years, and now find that I use the TS much more than I ever used the BS. For the dollar, that Chraftsman TS has been a very good buy.

Pete

formatting link
- Retail & Wholesale (PH/FX 618-288-4588) __________________________________________________________________ A-Zoom snap-caps, Bore-Stores cases, Kleen-Bore gun care products Pachmayr grips & pads, Targets, HKS speedloaders, FREE classifieds

Reply to
The Pistoleer

My WW tasks and projects seem similar to yours, I bought a JET 18" BS and for ply, MDF, or wood ripping I use a clamped edge with a circ saw with a *good* 40 tooth TC blade. Does all I want. Sold the TS as I did not get much use for it, and it was occupying good space for not much use. Don't really miss it.

Barry Lennox

Reply to
Barry Lennox

Well, it wasn't on my list of options, but I was at the borg on Saturday and picked up a BT3100 for $240 (plus no payments or interest until 2005). At less then 1/2 the price of the cheapest Grizzly contractors saw (once you add shipping), it was hard to pass up. I guess the best thing about it is that I will have a decent saw to use on my projects while I keep dreaming about a cabinet saw. The more I think about it, the better I think this option is because it gives me a table saw (albeit a small one) without investing too much so I won't feel bad replacing it with a cabinet saw down the road. Plus, if it cuts well, I can move on to filling out my shop before chunking down the megabucks on a good saw.

Thanks to everyone for their advice, YJJim

Reply to
YJJim

Reply to
nospambob

Good for you. The low end saws are nowhere near the quality of a good cabinet saw, but it does not mean you cannot make good projects on it. I started out with a cheapie and made some items that were useful and appreciated. Takes a little more time to get the fence set accurately, but it can be done.

Do buy a good blade though. Mine came with a combination blade that was suitable for framing, but not for accurate, smooth cuts. Plan on $50 and up for a good blade. Ed

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

On Mon, 22 Dec 2003 14:01:43 GMT, Edwin Pawlowski's fingers viciously stabbed at an innocent keyboard to form the now famous if slightly awkward haiku:

The blade that came with the BT3100 is very good for starters. It's a rebadged Freud. I picked an unfortunate time to sell mine on Epay, this week :(( I think I would have more bids if HD wasn't having this damn sale. When's the sale over anyways?

Mowgli

Reply to
Mowgli

After you get it all set up and calibrated, I for one would like to hear how it works for you.

Let us all know, K?

Reply to
Charles Krug

I'd be happy to let everyone know how it is once I get it up and running. The unopened box is in my shop waiting for me to finish my current project, a train table (for Brio train stuff) for my son for Christmas. It is just about complete, but I didn't want any distractions since it has to be done by Thursday morning.

I'm looking forward to getting it set up and breaking it in on my first project with a table saw! My brother will be the lucky recipient of this first project since I told him I would make him a bookcase for Christmas... although, it will be more like Christmas in January. He knew it wouldn't be ready for Christmas, but maybe I'll wrap a couple boards for him anyway. :)

Jim

Reply to
YJJim

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.