Band saw or table saw

[jwDave]

I have very limited workshop space and I already have a table saw. I planned to get a small bench band saw but a friend suggested I get rid of the table saw and get a full on band saw as it can do all the tasks a table saw can and have a much more versatile bit of kit?

What are your thoughts?

 

[Bristol_Rob]

Depends on your ability to finish rough cuts from a bandsaw by hand?

 

[Beanwood]

a full on band saw as it can do all the tasks a table saw can and have a much more versatile bit of kit?

Obviously only partially true, as the band saw has a throat size that limits what can be put through it (And also a smaller table)
It's also a lot easier (IMHO) to get consistent straight cuts from a table saw.
Now add a track saw to a bandsaw, and it's a different argument!

 

[Stevebod]

..different animals really, so I guess it depends on the type of work you want to do? Form me I went bandsaw but that was mainly that I don't have the space for a table saw, and I don't really trust myself with one! As above a good compromise could be a bandsaw and a track saw?

 

[Valhalla]

If you need to rip 8 x 4 panels or do a lot of cross-cutting then go with the table saw + bandsaw. For resawing I would use the bandsaw before the table saw every time.

 

[jwDave]

Struggling to see how a track saw can be used with a band saw, sorry but only an amateur!

 

[Stevebod]

Struggling to see how a track saw can be used with a band saw, sorry but only an amateur!

..bandsaw "and" a tracksaw......not "with"....ie tracksaw better for cutting up large panels etc...

 

[jwDave]

Ok I see thanks!

 

[Spectric]

Bandsaw will cut curves and much deeper, tablesaw straight rip cuts in thicker wood, tracksaw for sheet goods so difficult choice. I kept my table saw but made a worktop to sit on top so it is there when needed but at other times it is a small assembly/workbench so no longer just taking up floorspace.

 

[JobandKnock]

As above a good compromise could be a bandsaw and a track saw?

As others have said - it all depends on what sort of work you do.

Rip down lots of narrow strips - you ideally need a table saw, but a bandsaw can do it providing you don't mind the extra clean up time. Do lots of mitre cuts or short cross cuts - a mitre saw (even a hand powered model or a mitre box and hand saw). Mainly sheet materials - a plunge saw and guide rails. Lots of curved cuts - a bandsaw, although for thinner stuff a jigsaw and appropriate blades can work well

When I retire I intend to build myself a "micro workshop" (to match my micro gsrden). For work I currently have a plunge saw and guide rails, a portable folding table saw, a mitre saw and a decent industrial jig saw. The circular saw gets used very little these days. My personal inclination is to store the table saw, buy a smallish bandsaw, and see how it goes. If I don't use the table saw for a year, I'll sell it

Only you know your work mix, though

 

[recipio]

Hold on to your tablesaw. You will gradually acquire different blades for optimum performance and it will give you the kind of accuracy a bandsaw will never have. Breaking down 8 x 4 sheets is difficult. I have to take them outside and rough cut them with a jigsaw. I'm planning a new workshop but even then I don't think I'd have room for a big tablesaw with a sliding table so I'm looking at a vertical panel saw which seems to have gone the way of the radial arm saw into obscurity. More research needed.

 

[TRITON]

Yeah, dont fall for the patter off them tracksaw Johnnys Tablesaws are an important tool for any workshop.

 

[Beanwood]

If I don't use the table saw for a year, I'll sell it

This is probably a good idea - but I'm getting worried, as I last used my tablesaw 9 months ago.

Yeah, dont fall for the patter off them tracksaw Johnnys Tablesaws are an important tool for any workshop.

Absolutely right - where else can you rest your mug of tea

But seriously I have all 3 - and the one I probably use most is the bandsaw. (Or the mitre saw, or the tracksaw, but not really the table saw at the moment.)

 

[Spectric]

You will only miss the table saw after you have sold it, then you will find yourself in a tightspot and wish you still had it, there is no one saw that will do everything and is just a case of right tool for the job, maybe someone will come up with a swiss army table saw and solve all problems.

 

[Terrytpot]

I'm looking at a vertical panel saw which seems to have gone the way of the radial arm saw into obscurity.

Enjoy

 

[JobandKnock]

Breaking down 8 x 4 sheets is difficult. I have to take them outside and rough cut them with a jigsaw. I'm planning a new workshop but even then I don't think I'd have room for a big tablesaw with a sliding table so I'm looking at a vertical panel saw which seems to have gone the way of the radial arm saw into obscurity. More research needed.

I'd say that the size of saw you need to efficiently and safely break down 8 x 4ft sheets puts it beyond all but the most well heeled home workers with a massive amount of space - circa 22 x 18ft as a bare minimum fotprint for a sliding table saw (trying to size an 8 x 4ft sheet on a "big standard" table saw is possibly quite foolish unless you build a lot of add on to support the material). This is why a plunge saw and rails makes so much sense for so many, especially if you can get your sheets partly broken down from the yard and use something like a Festool MFT crosscut table (a la 10 Minute Workshop on YouTube) or a rail square to speed up multiple cuts whilst delivering greater speed and accuracy. Even without that, your total floor space with a plunge saw and rails will be no more than 10 to 12 x 6 to 8 ft and require only a couple of home made trestles and a simple 7 x 3ft support table (easily broken down and stored, cheap to make, so portable) to be effective. I make a set up for many jobs I do. It takes maybe an hour or so to make a table and a couple of trestles and pays huge dividends in time saved over the course of the job

Vertical panel saws are still around with firms like Streibig, Holz-Her and so on still producing them, but were you aware that commercial models still have a footprint in the area of 20 x 4ft with a height of maybe 10 to 12 ft? Even DIY ones have a biggish footprint and I'd argue that unless you are using one to feed a point-to-point CNC router (where they are often only used to rough size, the CNC doing the final to-dimension cuts) they aren't the most accurate of machines. It, isn't all gloom, though, as there are still some lightweight portable models out there, like the Safety Speed Saw (see Axminster Power Tool) which are often sold into the sign makirng trade

Radial arms, equally, haven't disappeared, it's just that mitre saws got so much better that the RAS is rarely needed, even in commercial use.

 

[JobandKnock]

Yeah, dont fall for the patter off them tracksaw Johnnys Tablesaws are an important tool for any workshop.

Don't believe the patter of those table saw Johnnys , you can't break down an 8 x 4ft sheet of plywood on a standard table saw without risking life and limb, and I've yet to see anyone end trimming a 5 metre length of skirting on one if them, either!

 

[TRITON]

Don't believe the patter of those table saw Johnnys , you can't break down an 8 x 4ft sheet of plywood on a standard table saw without risking life and limb, and I've yet to see anyone end trimming a 5 metre length of skirting on one if them, either!

Oh stuff and nonsense What do you think we were using before the advent of saws on tracks
" and I've yet to see anyone end trimming a 5 metre length of skirting on one if them, either! "
You're confused. THATS what we initially made the lengths of skirting board on. and besides, who deals in 5m lengths with a tracksaw. I means how many sections of track is that

 

[Doug71]

who deals in 5m lengths with a tracksaw. I means how many sections of track is that

Just the one......

https://www.its.co.uk/pd/FS-50002-F...jAFwmEU86I_3F8ch3XCjhMZjgofPqtDQaAt98EALw_wcB

 

[TRITON]

400 quid