Bandsaw or tablesaw - Advice needed

[danmcl]

Hi All,
I'm new here so please be gentle...
I'm looking to kit out my workshop with some power tools, I'm looking at the following to start with

Tablesaw/bandsaw
Router+table
drill press

I'm torn between a bandsaw (which takes up less space) or a table saw, what do you guys reckon? i'm not sure which would be more useful to me, its probably going to be things like bookshelves and some panelled doors for some cabinets, I wouldn't mind doing some kitchen doors for myself initially.

I'm swinging more towards the bandsaw for doing M+T joints (cutting mortices by hand). Is this sensible or am I being a thicko?

Can someone point me in the right direction, I'd hate to have made the wrong decision because I didn't ask someone!

Thanks to you all, Niki, I hope to make some of your jigs, they're brilliant!

 

[Sawdust]

I got a bandsaw first and then a tablesaw as I thought the bandsaw would be more useful.

HOWEVER - since getting the table saw, I hardly use the bandsaw so if I was starting again from scratch I would get a tablesaw and build my workshop around it.

Cheers
Mike

 

[danmcl]

Hmmm, that makes things interesting....
My workshop is already up (the only power tool I used was a cordless makita drill), I built it myself and I'm quite pleased with it, its feather boarded but on one side of the door its out of line, damn dogs running off with my measuring stick....

I'm thinking bandsaw for the space as I mentionned earlier as its a dual purpose workshop and shed, but I'm going to be building my workbench with storage underneath for the large garden tools (mower, pressure washer, SDS drill, power tools with cases etc etc) with a cabinet on the back for my hand tools and manual garden implements.

If I had my way it would literally be twice the size it is now with space for both (and a budget for both!)
I do eventually intend on getting "the other" as when I've worked out of my dad's workshop I found myself hankering for a bandsaw, but that may have been project specific.....


Bloody dilemmas and credit crunches

 

[wizer]

If you are limited on space then a bandsaw is more economical with space. It can also do almost everything that a TS can do (if set up correctly) and more. But, as Mike also said, I much prefer the TS. It's just a matter of preference.

 

[Dave S]

I reckon neither. I can't see a bandsaw helping much with bookshelves and panelled doors and you'd need a fairly serious tablesaw to do it.

I think you should give serious consideration to a circular saw and rail - there is another thread on this topic at the moment. There are offerings from Festool, Makita, Mafell, Dewalt as well as from Eurekazone whose rail can be used with any make of saw.

Personally I got rid of my tablesaw when I got my saw and rail and I can't imagine ever wanting to return to a tablesaw, although I will get a bandsaw when funds allow.

To balance that though, Wizer has the same saw rail as me, and he has just shelled out an insane amount of money (IMO :lol: ) on a tablesaw, so clearly not everyone sees the sawrail as a panacea.

Dave

 

[MikeG.]

Dan,

as space is an issue for you, the bandsaw is your answer. I won't have a tablesaw because even though I have the space for it I value the floor area too much.

You will be amazed how good a machine a decent bandsaw is, and if used in conjunction with a table mounted router you will have everything that a small hobby workshop requires. A bandsaw only occupies about 2 feet by 2 feet of floor, and furthermore is very quiet compared with a tablesaw. Your neighbours will also applaud your decision!

Make sure you get a 14" bandsaw........otherwise you would soon begin to question your choice, I think.

Mike

 

[tnimble]

I've been pondering the same question for ages now and finally made a decision about last week. I'm going for a bandsaw as it can do about the same as a table saw can do and more. The complete saw setup will be:

- Jet 16" bandsaw
- Circular saw on Eurekazone rails with their square handle and repeaters
- my set of handsaws
- hegner scrollsaw
- J.............

With this I will have a solution for everytihing I do and have interest in, from cutting sheets goods for simple cabinates, to cutting veneers, joints in normal sized and in eeiny teeny tiny bits of wood, parquetry and marquetry.

 

[ByronBlack]

I'm a fan of bandsaws, but I can't really see it helping you in making doors and book-frames. A TS or Rail setup IMO would be better suited.

Personally, I have a bandsaw and tablesaw (a triton setup, which is for sale incidently) and will be using mostly a rail guided system for panel work. At the moment I have my own home-made sawboard, but I'm looking at the EZSmart rail if I can get an affordable shipping rate.

 

[danmcl]

I think you should give serious consideration to a circular saw and rail - there is another thread on this topic at the moment. There are offerings from Festool, Makita, Mafell, Dewalt as well as from Eurekazone whose rail can be used with any make of saw.

Damn you Dave, now I want one of the eurekazone kits..... Watched a few of the videos on youTube and thought it to be very impressive, would get the basic one and add the router guides onto it. Still fancy a router table but would probably build my own!

 

[George_N]

If you are doing panel work ie. making kitchen cabinets and doors then a tablesaw is the way to go IMO. With a simple homemade crosscut sled you can easily and quickly cut panels and rails and stiles (as well as assembled doors) to length and be confident that, once set up correctly, they will be square every time. You can't do that effectively with a bandsaw and, while a hand-held saw and guide rail will do the job, it is a lot more cumbersome.

 

[OPJ]

I wouldn't consider buying a table saw unless you have the space (and budget!) for a large dimension saw that'll enable you to easily crosscut and rip sheet materials. Even if you were to get a saw like this, you've got to ask yourself how you're going to handle 8'x4' sheets all on your own... :wink:

If you think it's wise to get a hand-held circular saw (skil saw) out and downsize them first then, you may as well stick with that and keep the saw for ripping timber.... :roll:

Well, if you're only gonna rip timber to rough dimensions then a bandsaw can do that without kickback and to larger capacities too - so, there's your answer; buy the best bandsaw you can afford! :wink:

 

[Dave S]

I think you should give serious consideration to a circular saw and rail - there is another thread on this topic at the moment. There are offerings from Festool, Makita, Mafell, Dewalt as well as from Eurekazone whose rail can be used with any make of saw.

Damn you Dave, now I want one of the eurekazone kits..... Watched a few of the videos on youTube and thought it to be very impressive, would get the basic one and add the router guides onto it. Still fancy a router table but would probably build my own!

Sorry!!

 

[Dave S]

I'm a fan of bandsaws, but I can't really see it helping you in making doors and book-frames. A TS or Rail setup IMO would be better suited.

Personally, I have a bandsaw and tablesaw (a triton setup, which is for sale incidently) and will be using mostly a rail guided system for panel work. At the moment I have my own home-made sawboard, but I'm looking at the EZSmart rail if I can get an affordable shipping rate.

A bit of an about turn? I remember when you had your Festool setup.

 

[ByronBlack]

I'm a fan of bandsaws, but I can't really see it helping you in making doors and book-frames. A TS or Rail setup IMO would be better suited.

Personally, I have a bandsaw and tablesaw (a triton setup, which is for sale incidently) and will be using mostly a rail guided system for panel work. At the moment I have my own home-made sawboard, but I'm looking at the EZSmart rail if I can get an affordable shipping rate.

A bit of an about turn? I remember when you had your Festool setup.

Aye, I did, but I sold it to go the CI Tablesaw route, which saw my purchasing a 10" sip which was a good saw, but circumstances at my work changed, and I needed to finance a car purchase, so all the workshop hardware had to go. So i'm currently using a triton setup, but will be changing this soon. I have a decent CS, so a EZsmart is currently the most viable option for a better rail, but the shipping works out a lot, and the UK distributer's prices are more than getting it from the states, so I'm in two minds at the moment.