T/saw or B/saw?

[garywayne]

Hi everyone.

I hope you all had a terrific Christmas.

Down to business.

I have two questions really.

1/ I will be building a workshop in the new year, (that is to do with Q2), what I am uncertain about is whether to get a T/saw or B/saw to put in it. I like the idea of a T/saw for the accuracy and for cutting boards. I also like the B/saw. I think it is far more flexible. I can always cut boards down with a circular saw, but I don't know how accurate they are. At the moment I have a 10" Clark TS thing, so I have no experience of either a real TS or BS.

What would you put in your W/shop and why?

2/ We are moving house. It could take as long as 2 years. We also want a W/shop. What do you think is the best thing to do. A) Buy a shed. B) Buy a shed and beef it up and insulate and panel it. C) Build new?

I need as much help and advice as you can give.

Thanks.

 

[tiler99]

OK, firstly this is only my view and with limited experience but learning fast.
I have a Band saw and table saw, the band saw is more versatile i believe. As you say you can use a circular saw but use a guide rail with it. You can always add the table saw at a later date if needed.
As for the workshop, i am using a shed (2.4 x 3m) and i am already planning adding to it. If i could start again i would build from scratch.
Only my view.

 

[garywayne]

Thanks for your input Tiler. That's about all I can ask for, or any ideas that you have.

All comments noted whether from experience or just ideas.

 

[woodbloke]

Gary - my view on this is that both are desirable for different reasons.

Bandsaws are excellent for lots of general cutting jobs around the shop and also for specialist precision stuff like deep sawing stock and producing your own veneers etc. Constant use though will be quite expensive on blades 'specially if you opt for a larger machine.

A table saw, to be really useful needs to be fitted with a decent sliding table and extension tables at the side and rear, if you don't have a sliding table then you will never appreciate just what can be done and how useful they are. Once you have these in place then the usual ripping/cross cutting stuff can be done but in addition things like cutting multiple pieces to exact length, mitres, compound cuts etc can be achieved.

At the end of the jour tho', it depends on budget, space and more importantly the type of work you see yourself doing

Answering the Q on the shop, buying a shed and 'doing' it up may seem a reasonable solution, but by the time you've paid for all the little extras (base of some sort, insulation, electrics/lighting to be wired in etc etc) the cost may well be more than designing and making your own custom 'shop - you will almost certainly end up with a bigger workshop if you do it yourself from scratch.
Hope of some help - Rob

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Every time I see this question asked about 90% will say Band Saw first.

I suppose it depends on how much room you have but I went for a table saw before I bought a Band Saw. With what I make I would say the T saw gets used 95% of the time and the B saw only occasionally, ok it comes into it's own for resawing thick stuff or for doing curves but IMHO room permitting I would still go for the table saw first, but thats just my opinion.

 

[tiler99]

You have to think about what things you will be making. No point having a band saw if you will be using 90% sheet materials ie 8x4 ply.
Also what size will the shed workshop be? with a table saw in the middle of a normal shed you wont be able to swing large boards around ( my table saw is on wheels and i have to wait until weather permits and i cut outside).
Buy for what you need not just because it looks good.

 

[gidon]

Gary
Agree with LN - table saw was my first purchase and would be my first purchase if I were to do it all again.
The bandsaw is a great machine - and when it's useful it's really useful. But I could still make most of what I make without it - couldn't say the same for the table saw.
Search the archives because this has been discussed many times before. But be weary that the "bandsaw first" lobby are far more vocal than the table saw first lot .
Cheers
Gidon

 

[tiler99]

But be weary that the "bandsaw first" lobby are far more vocal than the table saw first lot.
Gidon

Thats because they have all their fingers and can type faster... :lol: joke

 

[gidon]

 

[Anonymous]

You must enter a message when posting

 

[garywayne]

Thank you all for your replies. The T/saw is in front at the moment, along with a scratch build W/shop.

Please keep your opinions coming.

 

[Anonymous]

Definetely table saw.

I'd build my own workshop out of 8'x4' frames of 3"x2" clad each side in exterior ply with rockwool in the cavity. Put windows/door in frames as required and simply bolt them together to make your workshop. Stick a roof on & felt it.

Then, when you move house - take it with you!

 

[WoodStoat]

Unless you have the budget and space for a serious bandsaw, that is, able to take a blade of 25mm-35mm (think about £1500 as a starting price), I'd say table saw first, and a little bandsaw like the Scheppach Basato 1 for tenons and veneers. I've just been given a Makita table saw, and it is light and sturdy at the same time. It doesn't have the solidity of one of the cast iron jobs, but it still offers a good and accurate saw at under £500. Around the £100-£200 mark you will find saws that are just about OK.

You really do get what you pay for - a good, big bandsaw is a lovely thing to have, but don't try to economise or you will spend half your life realigning the fence rail, tinkering with the blade guides and generally wishing you's spent the extra.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Constant use though will be quite expensive on blades 'specially if you opt for a larger machine.

Actually, I'd argue the opposite. It will work out expensive on blades if you buy a SMALL machine.

Long blades last longer for two reasons:
1. Each tooth comes round less often
2. The blade is bent round a larger radius.

In contrast, on a shorter blade
1. The teeth come in contact with the wood more frequently
2. The blade is bent in a tighter curve, putting more strain on it - especially the weld.

A 4m blade is not twice the price of a 2m blade, so all in all, I think larger machines are much more cost-effective.

As to whether it's more suitable, it depends on the type of work you plan to do. Plenty of good advice above.

And build from scratch if you can. But make sure you know what you want before you start!

Best of luck with it.

 

[spadge]

Hi.

As a hobbyist the first machine I got was the bandsaw, but that was because I was making a rocking horse and doing a fair bit of turning. Then moved on to making solid wood furniture so I got a planer thicknesser, which could accurately dimension timber cut to rough size on the bandsaw. Finally got a table saw when I wanted to make built-ins using sheet material.
So I guess the moral is it all depends what you what to make. If you have the space and the money buy both. If not a bandsaw is very versitile and with a planer thicknesser can produce accurately dimensioned solid wood. Any man made boards can be cut down at the timber yard and dimensioned with a hand held circular saw.
The second moral is that you should buy the tools that will help you do what you want to do. I don't think it's wise to buy something then think about ways to use it, unless you want to collect tools rather than make things.

Hope this helps.

 

[tiler99]

Well said Spadge

 

[Anonymous]

You must enter a message when posting

 

[RogerM]

Returning to woodwork after years away I bought myself a Scheppach 2010 table saw with a sliding table and don't regret it. In particular this was the first time I had used a sliding table and it was a revelation. Maybe if I had the time again I'd buy a s/h Scheppach 2500 with sliding table, but I'm still very happy with the 2010. I don't have a band saw and don't miss it. I cut tenons on the t/s and just love the precision adjustment possible after my old Crompton t/s which was an absolute b****** to adjust.

Workshop? I use my double garage which hasn't seen a car in the last 15 years, but LOML wants a decent garden shed and I reckon we'll end up with the best result and most intact bank account if I trawl around the garden centres with my digital camera and tape measure! (hammer) :-$

 

[Colin C]

I would say build your own WS as one thing you will find is that the ones you buy is they are short on height :roll: ( I got a second hand one but had to build the front ).
Doing this I had to add to the back ( old part ) to get the height I needed for the BG door that I had been given .

When it comes to the TS or BS question
I use a saw rail system and a BS for all that I need, plus I dont have alots of room for a TS ( just taken one out of my WS ).

I find I have a lot more room now and will have a few units to build for a customer soon

 

[stevel]

I have a Sheppach 2010 with sliding table, brilliant and accurate/precise. I also have the small Axminsterb band saw but only 4 inch cut. If buying again I would stay with the same TS but spend more to get at least 8 inch capacity in the BS for veneers/resawing. As for workshop I wish I had the space to build my own I have a single very narrow garage.

Steve