Table saw vs band saw

[MarkAW]

Now I've got a (currently elusive) bandsaw I was considering selling my table saw to make a bit more space.

What can a table saw do that a bandsaw can't?

The obvious ones to me are

• Cutting wide boards and panels
• Faster cuts
• Straighter straight cuts (but these could be tidied up with a planing after)

 

[heimlaga]

Cutting rebates. Cutting straight and accurately.

You need a big and solid bandsaw with a wide blade f you want to rip accurately on it.

 

[clogs]

have both and make room.....
would sooner give up working than loose my t/saw.....
better to get a bigger shed than loose out...
just set the fence and blade hight and the job is finished......
takes a lot longer and less precision with a band saw regardles of what people say.....
and as for cleaning up the mess with a plane....thats what a P/Thicknesser is for....
dont work harder, work smarter......
sorry if I upset anyone......life is to short to struggle....unless your a masochist.....

 

[Gordon Tarling]

I'm in a similar situation at the moment. For cutting wide boards and panels, my track saw rules over the table saw - takes up a lot less space when not in use, also. Rebates - I have a router and router table which should take care of 99% of that. The table saw IS much faster and more accurate for repeatable cuts, it can also, for example, rip a 1" x 1" x 2m strip in half much more easily and accurately than the bandsaw. Table saws are also more dangerous than the band saw, though I'm not sure how they compare to routers for safety.

G.

 

[robgul]

Interesting - I've just put table saw on Gumtree this afternoon - can't remember the last time I used it. For the stuff I do then the bandsaw or track saw does 95% of it - and the collection of routers (I have 6 for some unexplained reason - 1 mounted in a table) does rebates etc - my heavy duty circular saw against a rail cuts anything else I'm likely to need for thicker timber.

 

[Bojam]

When I started woodworking seriously a couple of years ago I made the decision to not buy a table saw. I started with a track saw (and a large homemade MFT style table with fences and accessories) and a SCMS. I have recently ordered a bandsaw that will hopefully arrive later this summer. I make furniture and smaller decorative items using local hardwoods. Very rarely use sheet goods. There are occasions when I think a tablesaw would be a useful addition for batch production, but only if it were a heavy and accurate cabinet saw. TBH I think I can do everything I need with the three saws mentioned and my router table. Perhaps not always as efficiently but safely and with a high quality finish. I don't have much space anyway and my machine room is just about big enough for the bandsaw and 310 P/T.

 

[powertools]

To be honest only you can answer that question. If you have both and find that you never use the table saw and want the space that answers your question. Personally I would keep both but that applies to the things I make.

 

[Spectric]

As soon as you don't have a table saw you will find that it was more useful than you realised and although may not have been in regular use it got you out of tight situations on more than one occasion. I had a table saw but found a range of jobs that more suited the Bandsaw so now have one of those as well and more recently have got a 110 volt corded Makita plunge saw and track because it can get things done that the other two cannot or it can do them more safely.

 

[TRITON]

Ahhh, that age old question, often answered by biased fanboys, but in truth you need both.
Impossible to cut a dado or housing joints or rebates on a bandsaw, and in woodworking those are stock and staple joints. Cross cutting, you're limited by throat width limitations.
Deep ripping very wide boards for veneers or preservation of vital materials is difficult on your average saw bench and can be dangerous to boot, but on a bandsaw exceptionally easy, as are cutting wavy or curved lines.
Both have their pluses and their minuses, and you cant really or easily do everything on either, hence having one of each. And in woodworking applications, we need to cover a wide range of operations.

 

[Chippyjoe]

Horses for course's as they say. I am lucky enough to have room for both so not a problem.
I would not be without my band saw and definitely would not be without my panel saw.

 

[MarkAW]

@heimlaga
I don't think I'd ever remove the blade guard and riving knife for rebate cuts. Also, being in the UK it's designed not to take dado cutters etc.

@clogs
I have a PT. I find it also doesn't take long with a sharp hand plane, unless I've got wide boards or a lot to do. I enjoy a bit of hand planing. Much more pleasant and satisfying than the screaming PT & DX.

@Gordon Tarling
I forgot to mention I have a track saw for the big sheet materials. Welding an 8x4 sheet through a table saw in a single garage proved a bit tricky. I used to break them down roughly with circular saw first until I got the track saw

@Bojam
I wish I had that foresight/experience when I set up workshop, would have saved me some money

You're right @powertools but I'm aiming to find out if I'll regret selling the TS, not having vast amounts of experience. I don't want to find out that I'll need it after I sell it for some new projects or way of working. I'm also pretty new to the bandsaw.

yeah that's what I'm hoping to avoid by asking this question @Spectric

Good insight @TRITON there'll always be differing opinions of which is best. I'm not looking for opinions though I don't mind discussing. It's the hard facts that interest me.

thanks for the replies all I appreciate the input

 

[Bojam]

@Bojam
I wish I had that foresight/experience when I set up workshop, would have saved me some money

One thing to add, which may be fairly obvious, is that good quality blades make a big difference. I've started using Freud blades on my tracksaw and SCMS. I have dedicated rip blades (24T) and crosscut blades (48T) for the tracksaw; changing them over takes very little time and the quality/finish of the cuts really benefits. I use a 64T negative rake blade on the SCMS (216mm blade). The standard Bosch blades aren't bad but the Freud blades are much better. I've already bought the blades for the bandsaw. I've got a 20mm (3/4in) thin kerf carbide-toothed blade for resawing. And bimetal blades in various sizes from Tuffsaws for ripping and finer cuts/curves, etc. Not cheap but good blades will help to get the most out of the tools at your disposal.

BTW, I've been cutting dados for half lap T-joints with the tracksaw this afternoon. Using the Benchdogs fence system (left-hand main fence, right-hand side support and under rail support) with stops ensured really accurate and repeatable cuts. Obviously a dado stack in a tablesaw could do this job faster - I cut the left hand and right hand "shoulders" and then took repeated passes through the middle to clear the material - but it actually didn't take too long with the tracksaw in practice.

 

[Jacob]

Table saw can be a precision instrument with a very precise and perfect cut, if desired.
Band saw is a general purpose saw for fairly rough cutting - everything from firewood to tenon cheeks.
They don't compare really. They are very different

 

[robgul]

Interesting - I've just put table saw on Gumtree this afternoon - can't remember the last time I used it. For the stuff I do then the bandsaw or track saw does 95% of it - and the collection of routers (I have 6 for some unexplained reason - 1 mounted in a table) does rebates etc - my heavy duty circular saw against a rail cuts anything else I'm likely to need for thicker timber.

Ignore that - I had second thoughts on the table saw - I don't need the money, although I could use the space, so have decided to hang on to it for the odd use it gets.

 

[danst96]

I wouldnt be without a table saw and the bandsaw i have is a tiny lumberjack thing which is not much more than a scroll saw really.

My table saw is the most used machine in the workshop although track saw is close second. As an earlier comment though it is horses for courses and it probably depends on what you make and the variety of things you make. I use my table saw extensively in my hardwood projects such as bed side tables, coffee tables etc. but then use my track saw more when making cabinetry with sheet goods.

The thing about the table saw for me is its ease of use and repeatability. For example, I have been working on this and it has 12 panels all the same size for each end section. I repeatedly cut these accurately in a fraction of the time that it would take me with a track saw. Obviously if you have a good MFT table with all the accessories then you could do this relatively quickly as well.

Ultimately everyone will have a differing opinion and we all have unique circumstances and everyone has their own preferences in the type of work they do in their shop so you need to analyse that and consider what is going to add the most value to you or if you can, definitely have both. If i was going to choose one over the other though, it would be the table saw.

 

[recipio]

Keep both ! A table saw will cut square cuts with precision I can join boards on edge straight from the saw. I also use dedicated blades to suit the material, for instance I use a hollow ground blade to cut laminates - the only blade I have found not chip the laminate. Lastly, a table saw will allow small cross cut sleds with zero clearance which can be used for all kinds of cuts - I use one to cut slots on the face on mitres to insert a loose tenon for instance. With zero clearance you can rely on pencil lines for accuracy lining up the work. I could go on but in reality any workshop needs both saws.