Urgentish question

[StevieB]

My bandsaw (EB BS316) is not as accurate as I would like, and doesnt leave a clean face on the cut edge even with a dure edge blade. To remedy this I can see two alternatives - get an accurate table saw (EB PK200, kity419 or scheppach 2010) instead which should produce accurate cuts and give a clean face, or get a PT.

If I want the accurate TS I will have to wait and save up. But, and this is the important question - will it give a clean enough and accurate enough cut face edge to use timber directly from the saw in projects, or will it still produce timber than needs a pass through a PT?

If I go down the PT option I can either wait and save, or..... its the end of the Perform sale tomorrow. I have been coveting the combi PT (£299.99). SWMBO will have a fit but for a saving of £100 it may well be worth it.

Getting both, even after waiting and saving, is not an option (for space reasons as much as financial). Thus if you could only have one (and I have never had either so only have others comments and demos to go on) which would you choose. The goal is to produce accurately dimensioned timber for projects.

The reason for the urgentish nature of the question is I have to pop into Axminster tomorrow morning anyway (SWMBO free) and I know I am going to be very tempted...... If the advice here is an accurate table saw will be just as good then it may stay my hand and SWMBOs wrath, if the advice is that a PT is better then I need to know before tomorrow morning

I do not need the extra width of the TS, just the accuracy to produce dimensioned timber for projects. Hand tools are not a real alternative at the moment, I just dont have the time or skill to use them to accurately dimension stock yet.

My fate is (partially) in your hands people - will a TS such as the PK200, Kity 419 or scheppach 2010 give a clean a finish as a PT or is a PT necessary whatever?

Cheers,

Steve.

 

[devonwoody]

Be honest

Could you imagine any piece of furniture that had timber cut on any type of saw not needing to be planed and finished after cutting.

The bandsaw will cut a deeper section than most tablesaws.

So you would most probably would be better situated buying a P/T and bearing in mind above.

 

[aldel]

A table saw will give a cleaner cut than a band saw but you will still need a p/t to clean up the edge and thickness. So no options P/T next!!

regards Aldel

 

[Les Mahon]

For me - and I emphasis for me - this would be a no-brainer, spend the 299 and you will have a nice shiny p/t in the morning. Like DW I can't see any saw ever leaving a finish suitable for projects. To be honest, I know you said that you don't want to go the handtool route, but even the p/t which leaves a finish supirior to ant saw *I* have used still leaves a slightly rippled efect from the way it works, so some finishing after the machine is a must for a silky smooth piece, in my case that is nearly always the Sander as my hand planing skils are not really up to producing finish quality from the plane.

Spend the money, you know you want to!

 

[StevieB]

Honestly? No I cannot. Although a recent thread on the kity 419 spoke of cutting veneer approx 1mm thick and using it straight from the saw. Since I havent seen a saw of this calibur in the flesh as it were, I was curious as to whether this quality of cut extended to larger timber or not.

So thats one vote for the PT then! If I am limping after the weekend you know why..... 8-[

Steve.

 

[StevieB]

Doh! 2 replies between me reading DWs reply and posting my own.

OK, I can see the way this is going - I will have to work on SWMBO this evening. Now all I have to do is work out how to get a bunch of flowers home on my motorbike through London traffic :shock:

Steve.

 

[Adam]

Yep, a P/T is pretty essential if you are going to process your own timber.

Adam

 

[Sam Salter]

I've got a Laguna LT14SE which I consider to be a high quality bandsaw.
I resaw a lot: maple, walnut, birch, cherry, ash. The cut is very smooth & accurate (for a bandsaw) but as Aldel & the rest said, not as good as a tablesaw & still needs at least 1 pass through a planer.
sam

 

[Anonymous]

Stevie

The 419 with a decent (freud) blade gives an amazingly clean cut, sometimes almost as good as planed - but I would not dream of using the timber straight from it for furniture.

P/T

 

[Taffy Turner]

Stevie,

I am no expert on this, but even the great bearded one himself (All Hail Norm :norm: ) runs his timber through a P/T after cutting it on the table saw.

As for getting a bunch of flowers home through London rush hour traffic on a bike - I reckon you could sell tickets to watch that, which would go some way towards paying for the P/T!

 

[Alf]

'Nother vote for the P/T here. Oh, and get to grips with hand planes soon; you'll want to remove those tell-tale planer ripples. :wink:

Cheers, Alf

 

[Gill]

I was the one who posted about the Kity 419 cutting veneers smooth enough to use from the saw - but even I would give them a good sanding down. The cut is good, but it's not up to my standard for a finish. I'd suggest a P/T would complement your bandsaw perfectly.

Gill

 

[Steve Maskery]

Stevie
No saw in the world will give you a cut face good enough to finish, but a reasonable saw with an excellent blade will give you a good one. If you can get a good saw, it will be even better, and easier to use, which makes it more enjoyable too.

HOWEVER, getting a P/T is not the answer to all your dreams, as that won't give you a finish to finish (if you get my drift) either. As Alf has pointed out, the surface is rippled, and while it might look great when the wood comes out, slap some poly on it and it will look dreadful.

You will still have to plane by hand, or scrape by hand, or sand, and maybe all three, in order to get a surface you can finish.

Personally I have:
1) A Fread blade in an ancient Axminster TS (I've repalce the fence with a home-made one - it was rubbish, and had the motor rewound- it was rubbish, and put it on a new stand - it was rubbish. So why do I keep it? Well, now it is not rubbish, it works pretty OK, although the fence still isn't easy to adjust , but mainly because it has a LONG SPINDLE )

2) A Kity P/T - OK but not as good as the one it replaced, I'd buy a Jet next time

3) A Performax 16/32 drum sander - pretty good, glad I bought it.

4) a Jet bobbin sander. I don't use it much, but useful when I need it.

My bench planes are all old Stanley / Record with Holtey blades in them. Very nice thank you. I'm coveting the Veritas Low Angle Jack, nearly succumbed at Warwick last weekend.

And I've just bought a Festool ROS.

I don't have any excuse really do I?
Cheers
Steve

 

[colinc]

I would back up the 'buy a P/T' next camp. I have a EB 316 bandsaw (which I rate highly) and a Sheppach HMS260 P/T (which I rate as indispensable) and there is little that I have wanted to do that I can't handle. My only other machines are a Rexon 2500 mitre saw (which was a good £100 spent) and a Rexon drill but it's the abilty of the P/T to turn rough sawn boards into flat boards of a consistent thickness that has really made the difference.

I too 'saw' that veneer off the kity and whilst it was impressive for its accuracy there is no way that it approached the sort of finish you get off the planer, which is just a start.

I'm planning buying a (probably Kity) tablesaw soon but am pleased that my first purchases were those above - they took me from wishfully thinking about serious woodwork to being able to make some very satisfying pieces - all in one blissfull expenditure of a tax refund!! In fact my next purchase, based upon the needs of a project, will be a 1/2" router.

regards

Colin

 

[sliver]

Having riden for many years, all I can say is 'have the flowers delivered'. They'll be in better condition & be appreciated more when t'other half gets them. Probably too late by far with my advice at this time of day, right?

 

[devonwoody]

Having riden for many years, all I can say is 'have the flowers delivered'. They'll be in better condition & be appreciated more when t'other half gets them. Probably too late by far with my advice at this time of day, right?

Also dont forget to work on her tonight

 

[devonwoody]

Dont forget you will have to have the large chip extractor with the P/T

 

[sliver]

Hi again Steve, so, do you have any new toys you'd like to tell us about?

 

[StevieB]

HeHe, thanks for all the advice people :wink: I now have a big heavy box sitting in the kitchen (it was the only space available :roll: ) containing a nice shiny new PT! All it cost me was the asking price from Axminster, a day trip for the family to Hever castle, a promise that a play house for the garden for my son will be very high up the list of jobs to do, and a pair of shoes for SWMBO! Not bad I reckon, especially as I expected to be walking with a limp at least Only downside is it looks like it will be a month or so before I can get to set it up due to work commitments, but at 70kg I could leave it in the kitchen and know its not going to get moved :twisted:

Steve.

 

[devonwoody]

Steeve
My instruction manual was awful that came with my p/t.

If your manual tells you to turn the machine upside down to fix on the legs DON'T DO IT.

Lay it on its side. (better still ask the wife to hold up the machine whilst you put on the legs. Should keep her quiet for weeks :lol: )