Just wanted to say thanks for the advice, considering the general consensus a table saw will do it better, but I don't have the space or money for one worth getting. I guess I will try to make do with a circular saw and a straight edge until I can afford something better or if I see a bargain used saw pop up on eBay.
Which tool next - band or table saw (again)?
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There are a couple now on ebay for under 400, but they are used. This one is 450 brand new delivered to your door.
There are a couple now on ebay for under 400, but they are used. This one is 450 brand new delivered to your door.
colinc
Established Member
Hi,
I managed for years with a bandsaw and no table saw. I bought the bandsaw because I thought, and still think, that it is more versatile for general woodwork. I do though have a track saw that excels on sheet goods. I don't do big heavy stuff, a mixture of furniture, boxes and various parts for wooden aircraft build/restoration projects.
Last year I bought a 2nd hand Kity 419 which, with a few shop made sleds and jigs, has made a lot of jobs faster and a bit more accurate/repeatable and I wouldn't be without it now. I don't think it has made anything possible that I couldn't do before by hand though, whereas buying the bandsaw did.
The bandsaw (a modestly sized Elektra Beckum BAS316) is quiet, has a small footprint and is safer in that it pushes the wood down and not back at you. In contrast the table saw is potentially more dangerous if improperly used and guarded and it has a prodigious capacity for making dust that the band saw cannot match. The basic table saw is also quite small, certainly too small for sheet work. I have had to build a cabinet with an extended top which means it takes up quite a lot of space.
No one else has mentioned dust collection and that ought to be a factor in your choice. The table saw needs extraction, ideally the band saw too, but for that you can get by without in the short term.
I am currently implementing a number of modifications to my table saw as posted by others on this forum in the hope that I can get it's dust under control. Of course that involves using the 2hp dust extractor that services my planer/thicknesser. What do you have in the way of dust extraction?
So, my suggestion would be to go with a decent bandsaw and the portable circular saw with track or guide.
My initial choice of bandsaw is a slight regret, I nearly bought a Startrite but the guy in the shop convinced me the EB was big enough. By using decent blades from Tuffsaws it works well enough and I have upgraded the fence to a Kreg one which works well. There is little to criticise about its quality except perhaps the blade guides for which I understand a 3rd party upgrade is available. Do get me wrong, it is a good tool but I just find I need a bit more re-sawing capacity fron time to time and am on the cusp of ordering a Record Sabre 350 which I believe will meet all my needs. I would advise that you get the biggest that you can afford first time, but as long as you buy something decent it will usually resell.
regards
Colin
I managed for years with a bandsaw and no table saw. I bought the bandsaw because I thought, and still think, that it is more versatile for general woodwork. I do though have a track saw that excels on sheet goods. I don't do big heavy stuff, a mixture of furniture, boxes and various parts for wooden aircraft build/restoration projects.
Last year I bought a 2nd hand Kity 419 which, with a few shop made sleds and jigs, has made a lot of jobs faster and a bit more accurate/repeatable and I wouldn't be without it now. I don't think it has made anything possible that I couldn't do before by hand though, whereas buying the bandsaw did.
The bandsaw (a modestly sized Elektra Beckum BAS316) is quiet, has a small footprint and is safer in that it pushes the wood down and not back at you. In contrast the table saw is potentially more dangerous if improperly used and guarded and it has a prodigious capacity for making dust that the band saw cannot match. The basic table saw is also quite small, certainly too small for sheet work. I have had to build a cabinet with an extended top which means it takes up quite a lot of space.
No one else has mentioned dust collection and that ought to be a factor in your choice. The table saw needs extraction, ideally the band saw too, but for that you can get by without in the short term.
I am currently implementing a number of modifications to my table saw as posted by others on this forum in the hope that I can get it's dust under control. Of course that involves using the 2hp dust extractor that services my planer/thicknesser. What do you have in the way of dust extraction?
So, my suggestion would be to go with a decent bandsaw and the portable circular saw with track or guide.
My initial choice of bandsaw is a slight regret, I nearly bought a Startrite but the guy in the shop convinced me the EB was big enough. By using decent blades from Tuffsaws it works well enough and I have upgraded the fence to a Kreg one which works well. There is little to criticise about its quality except perhaps the blade guides for which I understand a 3rd party upgrade is available. Do get me wrong, it is a good tool but I just find I need a bit more re-sawing capacity fron time to time and am on the cusp of ordering a Record Sabre 350 which I believe will meet all my needs. I would advise that you get the biggest that you can afford first time, but as long as you buy something decent it will usually resell.
regards
Colin
Colin
If you are looking for ideas to keep the dust from a table saw in control, this thread may help: topic102284.html it details the dust control measures I carried out to an Axminster TS250, have to say (modestly LOL) it works superbly with practically no dust on the table at the end of any session of cutting.
If you are looking for ideas to keep the dust from a table saw in control, this thread may help: topic102284.html it details the dust control measures I carried out to an Axminster TS250, have to say (modestly LOL) it works superbly with practically no dust on the table at the end of any session of cutting.
colinc
Established Member
Mike,
yes, I have followed your post. Not wishing to clutter this thread I will respond just briefly, and say that I am doing a very similar job on mine. Will report on the outcome later.
Regards and thanks,
Colin
yes, I have followed your post. Not wishing to clutter this thread I will respond just briefly, and say that I am doing a very similar job on mine. Will report on the outcome later.
Regards and thanks,
Colin
shed9
establiSHED member
MikeJhn":22fenhcg said:
I agree, far too often on the T'interweb but I have to question your choice of humour with the wife / mother-in law and a gun being handy. And no, I'm not the PC police or over sensitive, it's just poor taste.
As for the bandsaw / table saw debate. My own £0.02 worth is that if you were to buy one over the other, the bandsaw would make sense in making furniture, even more so with space being a premium. Given the circular saw can already ripcut with a stable base and straightedge then a bandsaw would be a good addition to someone improving their skill base and output. A £400 bandsaw will always outperform a £400 contractor saw in my opinion in both versatility and quality.
Looking at the question backwards, if you had both machines and asked most people which one they had to lose, most would (and have based on previous forum threads) lose the table saw over the bandsaw.
shed9
establiSHED member
MikeJhn":9tu62max said:
Nope, just poor taste in referencing violence against women as a joke. It's a little bit Andy-Cap but that's just my response, right or wrong.
Rhetorical answer.
user22161
Established Member
shed9":1xmrdi50 said:
I've worked with a lot of women over the years and heard many comments about violence they would like to use against some men - get a life, it's humour.
As far as the OP's question, I have a table saw, mitre saw and band saw and for the work I've done, the table saw gets the most use. However, now I have a track saw (which is far more accurate than circular saw and home made guide) and making an MFT type top, I wonder if the table saw will become redundant. Peter Millard's cuts appear very accurate.
woodbloke66
Established Member
Same here but I chose to be without a tablesaur rather than managing without one. All the work done (if I recollect) in the sig box below was done without using a tablesaur. For the type of stuff I do, a tablesaur is simply a waste of space and money. A hand held circular saw is essential, as is a track saw for the occasional accurate cutting of sheet material and an accurate shooting board is mandatory. A tablesaur now of any description comes waaaaay down my 'must have' list - Robcolinc":m36phpfl said:
shed9
establiSHED member
Said it was poor taste, not exactly a requirement for me to go get a life now is it? The classic response that women say / do / are the the same doesn't dilute it either. I would wager this forum is 99% men, jokes about guns to deal with women is a little inappropriate is all I'm saying.GrahamF":19c5gg3p said:
shed9
establiSHED member
Point taken, Appreciate I don't exactly win friends and influence people in my comments up there ^ but for want of a much much better term, I have a dog in the fight, hence the response. Apologies MikeJhn, didn't mean to suggest you were yourself in poor taste, just referring to the comments themselves. Moving on.....I'll get me coat.......MikeJhn":1wjf7amj said:
memzey
Established Member
Anyway.....
My 2p worth, as someone with both bandsaw and table saw, is consider ditching the mitre saw and getting both. There are things you can do with a TS that you can’t do with a BS and visa versa. Once you have a TS there is nothing a mitre saw can do that you can’t do with the TS and a simple jig. The real advantage of a mitre saw is its portability and ease of doing cross cuts in the middle of very long stock. If this isn’t relevant to the work you do then doing without it could free up space and money for the other two. Just something else to consider...
My 2p worth, as someone with both bandsaw and table saw, is consider ditching the mitre saw and getting both. There are things you can do with a TS that you can’t do with a BS and visa versa. Once you have a TS there is nothing a mitre saw can do that you can’t do with the TS and a simple jig. The real advantage of a mitre saw is its portability and ease of doing cross cuts in the middle of very long stock. If this isn’t relevant to the work you do then doing without it could free up space and money for the other two. Just something else to consider...
Welsh Wizard
Established Member
sunnybob":2tp8ue5n said:
Agree - pretty much got the same and the 745 hasn’t been used since the purchase of the bandsaw!
