Bandsaw or Tablesaw or both

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Keithie

Established Member
Joined
30 Nov 2016
Messages
317
Reaction score
0
Location
Somerset
I have a nice handsaw with sharp teeth. It's getting kinda hard work/boring/inaccurate to use it to shape the various bits of wood I get from local gardens/the dump or could buy. Just had a 50ft Eucalyptus from the garden felled for example!

I think 4x4" by 12" spindles is the max size i'm going to use in the lathe for some time (or 12 diam by 3-4"'thick bowl blanks)

So, what should I buy....tablesaw or bandsaw or both, and how much should I pay, given that I decided to pay £550 ish for a lathe ? I could borrow a few £k to buy stuff, but that seems daft without a rational basis for how much to spend.

Any advice welcome.

ty
 
Bandsaw preferably an old heavy one.

Probably my most used tool. I do most of my rip sawing on it in spite of having a perfectly good table saw. Combined with a good fence and scale you can knock out all sorts of sections very quickly and safely.
 
Like phil said - bandsaw and chainsaw (plus safety gear).
I started with a bench mounted bandsaw and quickly replaced it for a floor standing one from Axminster. Can't remember the exact model, but it's now maybe 10 years old and still going strong. 20cmish depth of cut.
 
Excellent ...bandsaw it is then ...there was me thinking that £550 for a lathe& extension bed then a bit more for a few tools and I'd be all good for just under £1k ...lol...

So I guess bandsaw rather than 'resaw' and new rather than old (centauro, griggio, wadkin etc) ?

On a matched quality basis, is a bandsaw more expensive than a lathe ? Do I need to pay £500, £1k or more to get a bandsaw of a similar quality to a record dml320 lathe ?

thanks
 
I bought a cheap second hand basato bandsaw on eBay for £150 about 10 years ago and it's still going strong (few new blades) you don't need anything too top end just for cutting out bowl blanks.
 
Keithie":2pc5b43u said:
So I guess bandsaw rather than 'resaw' and new rather than old (centauro, griggio, wadkin etc) ?


thanks

Don't get a Griggio if my experience with one is representative of the brand. Had 2K's worth of Griggio bandsaw and it was total poo. Poor guides, flexible frame etc. Never cut as well as the baby Kity 613 it replaced.
 
A 14" bandsaw will do the vast majority of what you want to do unless you wish to turn larger bowls in which case a 16" machine would be more suitable as it will allow a foot under the guides. However, I think that unnecessary in your case right now, you could upgrade later if the passion takes you.

I totally +1 the combo of chainsaw and bandsaw and as far as chainsaw is concerned I would not get anything with less than a 16" bar, preferably 18" or you'll struggle to rip sliced boards off a half decent sized log. The smaller ones in the sheds are toys for making firewood out of saplings basically.

But don't underestimate how staggeringly useful a chainsaw is when used carefully at creating blanks that can be mounted directly ie with no further machining. The surfaces will be rough but truing them on the lathe is fast and easy. Where a bandsaw comes into its own is to create circular blanks for platters/bowls and of course it can also overlap with the chainsaw by creating boards direct off a log with a flat surface. Personally, I now tend to do most of the board creation on the chainsaw and then use the bandsaw to create uniform spindle blanks. The fact is that handling logs at near chest height on a bandsaw is unwieldy and cumbersome as they're heavy. I now process most of the boards outside with the chainsaw then machine the boards on the bandsaw into either spindle or bowl blanks.

I think what I'm trying to say, rather badly, is that most folk view a chainsaw as a very rough tool for converting a tree into smaller chunks. With care and only a small amount of practice (and a sharp blade) you can rip a stump into uniform boards ready for other uses. To increase that accuracy, you can invest in a modest manual chainsaw mill and cut dead flat boards. It's for this reason I advocate a long bar, because of the need to rip decent sized logs. In logging circles, 18" is a short bar, but for turners I've found it about right though on occasion I wouldn't mind 24 inches (phnaar oo er Missus)

Chainsaws do of course waste more wood than a bandsaw but hey...this stuff grows on trees y'know!
 
This forum is astonishingly helpful ...thanks again.

Spent a couple of hours reading and (assuming I dont get lucky on ebay...particularly as good stuff seems to get well bid up) I think I'm heading towards a record 350 bandsaw or equivalent. While a 400 or startrite 403 would be nicer (I have space... & can get the cash) I cant see me 'needing' anything better in the next 5 years ..so long as it can cut through 4" of oak better than I can saw it then its probably enough. Still open to advice of course ...and will join the folk bidding on ebay till I get one or get bored of waitng(prolly a month or so).

I actually have a makita electric chainsaw and its great...but has been on loan to a mate for over a year now! canteven remember the model number. Must call him!

The eucalyptus tree was mostly logged for firewood (gotta love those granfors bruk splitting axes!) so I just have 3 logs of about 48" x 12-15" happily splitting themselves in the sun! Might be that the local sawmill can split them down the middle for me properly.

Thanks for the advice about chainsaw spec. I'll check mine and think on it more. Most of the chainsaw users round here have the clothes that clag the blade which seems pretty important ...so a bandsaw and probably chainsaw and clothes are on the list ! I'm not convinced my production quality and volume will pay for all this stuff too quickly..lol!
 
I have a Record BS350S and couldn't be happier with it. If you want something that you can set up to be as accurate as a table saw it probably isn't for you, but for a cost-effective saw for the general tasks associated with woodturning it works perfectly for me - powerful motor, big capacity, nice big table, decent build quality. It took a bit of setting up and fiddling about but now it's accurate enough to do what I need it for.

I use mine all the time and it's a pleasure to use and very convenient. Just set the guide height, push the button and off it goes with no drama. Choice of blade is very important - the ones that come as stock are OK but one from one of the specialists like Tuffsaws makes a noticeable difference.
 
Back
Top