Do I need a Band-saw and a Table-saw?

[RickG]

OK, I know this is potentially a, "how long is a piece of string?" question.
If there wasn't a need for both types of saw, they wouldn't have been invented. But, I'm new here so this is my debut/introduction posting.

I'm new to this woodworking malarky. It all started when I was thinking about making a bass guitar for myself. Realising, of course, that you never make "a/an" anything. It's going to multiply.

Anyway, my uncle who is a woodturner, asked me, "would you like a lathe? I've got a friend who wants one taken away." Well, it would be rude not to...

So, now I have an Axminster M950 lathe. So, my question is... how to turn a bass guitar..?

I digress. Sorry. Well in my enthusiasm I bought a circular saw and a table saw. Then learned that most wood turners have band saws. Looking into band saws I learned how you can rip wood with a band saw. So, I've arranged to buy a band saw from Gary on here. All is good.

But, if I have a Band-saw, do I still need the Table saw?

I'm also thinking of making Band-saw boxes and might get into other things like shelves etc.

The other thing I should say is; space is very limited. "The Workshop" is the garage and there's loads of other stuff in there that I'm trying to get rid of, but it's taking a lot of time.

Many thanks

 

[Brandlin]

bandsaw tablesaw two different tools two different jobs

table saw - straight cuts along the grain (ripping) or across the grain (often using additiona sleds/jigs) can cut angles bevels tapers chamfers, either through or partially through a thickness. but in all cases* straight. especially useful for sheet goods like plywood and mdf

band saw - much more versatile for cutting curves, harder and slower to get an accurate straight cut.

you dont actually need either to make a guitar. Mine was made with a jigsaw, router, sanding drum in a drill press and hand tools. for electric guitar making a decent router is pretty essential unless you wish to chisel all the control pockets.




*american youtubers would have you believe you can pass material perpendicular to the blade ... but frankly that makes me shudder. dont do it.

 

[pulleyt]

As someone who has recently taken up woodworking again I can say I make use of both for their different strengths as Brandlin has outlined.

When I first started out I had both but couldn't get on with the table saw which produced very inconsistent cuts that needed as much cleaning up as those made on the bandsaw. I now realise that I probably hadn't set the saw up properly (of course I blamed the machine at the time) as my current table saw is a joy to use - lesson learnt.

I also have limited space but I wouldn't want to be without either.

 

[Yojevol]

I would say bandsaw to start with. It's a very versatile m/c, but as Brandlin says, difficult to get great accuracy. It sounds as though you will be doing fairly small projects so a bandsaw will do most things for you quite adequately. The key is to get some decent blades from Tuffsaw.
Brian

 

[sunnybob]

cant make a bandsaw box on a table saw. :shock:
cant rip 8" planks either (well, not safely).
For the last four years I have been trying to convince myself to buy a table saw. But as a decent one would take up a quarter of my single garage workshop AND an entire years toy money :shock: , I get by with a bandsaw.
I most definitely would not give up the bandsaw for a table saw, no matter how good it was. 8) 8)

 

[RickG]

bandsaw tablesaw two different tools two different jobs
... you don't actually need either to make a guitar. Mine was made with a jigsaw, router, sanding drum in a drill press and hand tools. for electric guitar making a decent router is pretty essential unless you wish to chisel all the control pockets.

*american youtubers would have you believe you can pass material perpendicular to the blade ... but frankly that makes me shudder. dont do it.

Many thanks. I do have a jigsaw too. What I'm expecting to use the Bandsaw for is cutting wood to length and taking edges off to rough-out when using the lathe.

TBH my passion for making basses has diminished a bit. I'm used to playing good basses and I'm concerned that it's possible that with the best wood on the market I'll do we ll to turn out a bass that's on par with a cheap Chinese copy. Unless I try I guess I'll never know though?

 

[RickG]

As someone who has recently taken up woodworking again I can say I make use of both for their different strengths as Brandlin has outlined.

When I first started out I had both but couldn't get on with the table saw which produced very inconsistent cuts that needed as much cleaning up as those made on the bandsaw. I now realise that I probably hadn't set the saw up properly (of course I blamed the machine at the time) as my current table saw is a joy to use - lesson learnt.

I also have limited space but I wouldn't want to be without either.

Thanks for the word of warning. I'll look out for that.

 

[RickG]

cant make a bandsaw box on a table saw. :shock:
cant rip 8" planks either (well, not safely).
For the last four years I have been trying to convince myself to buy a table saw. But as a decent one would take up a quarter of my single garage workshop AND an entire years toy money :shock: , I get by with a bandsaw.
I most definitely would not give up the bandsaw for a table saw, no matter how good it was. 8) 8)

You can always drop round and use my table-saw, if you like
TBH, the videos of kick-back from a table-saw are really scary stuff.

 

[sunnybob]

I try and I try to justify buying a table saw, but when I'm being brutally honest, I only want one because I want to buy a bigger toy. (hammer) (hammer) (hammer)

you think table saw kick back is risky, you want to see what a router table can do to a piece of wood.
Now then, with a bandsaw AND a router table, not much else I need.

(but I really would like a tablesaw.......)

 

[novocaine]

My table saw makes a great bench for my bandsaw.

Table saw for making kitchen cupboards, bandsaw for nearly everything else, so no you don't need a table saw, I'd be just as well with a track saw and a router table, but ho hum.

 

[Ttrees]

If you wished to make an electric or a bass,
My proposed list of the main things, that I would consider would be...
Stock cut to rough length by any ol hand saw
A hand plane, a nice hefty vintage no 5 1/2 with a thick sole, not lapped thin by an oaf
Required for a thicknessing body and the neck blank, or other laminating as you wish

I suggest getting a solid fire door from a skip or having some other thing you can use for reference
The fire door is a lot better than some softwood surface that you cant trust, so your straight off
the bat having a precision surface suitable for fine work, this flat surface is not easily obtained otherwise despite how some/most youtubers would have you think.
Just clamp a batten on one end for a planing stop and your ready for laminating timbers with precision..ie no gaps in your glue lines.
A nice long stainless steel ruler for a tenner in homebase
A router would be handy for cavity's and truss rod slots.
A bandsaw or coping saw for cutting the guitar shape, and some sanding attachments could be rigged up for the lathe with some spray glue for affixing sandpaper when sanding into round profiles.
A drill, a home made card/cabinet scraper from an old hand saw can be easily made
And buying a fret board might be helpful at this stage.

Thats enough to get you going if you choose
Good luck
Tom

 

[OscarG]

For the bass guitar I would say 100% you need a bandsaw to cut out the shape of the body.

You could do it with a jigsaw you're asking it to cut through 1.75" of hardwood with no deflection and then huge clean up with a spindle sander.

Best way is to make an MDF template, sand it until it's smoother than a baby's bum. Use that template to trace outline on your workpiece. Use bandsaw to cut out workpiece close to that line. Sander to get even closer to the line. Template back on the workpiece, use router to precisely match workpiece to the template. Then just a ****load of more sanding!

I've only made one guitar (took me a year!), the list of tools you'll need is frightening! Make sure you research it before starting. If you're building it for fun then fair play. If you're building in the sense it'll save money buying a new one...no no no no it won't!

I'd say bare minimum you'll need:

Bandsaw, Router, a few quality router bits (use Wealden Tools), Planer-Thicknesser, Spindle/bobbin sander, Pillar drill, Fine kerf saw + jig, to cut the fret slots, Fret press system, nut slot files, soldering iron + 10,000 sheets of sandpaper!

Ha. i keep thinking of new things to add to list.

 

[Tasky]

I'm used to playing good basses and I'm concerned that it's possible that with the best wood on the market I'll do we ll to turn out a bass that's on par with a cheap Chinese copy. Unless I try I guess I'll never know though?

The wood doesn't make the bass - You make the bass.
And yeah, initially your first couple of attempts will be an utter bag of pineapples.... Your next few attempts will look like it's been chewed to shape by a sabretoothed beaver... but gradually you will build your skills with both machines and with hand tools for the finer details, especially if you're learning and practicing making other things.

 

[Brandlin]

For the bass guitar I would say 100% you need a bandsaw to cut out the shape of the body.

You could do it with a jigsaw you're asking it to cut through 1.75" of hardwood with no deflection and then huge clean up with a spindle sander.

Best way is to make an MDF template, sand it until it's smoother than a baby's bum. Use that template to trace outline on your workpiece. Use bandsaw to cut out workpiece close to that line. Sander to get even closer to the line. Template back on the workpiece, use router to precisely match workpiece to the template. Then just a ****load of more sanding!

I've only made one guitar (took me a year!), the list of tools you'll need is frightening! Make sure you research it before starting. If you're building it for fun then fair play. If you're building in the sense it'll save money buying a new one...no no no no it won't!

I'd say bare minimum you'll need.

Bandsaw, Router, Planer-Thicknesser, Spindle/bobbin sander, Pillar drill, Fret press system, nut slot files + 10,000 sheets of sandpaper!

Alternatively make the mdf template using jigsaw and sanding. accurate as you can. Mark out your blank. cut on with a jigsaw - I had no trouble with the thickness of hardwood on any of mine. Then affix the template and use a template router bit to copy the template to the blank. IF you weren't close to the line with the jigsaw, then use decreasing sizes of bearing on the router cutter to take smaller cuts.

I did almost everything on my guitars without a band saw and hardly any planing (using router jigs to get glue joints etc.) Most of the surface shaping you do with a rasp, surform or turnip file.

Yes, a bandsaw might be faster, yes a plane might be 'better' but you really can do almost everything with a good router and router table.

For what its worth the guitars I have built are waaay better than i would have had for the same price bought commercially, plus i get to choose hardware and finishes etc. PLus you get the satisfaction of making it. I made mine with and for my son - i don't play a note.

 

[OscarG]

Suppose it depends how good your jigsaw is! Mine (an old green Bosch) would never cut anything that thick. My body blank was made of ash, even my old 10" bandsaw struggled to cut it.

Ah yeah, totally get the satisfaction aspect. I was delighted with mine, sounds loads better than my USA strat. But for the cost of building mine I probably could have bought 5 strats!

I justify it with "i'll build more guitars now I'm all set up". Just need to sort that noisy dust extractor first

 

[Brandlin]

My jigsaw is a 20 year old green bosch too. And I've used mahogany or ash as bodies. The trick is to cut a lot of radial cuts towards the line with the pendulum setting on max. Then to go around the line joining the end of all the radial cuts with the pendulum action completely off and a very thin blade. Its obviously not as fast or as clean as a band saw, but if you are routing the edge to a template anyway then what you want is just large amount of material removal.

 

[Sideways]

Unless you plan to make a lot of them, you don't need a bandsaw to make an electric guitar. You could cut the whole thing out with a router at a pinch ! Jigsaw would be fine for the rough cutting.
Bandsaw for roughing out turning blanks, cutting curves or resawing timber, absolutely !
Tablesaw if you want flat / straight timber dimensioned close to finished and an almost "planed" surface finish but limited depth of cut.
Two totally different tools for different job in my opinion.

 

[mr rusty]

I much prefer using my bandsaw than table saw (Record 350 and Bosch GTS10J). Many jobs are interchangeable, but some are not. You cant rip an 8x2 board into two 8x1 boards on a table saw, and neither can you take a large rebate out of your stock on a band saw. Large rebates are what I use my table saw for mostly.

A band saw is relatively safer to use - you can cut very small pieces quite safely, and move your hands closer to the blade because the cut force is downwards. A table saw takes much caution, and you certainly don't want to try cutting weeny pieces close to the blade!

Many say use a table saw for panel work, but for e.g. making cabinets from laminate faced board, it isn't the best or most accurate. In this case I prefer a track saw where I can work to very tight tolerances and get a chip free edge. I'm sure a very large table saw would give accurate cuts, but for smaller DIY tools, moving a large board over a small table is challenging.

 

[murrmac]

*american youtubers would have you believe you can pass material perpendicular to the blade ... but frankly that makes me shudder. dont do it.

Could you clarify what it is that makes you shudder ... I am having trouble visualising exactly what you mean. TIA.

 

[RickG]

Many thanks for your help everyone. You have confirmed my thoughts. I should sell the table saw.