Table saw or Band Saw...

[Scott Parks]

That is the question.... If you were to pull out your VISA card and buy a saw, which would you buy. A Grizzly 1023SL, or a Shop Fox 17" Bandsaw?

I got the approval (from LOML) to buy a new TS, but I'd really like a BS also. But I can't get both. Just one. (For Now). Anyway, I already have an ancient old Craftsman TS that is a pile o' junk. It works, but is a pain to get the fence square to the blade, and the pulley falls off regularly. I swear everytime I have to use it.... I'd love to retire it once and for all with a bullet (or a bulldozer).... :mad: A new one would be nice, but... I really want a bandsaw also! I don't own a bandsaw.

So which one? Quick, decide, before I change my mind and put ol' VISA away :D

[Jerry Olexa]

IMHO I'd go w the TS. The TS is involved in 95% of my WW projects and where accuracy is recquired ,the TS far exceeds the BS, I have both but my TS gets far more use and is needed more of the time. Just my humble opinion! Go TS..

[Jim Becker]

While I use my bandsaw a lot more than I used to, I'm with Jerry...TS for sure.

[Charlie Plesums]

I had a RAS and now also a table saw for the last 30 years. I have had a band saw just over a year. A band saw is nice, but is probably the least essential tool in my shop. For the cabinets and furniture I do, precise size, absolutely straight and true, is key. But if you make items that are curved rather than precisely square, my advice is bad.

I do fine with a contractor saw and a G0555 bandsaw - together both are about the price of a cabinet saw. The contractor saw will take longer to get precise alignment and cuts, but can do a good job if you work at it. Of course a cabinet saw is nicer, and the combo machine with 8 foot sliding table that I am looking for is even nicer, but I have put out a lot of work with the contractor saw.

[John Miliunas]

'Nuther vote for the TS first! Don't get me wrong...I love my Laguna and use it a lot, but it still won't replace the TS in my shop! :cool:

[Ned Bulken]

Another vote for Tablesaw if you can only get one. HOWever,
you should be able to buy both, the G0555 and a G0444z for just a bit of a stretch.

Seriously, pick up the tablesaw, much more useful and will quickly turn into the keystone in your shop.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I would repeat my choice...the 1023s!!

[Scott Parks]

Sounds like the TS is comig first... Sticking with the cabinet saw for sure.. G1023SL. But I needed to resaw twice in the last week, and sure would have liked the bandsaw... The pile o junk TS dang near scared me when I tried to resaw 2 1/2" of maple... Ended up planing down some other stock to 1/4 instead. What a waste of wood...

[Mike Mortenson]

I would get the tanle saw too its a must. I just got a 17" shop fox bandsaw a couple weeks ago. Its a very nice saw lots of power.

[Mark Stutz]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here. If you can put aftermarket pulleys and a link belt on your C'man, and get a better fence, then I would go for the band saw. I do most of my heavy duty ripping on the band saw anyway. (I have a Jet contractor's TS). Then you have resaw capacity and thick stock ripping capacity. If you don't have a jointer however, this won't work. Just another way of skinning the cat.

[Jim Young]

I would pic the TS for the same reasons as the others, I use it a lot more and also find that it is a basic tool.

[Tony Falotico]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here. If you can put aftermarket pulleys and a link belt on your C'man, and get a better fence, then I would go for the band saw.

Mark makes a good point, I too have an older C'man TS (Vintage 1979 +-), after a motor upgrade to 2 hp (old one burnt out), new pulleys, link belt and a Biesmeyer fence it's not bad. The upgrade fence made a world of difference. One of these days it will be replaced, but I need some other stuff first.

But then again, the BS, as others have stated, is not the most essential tool unless you do a lot of resawing and veneer work. And a good TS is nice. It all depends on what model TS you got and is it salvageable. If it's a floor model, think about it, If it's a bench top, Get the new TS.

Whichever you decide to get, Get the best you can afford.

[Steve Cox]

I went through the same process and wound up getting my bandsaw first. While I love my tablesaw and use it constantly, a bandsaw plus some work with a handplane will do 90% of what you do with a tablesaw AS LONG AS YOU ARE WORKING WITH SOLID WOOD.:) If what you do is craftsman furniture or plywood carcases then by all means buy a tablesaw first. If you are building solid wood furniture and plan on doing any curves or resawing, buy the bandsaw first. You will want both eventually but I got by just fine with my bandsaw first and built up my hand tool skills while I was at it.

[Scott Parks]

I would get the tanle saw too its a must. I just got a 17" shop fox bandsaw a couple weeks ago. Its a very nice saw lots of power.
Mike, I'd love hear an update on the Shop Fox BS after you've had it for a while. I've looked at it 3 times now and would love to take it home, but I cant find any reviews or feedback on it. Mostly I'm interested in the power of the motor, durability, and quality of the bearing guides. When I do buy a BS, I'm pretty sure It will be a Shop Fox....



As far as the vintage C'man goes, the next time the pulley slips, I think I will epoxy the keyway in place.. No, wait, I'll get the phone and call Grizzly.... And then push the C'man off the cliff in my back yard ;) (are there tool abuse police out there?) No, seriously, it is not that bad of a saw. I just get frustrated with the lack of precision with it and I don't want to throw money at something I plan to get rid of. The reason I want to upgrade to a cabinet saw is mostly for dust collection. I can't seem to contain any dust with the contractor saw. As soon as I upgrade, I will be starting the Cyclone project. As far as the fence goes, I built my own Beis clone out of wood that worked well for a couple years, then slowly warped, and became sloppy. So I went back to the stock fence which is terrible. Now I remember why I scrapped it to start with.

Thanks for all the votes, they lean toward TS. So is this a "Pre-Gloat"? Geuss I'll have buy it now!

[Perry Schmidt]

I might be coming late to this post, but depends on what you're doing. If you are making furniture, cabinets, etc. then definitely the table saw. But for 'everything else' I'd get the bandsaw. I recently got my first bandsaw. And I've not been able to get real shop time for about a year. (His name is Daniel...guess how old he is :) So I'm not working on any furniture or cabinet projects. And I find myself using the bandsaw all the time, and rarely using the table saw.

I didn't expect that - I was surprised how much I use the bandsaw. So for general use if I had to do it over, I'd get the bandsaw first...as long as I could get the table saw before starting any real cabinet projects.

Perry

[Dan Stuewe]

Great, now i'm thinking again!

I'm in a similar boat with a poor table saw and no band saw. Except for space, I'd love for my next big tool to be a band saw, but after reading this and going to a woodworking show this weekend, I'm begining to think that my lack of trust and enjoyment with my table saw is a little bit less me than it. There's no upgrading a direct drive "contractor's" Craftsman with pulleys/belt/fence. And I've been very unsucessfull getting it to adjust at all. And I'm starting to believe that something as simple as the pretty slow blade speed causes unneeded grief!

Oh where to spend my non-existant $$$$

[Jim Becker]

There certainly is merit in making a bandsaw the primary saw in a shop...many European folks work that way. The type of projects you do and the other tools you own will affect that decision. Assuming you have a jointer, you can rip solid stock down nicely on the bandsaw and use a guided circular saw system to cut sheet goods. But if you do go the route of a bandsaw being the centerpiece of the shop and will be building furniture, you can't skimp on the machine, IMHO. You need weight, stiffness and power. Most of the inexpensive machines cannot come close to delivering all three, let alone one or two. A machine that does will likely cost similar money that a cabinet saw will draw from your wallet. Tough choices!