Bandsaw instead of tablesaw?

[Jason White]

I’m thinking about selling (or trading) my 3HP SawStop 10” cabinet saw for a giant bandsaw. I don’t work with plywood much anymore, but typically make my plywood cuts with a miter saw and tracksaw.

Long rips in hardwood are easily done with one of my two Festool tracksaws (TS55 & TS75). I figure I can make narrower rips on the bandsaw and clean up any rough edges with my jointer plane.


Anybody else ditch their tablesaw and live to regret it? I find myself using it less and less and wanting more floor space for a large workbench and assembly table. I’ve always thought bandsaws were more versatile, anyway (ripping, resawing, curves, etc).

[Andrew Hughes]

I use my bandsaw more then my tablesaw. Both are fine machines and cut good. I think your on the right track but should keep a table saw.
My ideal woodshop would a small and large of every machines.
Good Luck

[Patrick Kane]

It's certainly possible, but I cant get on board. I have a decent bandsaw--LT20, 4.8hp--and it doesnt rip nearly as nicely or as quickly as either of my two table saws. Especially my sliding saw, it's critical to my workflow and overall abilities. However, if you are truly in a shoebox workspace and you have to make difficult decisions, then i can see it. If i recall correctly, Krenov's only power tool recommendation was a quality bandsaw. Another thought is to break down your sawstop to just the base table instead of a 36-52" fence, outfeed table, and extension table. For example, my Oliver 232 only has a rip capacity of maybe 18-24", but that is plenty for hardwood furniture. It is very very compact and your sawstop can be reduced to a similar footprint without losing much capability in your specific use.

[Randy Heinemann]

I did, but not successfully, at least for me. I bought a Festool TS55, MFT/3, and additional tracks which I intended to use in place of my old, underpowered table saw which I got rid of. I also have a 14" bandsaw. For me, it just didn't work. It was difficult to do short rips accurately on the bandsaw and I missed the tablesaw for various tasks like the short rips, some types of crosscuts. I have done some segmented turning and the segments would be extremely difficult to cut accurately on a bandsaw. In the end, I bought a Sawstop Jobsite saw which allows me to do all of the above things easily and accurately. To be sure, a Jobsite saw isn't a cabinet saw, but I feel it is very accurate and much easier to use for some things than a bandsaw and/or track saw. I use my TS55 and MFT for most of my crosscuts and there is nothing more accurate and perfectly square when set up properly. I use my bandsaw for some rips, but mostly resaws and curved cutting and/or cutting turning blanks approximately round. The combination of the bandsaw, jobsite tablesaw, and tracksaw/MFT is really a good combination for me. I'm sure it's possible to get along without a tablesaw but, after being a woodoworker for over 40 years, I found it extremely difficult and much prefer doing some operations on the tablesaw.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Depends on what you build really.

I build a pretty wide variety of stuff and could not get by as a business without a table saw to handle some amount of ripping, especially sheet goods. I have a 20” bandsaw and a short stroke sliding table saw and will rip solid wood on the bandsaw 9/10 times if it doesn’t exceed capacity and can be cleaned up / final width’d on planer or shaper. I will only rip solid wood at the table saw as a last resort or if it’s too wide for the bandsaw...or I will use my tracksaw if it’s something like a table top / wide panel / etc.

For me the sliding table saw can rip stuff, but I value and depend on it for so much more than just ripping solid stock that it will always deserve the real estate.

This is one of those questions that only you can determine based on what you build, your preferred work flow, and space available.

[Jim Becker]

I honestly tried to be without a table saw when I moved and had to setup the temporary gara-shop here at the new property. While things are obviously specific to the kind of work someone actually does, I could not make it work for me for very long with just the bandsaw and tracksaw and ended up picking up a pre-owned PCS to use until the new shop was built and I could get back to having a slider. Even with the crosscutting limitations that a cabinet saw has, it was so much easier and efficient to have one available.

[andy bessette]

Except for perhaps some very specialized type of woodworking, it would be crazy and extremely foolish to think that a bandsaw is a substitute for a cabinet saw...and vice versa. The two are not mutually exclusive or interchangeable. They are both needed in a well equipped shop.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I would try it for a bit by just cranking the blade down below the table and putting a piece of plywood on top of the table saw to pretend to be a workbench. Then if you decide you need a table saw you'll still have it.

[Jim Becker]

^^ That right there is why we pay Zachary the "big bucks".... :D :D :D

[David Publicover]

I only had a bandsaw for about a dozen years before I got a table saw. It was not a great bandsaw. I made it work but I wished I had got a TS sooner. Now I have a both a better 18” BS and a SawStop 3 hp. I’m in no mood to give up either.
How big is a “giant” bandsaw?

[Derek Cohen]

I’m thinking about selling (or trading) my 3HP SawStop 10” cabinet saw for a giant bandsaw. I don’t work with plywood much anymore, but typically make my plywood cuts with a miter saw and tracksaw.

Long rips in hardwood are easily done with one of my two Festool tracksaws (TS55 & TS75). I figure I can make narrower rips on the bandsaw and clean up any rough edges with my jointer plane.


Anybody else ditch their tablesaw and live to regret it? I find myself using it less and less and wanting more floor space for a large workbench and assembly table. I’ve always thought bandsaws were more versatile, anyway (ripping, resawing, curves, etc).

Jason, if you do this, I am damn certain that you will regret it in a short while. All I can think of is that you are not using your tablesaw to it potential, and therefore fail to recognise its value.

There is a myth in woodworking that the bandsaw is the ultimate machine. However it is referred to as the “Queen” of machines, and not the “King” of machines for a good reason. The King is the tablesaw. I think that the myth of the bandsaw comes from predominantly hand tool woodworkers (amongst whom I might class myself) who will use hand planes to straighten and finish the coarser ripped surface off a bandsaw. Make no mistake, I love my Hammer N4400 bandsaw, which is used to resaw a whole lot, but it is still not in the same class as the tablesaw.

If you want a change of machines, I recommend that you look at a short stroke slider, like my Hammer K3 (the wagon is 1250mm long). This has a smaller footprint than the contractor saw it replaced. It can rip on the wagon, or using the rip fence like a traditional tablesaw. Ripping is so easy, and the 12” blade (compared with the 10” of the SS) cuts to a depth of 4”. The crosscut fence offers easy and accurate crosscutting and mitres. With a micro-adjust on the CC fence, I can dial in drawer fronts for inset drawers.

Pictures tell the story better.

Photo taken when the K3 was brand new (about 6 years ago) …

https://sawmillcreek.org/blob:https://sawmillcreek.org/c41be9a8-1738-4a3f-ae2f-b91ef1c87a1d
https://i.postimg.cc/L9XMmzxX/1.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

Ripping on a short stop slider (using a parallel guide here) ..

https://i.postimg.cc/JrCBFn7z/4.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jason White]

This is why I’ve been a member of the Creek for nearly 20 years. I always get great advice and perspectives. Thanks, all!

[Richard Coers]

I’m thinking about selling (or trading) my 3HP SawStop 10” cabinet saw for a giant bandsaw. I don’t work with plywood much anymore, but typically make my plywood cuts with a miter saw and tracksaw.

Long rips in hardwood are easily done with one of my two Festool tracksaws (TS55 & TS75). I figure I can make narrower rips on the bandsaw and clean up any rough edges with my jointer plane.


Anybody else ditch their tablesaw and live to regret it? I find myself using it less and less and wanting more floor space for a large workbench and assembly table. I’ve always thought bandsaws were more versatile, anyway (ripping, resawing, curves, etc).
To each his own, but I'd stop woodworking if I couldn't have a table saw. Size of the bandsaw makes no difference. When the bandsaw blade gets a little dull, it likes to wander a bit. No way I've ever gotten a Forrest blade quality cut on a bandsaw.

[Keith Outten]

I have not used my table saw but three times in the last couple of years. Since I got my FB 610 it is my go to machine for most jobs. I can rip cut faster and just as straight as on my table saw and its safer as well since there are never any kickbacks. It might not work for everyone but my normal projects rarely need a table saw anymore. The one inch carbide tooth band saw blade was expensive but worth every penny. My age, no doubt has affected many decisions I have made in recent years.

[Kevin Jenness]

It totally depends on your work. The bandsaw can rip more safely than a tablesaw though not as clean, and can cut curves which you can't (intentionally) with a tablesaw and shape thick material. The tablesaw is far better and more versatile and precise for crosscuts, grooving and many joinery tasks. I would be hard put to do without either. For cabinetmaking I could do without the bandsaw most of the time. For any work with curves a bandsaw is very valuable.

[John K Jordan]

For what I like to do most my bandsaw is sufficient, fast, and safe. (I don’t build cabinets or furniture any more.)

However I have a practically new PM66 with a Robland sliding attachment I’d hate to part with for those rare times I want precision cuts, angles, and such - maybe once a year but it’s always there. The rest of the time the bandsaw, straight edge/little panel saw, circular saw or hand saws are sufficient. The table saw otherwise makes a great stand for my photo cube to take pictures of woodturnings!

But as others said it depends on what you like to do in your shop.

[John Roth]

I got rid of my tablesaw when I downsized to a one car garage. It changes your method of work, but I don't miss it. I had a SawStop, a beautiful machine, but for about two years prior to the move I found myself using it less and less. I have the Festool track saw and MFT, so that can handle cross cuts and the occasional plywood job. Obviously, if you make your living doing woodwork, that is a different consideration. Throw a moving blanket over it and stick it in the corner for 6 months. You will have your answer.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I bought a used 14" bandsaw and took it apart to get it home.
I sold it 7 years later and hadn't even put it back together again.

For the type of work I did then, I had no use for it.

I did buy a 10' bandsaw that I plan to use in a few weeks when I can get back in the shop.

[John TenEyck]

No right answer to the question, only what's right for you. I'd question your thought of using a handplane to clean up a thin piece of stock ripped on the bandsaw and end up with something consistent in thickness that's four square, especially if it's very long. Of course, you could run it through the planer instead. See the point? There are almost always work arounds for tools and machines one doesn't have. The question comes down to whether the benefit of the added space by losing the TS is negated by the time loss and frustration of those work arounds.

John

[glenn bradley]

I think you already have your answer but I will chime in. If I could only have one it would be a bandsaw. That being said, I use the tablesaw as a joinery machine and would be loath to be without it.

[Joel Gelman]

I think the comments about how it depends on what you do are on point. Of course, people with table saws who use and value them will suggest it would be foolish to be without them, but that is perhaps because they do things differently. some people use hand saws!

For me, I use my table saw for plywood regardless of the cut. I use my table saw to cross cut lumber that is too wide for the chop saw or too long for the chop saw (because I have more room on each side of the blade on my table saw. I use my bandsaw for lumber ripping.

For me I would want both. For you, seems simple. If you have been woodworking for awhile, you should know how you work. If you can be without a table saw, wow, that opens up a lot of space. You just have to be sure that for the work you do, you can go everything with a track saw, band saw, and perhaps miter saw.

[Michael Rutman]

I was in a very similar situation, Laguna 14" bandsaw, TS55 track saw, and Sawstop 3hp cabinet. I had a Ridgid miter saw at the time, been replaced with KPEX. I was using the table saw less and less, so I tried some projects without using the table saw at all. Yeah, not getting rid of the table saw after that attempt. Sure, some of my projects didn't touch the table saw, but any time I needed a set up, nothing beat my table saw. Especially if I messed up and had to cut a new piece. Nothing beats the reproducibility of the table saw. I can put a piece against the blade and just set the rip fence or stop on the miter gauge with pretty darn good accuracy.

I can do that now with my KPEX, for up to 13 inches.

What I really found was the most difficult cuts, or the ones I needed the most accuracy, I'd set up the table saw and just leave it until I was sure I wasn't going to need that cut again. I had the other tools for all the other cuts, and they were usually faster to set up.

I guess what I'm saying, you can answer your own question, vow to not use your table saw for a month. If you succeed then you know you can get rid of it.

[mike stenson]

I could get rid of mine. The last time I used it was just to do some 1/8" box joints.. to match a box from a Stanley plane from the early 1900s. Other than that, it's just been used for rips for the past 5 years or so. With that said, I generally do all my joinery by hand (and most of my work) so I don't need the batch cutting capabilities. So it'll really depend on you. With that said, am I getting rid of my unisaw? No. It's not even financially worth the effort to sell it, and it's not really sucking up any of my work space since it's shoved against a wall.

[James Jayko]

For me personally, I would say as long as I had access to a table saw as the need arises (case work, not something I do a ton of, so could plan and use shared shop space or whatever), I would be just fine with only a bandsaw. Plan your project, go break down your sheet goods somewhere, and be on your way. Or even just a decent jobsite saw for when the need occasionally arises. But if I were doing a lot with sheet goods etc, I just don't know that I could make it work without a table saw.

It also seems, at least for me, that I'm finally at the point that I know enough to be able to make due without a given tool if I have to. There are 20 ways to do any given operation. It might change your workflow and make some processes (more or) less efficient, but there are always quite a few ways to skin a cat.

[John K Jordan]

…Or even just a decent jobsite saw for when the need occasionally arises.


That’s good advice. I have two job-site saws and carry one around the farm as needed. Your suggestion reminded me that for some needs it is good enough quality and quicker to get out one of those rather than clear off and make space around the cabinet saw. My shop is not tiny (24x62) but I have WAY too much stuff in it!