Benchtop Bandsaws ?

DanF

DanF

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Apr 17, 2017
Messages
1,478
Even with a thin-kerf sawblade, a table saw wastes too much wood when you are splitting scales.
I saw a Laguna 10 inch bench top bandsaw with an advertised one horsepower motor online that I can pick up locally.
Does anyone have any experience with this brand? Or are there any other firsthand recommendations for something similar?
Thanks
 
I have a Laugna 14|12 and would absolutely recommend the brand! I love mine. It has great power and great tracking.
They're a little tricky to set up at first, but there's some good videos from the maker online that will walk you though it
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I use it once in a while when I’m only working on one set of scales, but it is slow and the cut is rough and not always accurate and takes longer to clean up the scales afterwards. Makes doing a good number of scales time consuming and labor intense.
 
My Ryobi 16" floor band saw is pretty good, but for straight cuts nothing beats a table saw.
For a benchtop unit to do trimming and small tasks, the DeWalt 9" and Makita 10" are OK ... but a table saw is what you want for cutting blocks and scales.

Dan,
Take it from someone who has cut thousands of blocks and scales ... use a table saw. A good quality thin kerf blade 10" blade with sawblade and fence tuned square wastes very little wood. Time and cut quality is more important, anyway.
To cut accurate scales and blocks on a band saw, you need a 1" wide blade. They cut an approximate .050" kerf. A thin kerf table saw blade cuts a .100" kerf. If cutting 1/2" scales or 1" blocks, the difference is nothing. Two cuts to a set of scales = approx. .100" waste, one block = .100" waste.
Also, even with the very best bandsaw, you will not get as smooth a cut as a table saw, so the extra sanding will actually make teh bandsaw waste more wood.
 
DanF said:
I use it once in a while when I’m only working on one set of scales, but it is slow and the cut is rough and not always accurate and takes longer to clean up the scales afterwards. Makes doing a good number of scales time consuming and labor intense.
Click to expand...
and also blades wear out faster probably?

I do have a pretty tiny table saw, and on advise from a friend who knows about processing a lot of handle material, (he's a dealer of said stuff) I picked up a blade awhile back specifically for this kind of job. I've used it on laminate flooring and milled cedar and it cuts nice and smooth.

I have a pretty big block of old micarta which needs cut down that I want to make into a handle for my sword. It'll be the first time I've split material for a handle using something other than a hand saw, which is not a great way to go if efficiency is important. Picked up a block of ironwood awhile ago and no way in hell I'm cutting that down by hand
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
My Ryobi 16" floor band saw is pretty good, but for straight cuts nothing beats a table saw.
For a benchtop unit to do trimming and small tasks, the DeWalt 9" and Makita 10" are OK ... but a table saw is what you want for cutting blocks and scales.

Dan,
Take it from someone who has cut thousands of blocks and scales ... use a table saw. A good quality thin kerf blade 10" blade with sawblade and fence tuned square wastes very little wood. Time and cut quality is more important, anyway.
To cut accurate scales and blocks on a band saw, you need a 1" wide blade. They cut an approximate .050" kerf. A thin kerf table saw blade cuts a .100" kerf. If cutting 1/2" scales or 1" blocks, the difference is nothing. Two cuts to a set of scales = approx. .100" waste, one block = .100" waste.
Also, even with the very best bandsaw, you will not get as smooth a cut as a table saw, so the extra sanding will actually make teh bandsaw waste more wood.
Click to expand...
I have two table saws, an ancient portable Makita (needs brushes now), that still cuts better than anything I’ve used through the years and a shop saw that sees very little use. All of my blocks are 5”x2”x1” and even with feather boards and push sticks they make me nervous now that I’m a heavy bleeder.
 
It may be a rumor, but I heard that bandsaws can cut you, too.

Make a 6" wide feeder board with a 1" notch to hold and push the blocks. Put a handle on the side away from the blade.
That and a 12" long "V" end push block to press on the top of the wood as it goes through the saw will keep you far from the blade.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
It may be a rumor, but I heard that bandsaws can cut you, too.

Make a 6" wide feeder board with a 1" notch to hold and push the blocks. Put a handle on the side away from the blade.
That and a 12" long "V" end push block to press on the top of the wood as it goes through the saw will keep you far from the blade.
Click to expand...

Could you show a picture of This, if available?

I too am wondering about resawing?
I have a tablesaw, but don't like cutting tiny parts.
I acquired an old delta band saw, but I need to restore some parts...for some reason it has a belt drive, and a gear mechanism. Idk if that might be for metal? I don't have time now to work on it, maybe next year ...
 
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