take my gold, leave my bandsaw
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Archie England
I tend to need clean up even after a TS at times; but, yes, all the time following the band saw. I do believe ripping is safer on the bs; perhaps that's just preference since I tend to start with half logs. Though I've rehabbed a beautiful old PM66 from the early 80s, I'm moving further away from the TS for numerous reasons--the 10 most important being my fingers. ...
Archie,
I agree with you about the bandsaw. For me, the bandsaw is the most important and useful large power tool in my shop (besides my lathes). And the safest saw too. Ripping, green wood from (round) logs, preparing turning blanks, resawing, crosscuts on short things - I use my bandsaws more than my cabinet saw or small TS. For smaller work, I would rather rip small things with the bandsaw then clean up with a plane as needed. If I were building big things, or horrors, cabinets, I would probably use my TS more. (I have a new PM66 with a Robland sliding table in the shop.)
Of course, it ALL boils down to what kind of things one does in the shop. My needs are certainly different from the next guy. And some of it depends on each person's experience and how he was taught or learned to do things. A production shop needs are likely pretty far from a hobby shop too.
An important issue might be the bandsaw itself, the blade, and how it's set up. A small, cheap, poorly adjusted bandsaw with the wrong blade is not a joy to use. I mostly use an 18" Rikon in the shop, occasionally a smaller Delta, and a Woodmizer outside.
JKJ