Life without a table saw

[Zahid Naqvi]

I have been contemplating this for a few months. My shop is based in one half of a two car garage. I am not sure I can have both a tablesaw and a bandsaw and still have room to walk around. So how accurate is a bandsaw for ripping? Can I live without a tablesaw. I am a semi neander, in that I try to do as much as I can with hand tools, but things like thickness planing and ripping are best done by machines.

the flexibility of a bandsaw will be good to have but how much would I miss the quick setup dead straight ripping of a tablesaw. I do have a router table, so I can manage the dadoo/groove type stuff.

[Don Baer]

I have about the same amount of space a you do. I have a table saw but no band saw. There are a few time when I could use a band saw but those are very few. My table saw is a bench top type and I have it on a moveable table that I made with wheels on one end. When I need to rip something I wheel it out. When I'm done I wheel it back. MY DC is a shop Vacuum which I have perched on a shelf on the bottom of the bench for the table saw. So it moves with the saw.

[Steve Cox]

You'll miss it tremendously. However, that is how I started life as a woodworker. My first (and only for a while) two machines were a planer and a bandsaw. You'll need to be or become proficient with your hand planes but everything that can be done with a TS can be done without it. It's just not as easy or convenient. I was lucky in that I didn't know how nice a TS was. If I had to go back now it would really be a bummer.

[Michael Ballent]

Oh you would be surprised how much you can hold in a 2 car garage . But for your question, there are a lot of people in Europe that pretty much use a BS for most of their work, such as ripping. Since you said that you are mostly doing Neander type work I would think that you could get by with a BS alone, but you will be doing a lot of planing to get the edges of the wood so you can make panels. Don't forget that you can put all your machines on wheels so you can move things around as well.

I too have 2 car garage, but I have kicked the cars into the driveway, so I can use all the space. In there I have a hybrid TS, 14" BS, 6" jointer, Legacy Milling machine, router table, a boatload of wood on racks, lunch box planer, 16" drill press, 1100CFM bag DC, 2 workmates, etc. I am not as fast as others since I need to move a machine into place and then put it back for the next machine, but this is a hobby, so I guess I have to make do with what I have.

[Jim Becker]

While I would be at a loss without my table saw, someone who does primarily neander work but prefers machines in the ways you do should be well served by a good bandsaw for ripping, resawing and heavy cutting of curves when you don't prefer a fret saw or similar. I suspect you don't use sheet goods very often and those can be easily dealt with by employing a guided circular saw system.

[Timo Christ]

My shop is only 14 square meters, approx. the size of a one car garage. Right now i only have a very small table saw (45 pounds, 6" fence to blade max distance..) which is really too small. I am upgrading to a 19" bandsaw and a jointer/planer combo machine (10")... no space for a big(er) table saw.
Surely productivity is lower without a table saw, and i don't know yet if a perfectly set up band saw can cut as accurately as a TS. I will find out..
The BS has a number of advantages over the TS, such as much larger cutting height (resawing) and you can cut dovetails and other joinery.
My productivity is limited anyway (2 pieces of furniture per year or something like that), so i guess i won't take a hit with using a BS vs. a TS.
I also have a guided CS setup (Bosch). This is VERY handy in a small shop!

[scott spencer]

I'd rather have the TS than a BS, but I do have both. I understand people do it, but I sure wouldn't want to be without a TS. My TS sees action about 4:1 over any other tool. My shop is about 1/3 of a two car garage. I have a full size TS and a 9" BS sitting on a 3' lazy susan along with a couple of other benchtop tools. The TS can be covered and used as a work surface when not in use. The wing can also double as a router table. I can resaw up to 6-1/2" boards on the TS. If I need to resaw larger boards, I go see a friend with a bigger BS...but it's rare I need to do that.

My main bench doubles as an outfeed table to my TS. Just about everything is on wheels, but only the planer moves regularly, and even that cabinet is shared by the CMS. Even the kid's 6 bikes are stored in twin bike racks that are mounted on a rolling dolly. Up goes the door, out go the bikes. The space is manageable when I keep it neat, so it's comfortable once in a while!

[Corey Hallagan]

I definitely would rather have a table saw, I am not a fan of band saws. I would opt for the EZ system and a good circular saw vs settling for no table saw. They are very versatile. If you are a band saw guy, you could still get a decent BS.

Corey

[TK Donovan]

I have a euro combination machine and a good quality bandsaw. Before I got the combination machine, I used a Unisaw 10 /1 over a bandsaw for ripping. Now I use the bandsaw almost exclusively for ripping. Then I finish dimension everything in the planer.

When another combo owner told me of this practice I was really skeptical, but I'm used to it now and like the results. I think if you're planing by hand, then ripping on the bandsaw would work fine. If you're going to plane to finished dimensions with a machine, a planer with a smooth, continuous (no rollers), accurate bed will give good results.

[Jay Knoll]

Zahid

Oh, you're going to get LOTs of opinions on this thread. Check out Gary Rogowski's article on "My five essential power tools" in the FWW Power Tools Techniques" publication.

I started out with a Dewalt benchtop table saw, I still have it, but then I bought a GOOD bandsaw (but a different Good than Jim's -- let's not start another equipment war ). It has wheels so I can move it back against the wall or out into the center of the garage - like you I have 1/2 of a two car garage "officially" available to me, but I seem to keep the other half full of projects.

Anyway, the BS is my "go to" tool for much of my cutting (I also use a GS system so between these two tools the TS doesn't see much action.
In addition to its obvious features, I really like the fact that I'm not worried about kickback when ripping when I use the BS

Jay

[Jamie Buxton]

People built fine furniture long before tablesaws existed. People can still build fine furniture with what some might consider an ill-equipped shop. In woodworking, there's usually a dozen different ways to do most anything. Some of them might take a little longer than others, but they still work. Big machines and gorgeous shops may make things go faster, but that's all.

[Steve Rowe]

Zahid,

I know of people who do make use of a bandsaw in lieu of a tablesaw. The limitations are obviously the width of the material you can rip on the BS. One advantage is the BS will take up less floor space.
Steve

[Harry Goodwin]

I have gradually like all of us put together a shop but the table saw not only does the straight ripping but you can cut dado's rabets (spell) and a lot of work that will upgrade your opportunities. I still have a 10" Delta saw BS Homecraft I have had for about 55 years. I also now have everything else that I need. Harry

[Jim Becker]

It's important to remember that Zahid stated that he is largely a Neander woodworker and uses a few power tools for certain tasks to get through them so he can get back to making shavings, etc. Dados, crosscutting, etc., don't necessarily have an "electron burning" appeal to many folks who work like that as there are alternative methods that do not require a table saw. That certainly was the basis for my original answer above.

[Jerry Olexa]

I would miss my TS more than any other power tool in my shop. I have a band saw and am not impressed w its accuracy and control. (could be the operator)IMHO