Bandsaw for roughing bowls

[Bill Jobe]

What is a good solid bandsaw at a reasonable price that would serve me well with my g0766? I'm guessing the 22" swing would require a bigger saw than an 18"swing lathe?

I've been made aware by a reputable member that a bandsaw is pretty much a nessesity and I'm willing to pay a fair price to get one that will not disappoint.
Thanks.

Still no power. Going nuts waiting. My son-in-law recommended a 12ga. reel to mount to the ceiling. Amazon.com got it herein 2 days with free shipping. I think that's pretty impressive. My lathe arrived in 2 days, also. I found Grizzly also great to deal with. Very freindly folks.

[Bob Bouis]

I know you asked about bandsaws, but chainsaws are much better for preparing large blanks. Just my opinion, of course, but it's a lot easier to move a chainsaw than a 200+lb piece of wood.

[Ralph Lindberg]

I've been very happy with my Grizzly 14 inch industrial. It can swing a blank 26 inches around by 9-1/2 thick. So if your bandsaw was the power I'm going to guess it would be fine.

But just a few points to consider: If you are sawing green wood the blade is very important. I use the Highland Hardware Woodturners blade (I'd have to go look to see who they get it from). It's a 3tpi, 3/8inch wide, .032 inch wide with a high set to the teeth. Makes cutting green wood easy.

[Ralph Lindberg]

Then there is Robo's (Reed's) chain-saw chop saw

[Bill Jobe]

Well, Bob, that's what I was thinking. BuT after talking to a highly qualified lathe woodworker I got to thinking he was right.
I sort of see both sides. While bandsaw would do a much better job....closer to round, it would require dust removal. On the other hand a saw would not render the perfect shape without a lot of cutting, having to use it outside would reduce dust in my workshop. And be cheaper.

I'm torn between the two and would greately appreciate more opinions. Thank you.

[Bob Bouis]

The bandsaw is better for cutting small blanks that you intend to dry all the way, for spindles or small boxes. The bandsaw is for conserving wood and for making square cuts. For bowls, especially big ones, you're going to be turning them when they're green. Green wood cuts very easily. It's very easy to true up a chainsaw-cut bowl. Super duper easy.

On the other hand, green wood is very heavy. It cuts poorly on the bandsaw and is hard to maneuver. It's harder to cut it in a circle than it is to true up an octagon on the lathe. Also the biggest complication when turning green bowls is imbalance. This is especially true for natural edge and irregularly shaped blanks. You can balance any blank easily with a chainsaw, while it's next to impossible to do it with a bandsaw.

Not to mention that the chainsaw is cheaper to buy, cheaper to keep running, cuts faster, sharpens easier, and is probably safer for this application.

[Bob Bouis]

Not the best pictures, but a (partial) illustration of what I'm talking about. Can you do that with a bandsaw? Why would you even want to?

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[Bill Jobe]

Anyone use an electric chainsaw, whether it be corded or cordless?
Are the cordless saws as useful as they might seem to be or (if going electric) is corded best until competition refines the cordless. I found one that was 80 volts seems it would be handy for both truing a blank and for that often seen piece of a log along the fense line that I gotta have.
The 80 volt recharges in 30 minutes. Sure would be nice if one could charge it with the truck battery, whether it be via accessory plug or by power inverter.

[Bill Jobe]

Not the best pictures, but a (partial) illustration of what I'm talking about. Can you do that with a bandsaw? Why would you even want to?

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I don't know. I have no experience with either. That's why I'm asking those who are most likely familiar with both.

[Bill Jobe]

Well, now with 22" swing I want to go as big as I can.

[Ernest Roy]

I would suggest having both a good chainsaw and a good bandsaw at your disposal to help you prepare your turning blanks. I for one would feel hamstrung with only one of these tools.
Enjoy your new lathe

[Bob Bouis]

I have used both. The 80v chainsaw is handy (and quiet, when that matters). It's nice for making small tweaks such as to make something fit on the lathe when it wasn't quite cut right. It's actually fairly powerful and can (eventually) make just about any cut, but the battery lacks the endurance to make long rip cuts on big pieces of wood. It will literally get just one or two cuts in a big log before the juice runs out.

Overall, though electric saws generally lack the rigidity, power and durability for this kind of work. They're made for occasional, light duty use. You really want a more solid, powerful saw for cutting big pieces of wood, making straight cuts, rip cuts, etc.

[Don Frank]

I built a robohippy chainsaw chop saw and highly recommend his plans. I have a Dolmar (makita) electric chainsaw for inside work which I also recommend. I also have a 14" delta bandsaw which has 11.5" of clearance for cutting bowl blanks round. It was grossly underpowered and I stepped it up with a 3hp 220v motor from harbor freight. I have not regretted that. It will power thru a thick green blank with ease. I could not justify a high dollar bandsaw since cutting bowl blanks is the main duty of it here. So far so good.

[Don Jarvie]

As for a chainsaw a 20 inch gas model is the way to go. Electric won't have enough power. I have a 16 inch and it's a hair to small for bigger blanks.

[Bob Bouis]

Just look at those pictures and try to imagine how you would do it with a bandsaw.

You start with a log that's 24" long and 24" in diameter. You would need a chainsaw to cut it in the first place. How else do you get it? Even assuming someone just gave it to you, what do you do with it then? The log weighs 200lbs. How do you cut it on a bandsaw? Assuming you have a $5000 bandsaw that can make a 24" cut, you still have to pick it up, set it on a table where you have 10" in front of the blade, so the log wants to fall off, and push it straight through from one end to the other, keeping it perfectly straight the whole time. Then it wants to fall off the back, where, again, you don't have enough table to hold it. Basically impossible. Then you have to repeat that cut to get a flat bottom so you can cut out your circle. The piece only weighs 100lbs for this cut but it's only half a log and won't stand up on its own, so you have to hold it against the fence and push it through on edge. Also impossible. Then you have to cut it into a circle, but any blade that can cut a 24" log won't cut curves, even on a 20" blank. So you have to change the blade. And then you're left with a bowl blank that's cut from a "D" shaped log, so it's got far more material on two sides than the others. Can you cut that off with the bandsaw? Not any way that I know of. So you will have to do a lot of work to rough that out, especially since it's imbalanced and will limit the RPMs you can turn it at. The whole time you'll be showered with sap and wet shavings.

To cut large bowl blanks, the best thing is a large, professional quality gas chainsaw with at least a 24" bar.

ETA:

While that is a somewhat exaggerated example, it holds for most larger bowls. An 18" wide, 18" long cherry log weighs 137lbs according to the calculator. You just can't cut that on a bandsaw.

Also, for chainsaws, bowl cutting is not a normal application. There's basically two ways to make the "rip" cut to cut the log in half for bowl blanks. One is to cut it top down, which doesn't really work -- it's slow, hard to cut accurately, and requires a powerful saw and a super sharp chain. "Noodling" or cutting along the length of the log requires a longer bar and a larger case and more powerful motor that can push the shavings through without clogging the saw. Smaller chainsaws just don't do it well.