Another important distinction is that a bandsaw has a blade that travels in a continuous direction and a scroll saw has a reciprocating blade that travels back and forth maybe one inch. If you're planning on sawing bowl blanks forget about the scroll saw. It's for smaller intricate work.
-Jim Gott- San Jose, CA
The primary difference, in woodworking, is one of cutting speed. Bandsaws not only cut with a faster blade speed (feet per minute), but they are also cutting continously. A scroll saw is slower and only cuts half the time.
A lot of people say the difference is one of blade sizes. This is generally, but not always true. It is possible to put very fine blades in a bands saw. I have used 1/8" blades in a bandsaw. And, I've used short pieces of 1/4" bandsaw blades in a scroll saw. So, you can see there is a little overlap in blade sizes. It is the width of the blade that determines the minimum cutting radius.
If you are wanting to cut turning blanks use a bandsaw. I'd guess that over
90% of blanks are cut this way.On a side note, the largest bandsaw blade I've ever seen was at a railroad crossing. A blade was the sole occupant on a flatbed railcar and was about
18" wide with a 4" tooth every foot or so. I'd guess that the blade was 72' long. Big!
I have a 1/16 blade for my bandsaw. It's uncontrollable, twisting and turning all over the place when you try to cut, and constantly coming out of the guide blocks. There is a limit ;-)
Are you using regular block blade guides or roller guides? Take a tip from the scroll saw people and use finger slit guides instead.
Regulars. Next time, I'll make some wooden ones so I can completely trap the blade. Or, more likely, I'll just use the scroll saw.
thanks for everyone ones input, so I guess that for a beginner, just wanting to trim the ends or possibly section a piece for inside out turning, a scroll saw would be up to the job?
Scroll saws are limited to 2" thick, and you probably don't want to do more than 1" most of the time. If you're only going to ever do small stuff, you might want to consider a benchtop bandsaw like this one (not necessarily grizzly, but this type):
Especially for inside out turning, you want straight cuts. You can fence a bandsaw, but scrollsaws have resisted all my efforts to use a fence effectively.
I'd second the handsaws for what you're after. Japanese style have minimum kerf, but I cut off with an old dovetail saw all the time. Safer to part off on the lathe than to take some squirrelly shape and death grip it through the bandsaw, which has the wrong blade (3 or 4 TPI) on it for that job anyway.
The real tip in trimming the nub is not the saw, but having a curved knife to whittle the remnant out of the undercut portion.
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