I am new to turning and have a general question concerning saws. I have recently purchased a VS mini lathe due to space limitations. My main objective is to start with pens and other small objects. I have seen two different schools of thought concerning saws. Some say a band saw is the best bet to start with, and others say a table saw. Any thought on which is the best to start with for a beginner and suggections for a particular model to match your thoughts.
Any and all suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks, Andy K. I'm never lost, someone is always telling me where to go...
This is another of those 'it depends' answers. A well tuned band saw will do all the things that a table saw will. There are a couple of books out there on how to do this. If I had a lot of ripping (like long sections of wood for pens) I would use my table saw. The table saw is more dangerous because the circular blade can throw things back at you. For smaller pieces, in particular, you may be better off with the bandsaw. As far as which brand or model, Jet is good, Rikon also has good reviews. Try to find a local club, you may be able to get used tools, not to mention the learning that can be done in a much shorter time than it will take you to figure it out for yourself.
For turners, I'd say a band saw is your best bet. You can get some pretty square cuts with a band saw, you can cut rough and even small logs into useable squares, and it's a very safe saw with no kick back. You can also be very creative with it.
If you were doing basic woodworking, I'd start with a table saw, but for turners, I think the bandsaw is a better start.
"Andy K." (clip) My main objective is to start with pens and other small objects. (clip)I have
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ These are not really two schools of thought--they apply to different applications. Band saws are most useful for making round blanks out of logs. Table saws are particularly useful for things like pen blanks. HOWEVER: You don't need either one right now. You can buy ready-made pen blanks of beautiful wood in the same place where you are going to get your pen kits. If you have access to larger pieces of wood with beautiful grain, you can make them into pen blanks with ANY saw, including a saber saw.
I started as a pen collector, and expanded into pen making. What a slippery slope. There is a good chance that you will want to do more things, and that is when you should choose a saw.
Well, a bandsaw is Mr Frid's "one saw" choice, if that makes any difference to you. It will also eat less of that limited space you have, unless you manage to get a 36" unit. It's more versatile, and less likely to bite you. Anything that cuts wood cuts flesh, but a bandsaw will only cut you if you stick your fingers in it, while a tablesaw can throw things. Also, a tablesaw is much louder.
HUH? Try as I might, the throat of the band saw won't allow me to cut off a piece more than 13" long (14 wheels), which severely limits its use on sheet goods and wastes a lot of wood trying to make a 4' piece out of an 8' board. a bandsaw is a bandsaw, a tablesaw is a tablesaw.
Turners will get much more use out of a bandsaw than a tablesaw, but that's because they're normally using it for what it's for - cutting thick wood in small bites.
Andy... I didn't need a bandsaw until I started turning..
A lot depends on WHAT you're turning, and what types of wood you're using...
If you're turning pens from purchased pen blanks, either is fine, though I feel safer cutting pen blanks to length on the bandsaw.. I've built jigs and sleds but still don't feel comfortable cutting 2" lengths off of a 3/4x3/4 blank on a table saw.. Bandsaw also has a smaller kerf, so less wood wasted..
THE big difference between the 2 saws is that most turners end of working with a lot of green/wet wood and irregular shape pieces... NOT good on a TS but pretty safe and doable on a BS..
As others have mentioned, the BS takes up a lot less room.. I'll add that it's also quieter and easier to control dust on than a TS..
Obviously, the TS is better at cutting straight and the BS does bends well.. You can cut boards down to pen blanks size on a BS but it's a bitch getting a bowl blank round on a TS.. ;-]
I have the Ridgid 14" BS from Home Depot.. not a popular tool in this group, but it has worked very well for me for 4 or 5 years and the $350 price was right... Whatever saw you get, TS or BS, be safe and use GOOD quality blades.. Especially on the BS.. I've seen folks that HATE their BS until someone puts a real blade on it.. YMWV
I'd add that the saw should either have a riser kit available or be one of the steel frame ones that already has a 12" resaw capability (13" for the Rikon). 12" logs have a lot more interesting wood in them than 6" logs :-).
You really need to look at what you plan to do both now and in the future. If turning is all you plan on doing, and since you mentioned that space is tight, then I think I would agree that a band saw will probably meet all of your needs. If your woodworking skills expand into other areas, a table saw COULD be in your future.
A table saw will be limited to pieces about 3 1/2" thick, but there is no limit on length. You might be able to increase the thickness by turning the wood over if the opposing side is flat. A band saw can go
12 inches with the proper equipment such as a large saw, or an appropriate riser kit if one is available.
A table saw will (for all practical purposes) be limited to straight cuts. A table saw can cut coves by moving the work diagonally across the blade (with a jig), and I have even seen jigs used to cut circles on a table saw, but I don't think I would want to do that. A band saw was made for circles and other irregular shapes.
Table saws are only limited in size by the amount of surface used for supporting work. By that I mean side extensions, outfeed tables, saw fence system, etc. From what I have read, the largest fence systems for homeowners are around 50 inches. That means that you can safely and accurately cut 4x8 sheet goods in half. A 14" band saw will be limited to around 14 inches.
I don't agree that a well turned band saw can do everything a table saw can do. Unless someone can tell me how a band saw can cut large sheet goods, or do dadoes and rabbets. Yeah, I know there are other ways to do those things without a table saw. But that isn't the point. Table saw can do it, band saw cannot.
The only other thing I can add is that with my table saw I can get cuts that are as smooth as a baby's butt, and I have not been able to do that with a band saw. Probably not a requirement for turning.
. . . and then there are all the safety issues that have already been mentioned.
Unfortunately, 24" logs (half being 12) generally exceed the capacity of the lathe in use. Since you'll be taking things up the middle and a bit more to clear old knots and tight annual rings that can crack your piece while drying, then flattening the opposite side down about 3/4 of an inch to find a place for your chuck to reverse, a 6" resaw will do for 14-16" diameter. You merely use the chainsaw for the longitudinal work and then take to the bandsaw, or trim to "good enough" circular altogether. You can do about 7 and a half depth by nibbling top and bottom then running the middle.
A chainsaw is more important to most turners than a bandsaw. Those who turn outboard can do with a chainsaw alone.
I've gone through some of this thread and, as usual, your stated needs got lost sometimes by responders looking "downstream", figuring you'll eventually end up doing all kinds of woodworking, including "case work" (kitchen cabinet type stuff out of plywood, with or without face frames) and/or "solid wood furniture" that require that you have, at a minimum, a joiner, planer and table saw - with a good fence AND a blade of the Forrest Wood Worker II quality.
If you're doing pen size turning now, and, knowing how addictive turning can be, even with a small mini/midi lathe, you'll soon be finding, and bringing home pieces of trees to play with. But these chunks of wood will seldom have a flat face - so they're dangerous to try and cut on a table saw AND they'll probably be thicker than the cut capacity of the typical 10", or even a 12" table saw. These pieces of trees will also be "green" (read "wet", with moisture contents years away from being "dry"). Wet wood on a cast iron saw table, to say nothing of the sawdust getting into the innards of a table saw, means almost instant rust - one of THE ENEMIES of tables saws, joiners, planers, etc..
SO - for your immediate and foreseeable (?) needs, a bandsaw is the saw you will be able to use - and for more things. With a shop made bigger table top, with places to attach things to it AND a shop made (or store bought) fence you can adjust for "blade lead" / "blade drift", you'll have a lot of bases covered - and find some bases you don't even know exist.
I suspect that in a few months you're going to get tired of turning small diameter cylinders and not long after want to do plates and bowls and vases - and turned lidded boxes. So you'll be back here asking about chucks and jaw sets. You're on a very slippery slope and it's all down hill from here. Don't take "down hill" as a descent into hell, but rather think Roller Coaster - scary and exhilerating as hell, followed by "LET'S GO AGAIN!"
Here's some stuff that may help in your purchasing decision.
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