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Bandsaw or Scrollsaw


Ehcalum

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Been away for awhile: newborn daughter, finishing up phase 2 of house renovations, trying not to kill the contractor for royally screwing the pooch in  my garage.....

 

Anyways, I'm finally around to building my shop space in the garage.  Currently have my dad's old delta 8" dinosaur of a tablesaw, a jig saw, compound miter saw, router and diy router table,  and building my workbench and wall mounted tool storage.  

 

The question: would you all suggest a scroll saw or a benchtop band saw for building a ravenswood? Why one over the other?  

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I did all my frame cutting with a hand held jig saw with a fairly fine-tooth blade. It worked great on the Baltic birch and turned the corners nicely. If you are choosing between the two you mentioned, how will you cut the insides out of the frames with a band saw? And band saw blades are usually wider, making it difficult to make tight turns. With a scroll saw you can do the tighter turns, but every time you want to do an inside cut you have to remove the blade and re-install it on the inside of your frame.

 

I used a table saw to rip my stringers. 

 

Have fun with your build!

 

- Ben

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Yeah, you don't need either of those saws to build this particular boat, though you might find more uses for the bandsaw than a scroll saw in the future. I have a fancy scroll saw that I haven't used in years. I have few band saws that I use frequently. The key with a bandsaw is blade tension, without tearing out the upper wheel bearing. Most benchtop saws just are too flimsily built to tolerate much tension, but with some well place reinforcement or a better bearing/tensioner setup, they can. My old Delta would flex too much with a bunch of tension on, so I welded a brace across the back of the saw's frame, which removed 1/2 of the flex when tensioned up. Lastly good blades are the only way to get a bandsaw to cut well and straight. Log onto McFeelys.com and look at good blades. 

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You don't 'need' either.  But of the two I use my 14" bandsaw with a 1/4" wide blade. I had a scroll saw and it was terribly slow compared to the bandsaw. 

 

FWIW, my method is start with a jig saw and cut out the inside cuts and cut quickly around the outside.  Then I do the outside edges including the stringer notches with the bandsaw.  Corners take a couple of cuts but with a little practice it is quick work. The 1/4" blade will cut pretty sharp corners once you get the hand of cutting curves.

 

The coaming is an  exception, I do them with the jig saw because if I cut the inside then the oustside on the bandsaw it is pretty flimsly and hard to do. I find it easier to them on the sawhorses.  Then clamp them together and sand them to match.

 

EDIT: I just realized you said bench-top bandsaw.  I would just use a jigsaw over one of those. While I am sure there are some better ones around, most will not be up to the job. To small of a throat and underpowered.  I would hold out for a used 14" saw, huge difference over a benchtop.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/14/2017 at 9:41 PM, PAR said:

I've found Bosch blades about the best of the most commonly available blades. They have an "Extra Clean" blade with zero tooth cant, which makes exceptionally smooth cuts.

 

I am always looking for cheaper sources for blades and bits.  I often buy on line and maintain an inventory of those I use a lot.   But I still buy Bosch blades for my Bosch barrel grip.

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I was picking up Bosch blades locally when I tried the DeWalts. Everyone carried them but I would typically wear out or break one Bosch blade per boat kit.I used to keep a pair of needle nose pliers close to remove the stub of a blade. 

 

With the DeWalts I get probably 3 kits cut per blade and I don't remember breaking one either. Your experience may be different but mine is the DeWalts are far superior. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't want to sound like I am arguing because obviously Timberwolf makes some good blades. But, I use a lot of blades and plywood is hard on blades. I usually cut two kits per blade, three at most. They still cut but they are getting a little dull and I hate dull blade.

 

 In my shop Timberwolf does not last any longer than any other blade. After trying a few I have settled on whatever is easy to get and reasonably priced.  For the last couple of years I have been using Morse blades, they are a huge metal working tool company. Never think of them when it comes to wood working tools but their 1/4" blades last as long as any I have tried and price is right. YMMV.

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There are good bandsaw blades and some that are simply just superior. A lot depends on what you'll do with the saw. I do a lot of resawing on the bandsaw and not so much "cutting to a line" work, so I'd recommend the "Wood Slicer" blade as a fairly cheap, but reliable blade for this work. It's a blade designed for resawing, if relatively cheap and can be highly tensioned, which is key. Lenox makes a good blade, though not cheap. Good blades have carbide tipped edges, which simply costs more, but they don't wear out nearly as fast. Bimetal blades are a good bit better than carbon steel blades and last a little better too. Most blades have a "hooked" tooth design, which cut fast, but not so clean. So, decide what you want from the saw, then pick a blade that has the features you need. Since I do a lot of resawing, I use a carbide tipped, hooked blade of fairly wide width. I don't make curved cuts very often, so the wide blade helps and the longevity of the carbide makes the cost worth it.

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