Thread: Tool purchase; scroll vs. band saw

I use both. The band saw is more versatile, you can put a fence on it and use it to re-cut wood blocks and rough cut scales, but the scroll saw is much more precise. I have not used the scroll to cut scales. I cut the rough shape on the band saw, and then do the shaping on the big belt sander or the osculating drum sander. I will cut the scales from a single block, sand to shape then put the fence on the band saw and split the blank into two scales, then hand sand to finish. The scroll saw cuts slower but makes very precise cuts for delicate scroll work. Either would work, but if I had to pick one, the band saw would be my choice.

Originally Posted by cannonfodder

...The band saw is more versatile, you can put a fence on it and use it to re-cut wood blocks and rough cut scales....

That's sort of what I was thinking but since I have no real time using either, it was a guess.

BTW- Thats a nice looking bike in your avatar! I'm more of a Geezer Glide sort of guy personally ('05 FLHTCUI my daily/primary transportation).


v/r

Allen

Add another mark to the band saw column, I buy large pieces of nice woods (cheaper per unit volume) and cut them down to the sizes I need.

But, they do take up a bit more room, though if your going to do woodworking that shouldn't be a deciding factor.

It was alluded to above, but you can change the blade on a band saw. A thinner, finer toothed blade gives you more range of motion before the wood binds with the blade and the finer the tooth, the cleaner the cut. Or hang a big old large tooth monster on it and rip planks.

Bikes are my first passion. I have a couple of them and would not trade them for anything. Winter is just a maintenance window, dying to get back in the saddle.

Personally i would go with a smaller sized bandsaw and get the finest blade you can to go with it. The versatility of the bandsaw will pay for itself very quickly. Scroll saws are great tools but are limited in their uses, especially when you start increasing the size of the stock, with a band saw all you need to do is adjust the gate and blade and you can cut massive stock easily and accurately.

"I was leaning toward a band saw since it looks like you can use a guide to get even, square cuts and would be more precise when cutting the rough scales in half. . .The machine would also be used for other light fabricating (like making boxes and such) but the main idea is for scale work."

My 0.02 pesos worth:

If I were working on scales alone (i.e. no resawing planks into blanks for boxes) I would purchase the scroll saw first for a couple of reasons. First, they're very easy to control, great for curves and very compact. Typically a good scrollsaw will cost you much less than a decent bandsaw (half or less). You wouldn't need much sanding with the right blade, either.


If I were doing both boxes and scales and had to choose between the two I'd get a bandsaw with a variety of good blades (see Lee Valley or Highland Woodworking). A thin blade (1/8") will cut exactly the kind of curves you need for scales, a thicker blade (1/2" - 3/4") will resaw much of what you may work with. Again though, a good bandsaw can get expensive quickly and a bad bandsaw may cost you twice as much. I wouldn't get anything with less than a 93 1/2" wheel base/ 14" throat, and 3/4HP. I have a Delta 28-276 and feel it's way underpowered and very imprecise- even with a Kreg fence, Cool blocks and Carter guides. I can't imagine getting good results with anything smaller, but then again I'm pretty spoiled by my table saw.

If I had to choose behind door number three I would get a scroll saw and supplement it with a decent handsaw (a Japanese Ryoba would be my first choice) to cut rough blanks from. I think you'd get just as good performance, if not better, from the ryoba in terms of resawing and better curves with the scrollsaw. It's always tempting to overlook hand tools but sometimes they can really perform just as well, if not better, provided one's willing to put in the sweat equity. On top of that, they're typically much less expensive than machines and take up less room. Someone earlier mentioned that a scroll saw is pretty much an automated coping saw. Again, very true and another tool worth experimenting with. You may find between a Ryoba and coping saw everything you need to get you going for a long time while being able to move a few pennies toward the woods you like.

Best of luck!