Replies

1. 
   SCFrankland | Jun 12, 2003 11:05pm | #1

   I would look at the used tool market.  You could get a good machine for $200.  I have had the 9" Delta and it is not a well made machine.  I found it hard to cut anything over 1" with out the saw bogging down.

   Scott C. Frankland

   "This all could have been prevented if their parents had just used birth control"

2. 
   GeeSeaWhy | Jun 13, 2003 01:17am | #2

   I would go for the scrollsaw. It's the best tool for your template material and will cut more intricate curves than a bandsaw. You might also find you like doing scroll work as well. My scrollsaw (16" Delta, by no means a top-of-the-line machine) can handle 2" thick stock. I wouldn't want to make it do that all day, but it will do it.

   Everything I've heard about 9" bandsaws has been discouraging: too small and flimsy for a bandsaw, too clumsy and limited for a scrollsaw substitute.

   HTH

   Graeme

3. 
   forestgirl | Jun 13, 2003 06:51am | #3

   Just to confirm, you're only cutting templates, right?  Not 1" wood or whatever?  I'd not spend money on either.  I doubt you can get a real good scrollsaw for under $200, the little benchtop bandsaws don't seem very satisfactory, and even the new Grizzly 14" bandsaw will cost you clost to $400.  I have a small (Dremel) scrollsaw and while it's fine for actual scrolling work in thin material, I never did have good luck with it with thicker wood.  A better scrollsaw might do better in that respect, but will cost more than $200.

   IMO, try a coping saw or your jigsaw with a quality blade, save up some $$ for a bandsaw.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

4. 
   ToolDoc | Jun 13, 2003 07:18am | #4

   Wanda: Save your money for a nice Delta 14" Band Saw,use your Jig Saw(Sabre Saw) to cut your patterns & if your ever in the market for a Good Scroll Saw take a peek at either the dewalt or the Delta P20...

                                   ToolDoc

1. 
   wendy | Jun 13, 2003 05:15pm | #5

   Hi,

   Guess I better start saving for that Delta 14 inch bandsaw. I'm not going to rush out and buy a scroll saw. I'll just buy a scroll blade for the Freud jigsaw I have and make do with that to cut out my 1/8 inch thick hardboard templates. As for the small Adirondak table sure would be nice to have a bandsaw to cut out those curves. (1 inch thick wood) I'm sure the jigsaw will do an adequate job.

   Wanda

1. 
   EdHarrison | Jun 13, 2003 08:39pm | #10

   I bought the Ridgid variable speed scroll saw about three years ago. Built a base for it. I LOVE, repeat LOVE, the variable speed feature of it. Can cut 4/4 oak with it. Can cut plexiglass. Those little spiral twist blades, though hard to get mounted, once on, make an incredible small kerf and cut incredible curves (in less difficult material than the above-mentioned).

   I knew a guy that had one of those Craftsman mini 3 wheel bandsaws. He hated it so bad (problems with blades breaking, incredible problems with blade tensioning and tracking) that he wound up taking it out to his deer hunting green field and shooting it with a .44 Magnum. (true story)

   Good luck, Ed

1. 
   BG | Jun 14, 2003 01:22pm | #12

   Ed,

   I have not shot my Craftsman three wheel bandsaw...not while it still has utility as a place to hang the apron.... frustration is an understatement.

1. 
   EdHarrison | Jun 14, 2003 04:23pm | #13

   Sorry, BG. FWIW, my friend said his .44's (he has handguns and a .44 Mag rifle, called a "brush gun" around here) really did a number on the benchtop BS.

5. 
   RANGERP75R | Jun 13, 2003 05:15pm | #6

   wanda

      For what you're doing and the money you're willing to spend, I would buy a Bosch barrel-grip jig-saw. I purchased one for a special job as I had little confidence in jig-saws. I don't know how I ever got by without it. It makes other jig-saws look little-league. IMO, of course. I have not used a Lamello.

      This thing is the closest thing to having a 14" BS. It's very accurate and easy to copntrol with the barrel.

   Good Luck...

   sarge..jt

1. 
   wendy | Jun 13, 2003 07:49pm | #9

   Hi Sarge,

   I own a jigsaw but find it difficult to cut a straight line with it. It's not so much the jigsaw as it is me. No matter how hard I try I always manage to go off line. The saw dust gets in the way and I'm forever having to blow it away. Other than that the Freud jigsaw works great. It's a powerful tool (6 amps)and cuts through 2 inch thick lumber like a knife through butter. I will have to pick up a scroll blade for my jigsaw. Apparently they only come in multi packs. So I'll end up dishing out $13.00 

   Wanda

1. 
   RANGERP75R | Jun 14, 2003 09:52pm | #14

   wanda

      I have never had a jig-saw with the control of the Bosch barrel. I suggest you take your Freud and cut about 1mm to 2 mm outside the true line of cut. Then you can take it to line of cut with a spindle sander if you have one or by hand.

      If your making duplicates, you can also build one pattern by hand and cut the others simularly 1 to 2 mm outside the line. Clamp the pattern on top and rout a perfect duplicate using an over-head pattern straight bit.

   Just some thoughts...

   sarge..jt

1. 
   MIKEBUETTNER | Jun 15, 2003 06:34am | #15

   Well I got my $25 12" Crapsman BS up and running. Havin' some fun now! She runs smooth and cuts sweet. Mind you I have low expectations as I have a small shop against the back wall of my garage and this is my first BS. But for my needs right now this thing is perfect. I resawed some 12/4 oak and the Woodslicer blade was wonderful. Sure, it's underpowered but with new bearings, the wheels lined up, new cool blocks, and the quill running parallel to the blade it cuts real clean. Now to build a bigger table and fence.

   bit

1. 
   forestgirl | Jun 15, 2003 08:02am | #16

   Way to go, Bitman, glad it's working well.  I would imagine that a 12" bandsaw is way more than 30% better than a 9" bandsaw.  You're smart to get an excellent blade to work with!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

2. 
   RANGERP75R | Jun 15, 2003 07:37pm | #17

   Bitman

       Have to agree with Ms. Jamie. A 12" BS is capable of much more that a 9". I have a 12" Jet that I use for outside cutting. Added a home-made hefty stand under-neath. Not an ounce of vibration. I want a 16" Mini-Max someday for re-saw, but I will keep the Jet set up with a 1/4 tpi skip-tooth just for those outside cuts.

       Don't ever be embarrassed cause you got a small shop or tools that are not major-league. You will find they are help-full, but your knowledge and development of skill will take you much farther than mega-dollar tools. With a little patience and understanding, cheaper tools can be made to preform. I been using some for 30 years.

    Keep digging, the mother-lode is down there somewhere. ha..ha..

   sarge.jt

   
2. 
   wendy | Jun 16, 2003 03:03am | #18

   Hi Sarge,

   Well my jigsaw did a faily decent job of cutting out the curves for my adirondak mini table. Like you said it is best to cut just outside the line and then sand. I didn't think to use my router to even up the duplicate pieces. I could have used my pattern trimmer. Instead I just used my palm sander. Unfortunately I don't own a spindle sander or disc sander which would have made things so much easier.

   Is the spindle sander the best for sanding smooth curves? Or would a disc sander be more useful in the workshop. I think a sander might just be the next tool I buy for my small workshop.

   Now that I have my mini adirondak table built it's time to start my next woodworking project.  I'm going to make a few planters/window boxes with some cladding I bought the other night at Kent building supplies.  I got the idea from one of my gardening books. They look so much better than the usual rectangular window boxes you see everywhere. The cladding makes all the difference in the world. dresses them up..

   Wanda

1. 
   RANGERP75R | Jun 16, 2003 06:00pm | #19

   wanda

      Both sanders ( belt-disk an spindle ) have their purposes. If you do a lot of curved work (especially inside curves) the spindle should come first. For most thought, the belt-disk is usually the first aquirement. It serves a multitude of tasks, but the inside curves are really not one of them.

      Now, go after those planters. ha..ha..

   Regards...

   sarge..jt

2. 
   wendy | Jun 17, 2003 12:07am | #20

   Hi Sarge,

   Thanks for the info regarding sanders. The curves I'm doing are outside curves mostly for andirondak furniture. Nothing too elaborate/intricate. But later on I will want to cut ogee legs for my decorative bookcase. That's down the road though. LOL 

   I decided to start on building the planters today. I'm just waiting for the glue to dry. I have yet to cut out the 2 inside battens. I was lucky enough to find a piece of 2X 6 so I'll cut the battens 1 1/4 iches thick. The sides are 6 3/4 wide so I don't think 1 1/4 inch battens won't be too thick.

   I ran into a problem earlier today while trying to make a template for a mini adirondak table. The templates a friend gave me were not all that accurate, they were off by too much for my liking so I thought I'd go ahead and make a new template using my left over masonite.  I want the next table I make to have nice curves.The curves were not lining up properly.  My friend's templates were  for a mini adirondak table... measuring 23 inches wide by (23.5) inches long. with (1/2) inch spacers  between the table top pieces. The (6) table top pieces measure (3.5) inches wide.  If you do the math it does not compute. If the radius of the circle is 11.5.. (that is 1/2 the distance of the width of the table) and you draw out your cirlce using a tremel..I think thats what you call that gadget. The circle ends up being 23 iches all the way around. The spacing needs to be adjusted. But I'd prefer to make the spacing smaller if anything not bigger.  I laid out his templates onto the  circle I had drawn out making sure to put 1/2 inch spacers between each ( 3.5) inch  table top template. When all 6 pieces were in place I came up short by about 1 inch.  I'm just going to have to find a free woodworking pattern for a mini adirondak round table. I was so sure I'd have no problems.  Anyways I was so frustrated with that I decided to build my planter instead. :)  

   bye for now

   Wanda

6. 
   triplenet | Jun 13, 2003 05:44pm | #7

   Wanda,

   I have never heard anything good about the cheap small bandsaw, unless you like frustration.

   I'd vote for a good jig saw like the Bosch with a suitable blade.  I made a concrete imprint stamp with our house name and date.  To do this, I mounted the jig saw upside down in a table made of plywood.  It gives you some of the control of a scroll saw.  There were some very tight cuts, but it worked fine.

   Bob

1. 
   MIKEBUETTNER | Jun 13, 2003 07:43pm | #8

   "I have never heard anything good about the cheap small bandsaw, unless you like frustration."

   Well I could be in for frustration then. I picked up a used Crapsman 12" about 15 years old for $25. New bearings, shaft, blocks and a Woodslicer blade cost me $60. Wheels are true and now balanced. Tires look in good shape. Looking for a used 220v 3/4hp motor to replace the 1/2hp. Putting all back together this weekend. I just hated to see it go in the scrap heap. I'll post a follow-up.

   bit

7. 
   SparrowHawk | Jun 14, 2003 12:50pm | #11

   Before I got interested in building furniture/boxes I did a lot of carving and building model ships of wood. Along the way I bought the Delta 9" bandsaw to cut out blanks and to help make parts for my ships. It was fine for the ship parts but it didn't take me long to become completely frustrated with it's limitations in cutting blanks due to the throat opening which can't use a riser block. Also finding blades near me was difficult - nobody carried the 59.5" blades so I had to special order them. Then I got started in more traditional woodworking and found the saw was entirely inadequate. So when I stumbled on a nice older Delta 14" with a riser block and carter guides I quickly snatched it up and got rid of the 9" for a lot less than I paid for it. I am now able to cut any blank I might need for carving, I have been able to resaw any piece of lumber I have needed to cut (the limit now is about 10") and am extremely happy with the capabilities. The moral of the story is that it is much better to figure out what you think you might eventually want to do with it ... then buy something with a bit more capability than even that. It might hurt your wallet for a short time but in the long run you won't be frustrated by limitations, maintenance parts will be more readily available and the resale value will be much higher should you ever wish to sell the tool. Food for thought ...

   Ken

8. 
   patricks13 | Jun 17, 2003 09:43pm | #21

    I paid $200 for a 1973 14" Delta about 2 years ago. It's in perfect shape. Actually it's better than new because not long after '73 the quality dropped off and they still don't make them as well, but they have improved from the "peace sign" '74-'82 era. I see 14" Deltas sell in the $200 range maybe 3 times a year in the Seattle area.

    

   A band saw is something that if not built and set up correctly just doesn't work well. Best not to experiment with brands. The 14" Jet or the more expensive European saws are the only other ones I would consider. Get a good one and they are a joy to use. A gentler, kinder beast compared to a table saw.
1. 
   wendy | Jun 19, 2003 04:46am | #22

   Hi,

   Unfortuntely today things aren't meant to last. They're not as well made.  When I finally save up enough money to buy a 14 inch bandsaw it's definitely going to be the Delta 14 inch. Everybody says it's a great machine.

   Hey! I wouldn't trade my table saw for anything. I love it. It's one of the best machines to rip boards with. And it's great for cutting large panels. But it is an intimidating tool. It took me a long time to feel comfortable using it. Because of the inherent risk of kickback. But if used properly it is a relatively safe tool. thre's always a risk involved when using any power tool. I always stand  to the left of the blade with my fingers  well out of the way of the blade making sure to keep the board against the fence with one hand while the other hand guides the board through. I always use a pushstick.

   Wanda