Author Topic: Band saw vs. jigsaw (Read 4083 times)

George Grossardt · « **on:** October 23, 2011, 01:37:23 PM »

So which do you use more: band saw or jig (scroll) saw? Why?

If you could only have one, which one would it be?

Glenn (Gravitywell) Reach · « **Reply #1 on:** October 23, 2011, 02:08:57 PM »

If I was to get only one I would get the scroll saw. With a band saw the blade is continuous and can't be used to cut out openings in solid material. With a scroll saw you drill a hole, feed the blade through and cut out the opening.

I have an inexpensive ($100) one from Canadian tire that works very well. I had a Dremel one and it vibrated apart after a couple of months....total waste of money, but I'm sure they are better now.

BBury · « **Reply #2 on:** October 23, 2011, 05:51:15 PM »

Yes, for model airplane building, the scroll saw will be a more valuable tool. A good quality scroll saw will do any curved cuts for model planes, and more than a bandsaw will do. Scroll saws can use much finer blades and they are much more easily/quicker changed for different applications. Plus a scroll saw is great for cutting soft or thin metals at slow speed settings with the proper blade. It takes much longer to change and adjust a bandsaw blade plus you have to change your bandsaw tires, guide bearings/ blocks and the blades are more expensive.

If you are planning on cutting patterns in wood (solid or ply) other than balsa that are 3/4" or more than invest in a bandsaw.

Allan Perret · « **Reply #3 on:** October 23, 2011, 07:16:31 PM »

I have both, use the bandsaw more. Use scroll saw only for inside cuts and small delicate work. If I could only have one it would be bandsaw, you could also have a hand scroll saw for inside cuts.

Steve Helmick · « **Reply #4 on:** October 23, 2011, 07:42:12 PM »

I would say that if you have access to a table saw, you might want to get the scroll saw. If you don't, then the bandsaw.

Steve

john e. holliday · « **Reply #5 on:** October 24, 2011, 08:32:11 AM »

I have my Dremel Jig Saw the wife got me for our first Christmas together. Then I got my Shopsmith 5 in 1 tool. The wife got the band saw and belt sander for it for another Christmas gift. i use both, but the band saw works better on hard woods. Yes i have I made some things for her. 43+ years and don't know if she will put up with me another 43.

minnesotamodeler · « **Reply #6 on:** October 24, 2011, 03:19:05 PM »

Scroll saw over bandsaw, hands down. Not only more versatile, it is much MUCH safer: A slip with a scroll saw = bandaid. Slip with a bandsaw and you're picking up digits hoping for reattachment. I have used bandsaws in the past (yes, still have all my fingers!) but I can do everything with my scrollsaw that a bandsaw can do, plus--as noted above (inside cuts, etc.)

Randy Powell · « **Reply #7 on:** October 24, 2011, 09:10:01 PM »

I use a bandsaw primarily. I have a scroll saw that I use for inside cuts, but usually use the bandsaw. With a rip fence and a tilt table i can do pretty much anything.

Clint Ormosen · « **Reply #8 on:** October 25, 2011, 01:19:07 AM »

Quote from: Ty Marcucci on October 24, 2011, 03:37:34 PM

Hmmm. My band saw has a vertical safety shield and no way can you get your fingers in there.

Manufacturers only put those guards on there to see how fast we can defeat them. They're always in the way.

I only have a scroll saw now. But even when I had a band saw I rarely used it. It lives at my brothers house now (borrowed but never returned)

FLOYD CARTER · « **Reply #9 on:** October 25, 2011, 03:41:06 PM »

I'm going to go against the consensus. I think a band saw is much better than scroll for model plane use. Why? Just because a band saw with a 1/2" wide blade does better cutting a STRAIGHT line on ply. Also, with a fence, balsa can be very accurately stripped, with no heating (which causes warping).

F.C.

George Grossardt · « **Reply #10 on:** October 26, 2011, 03:20:08 PM »

Thanks to everyone for the input. Looks like a split vote. I'll probably end up with both.

Randy Powell · « **Reply #11 on:** October 26, 2011, 09:33:16 PM »

Floyd,

I've got a Delta (the old metal ones, not the newer cheap plastic jobs). 60" blade two wheel. When adjusted correctly it cuts very straight with a 3/8" 16 tooth per inch blade. Great for cutting pieces like leading and trailing edges, spars and a host of other stuff. As I say, I don't use the jig saw much, but I'm glad I have it. It's one of those: you don't need it much but when you need it, you really, really need it.

Joe Rice · « **Reply #12 on:** October 27, 2011, 08:34:39 AM »

Floyd, I have the "cheap" ($99) Delta bench style band saw it is more than adequate for our hobby work. It operates smoothly, blade changes are easy and require no other component changes. I also have a Dremel scroll/jig saw. I use the band saw more, but use both depending on the type of cut and material. The Dremel has a mitre table with a sanding disc for precision clean up, bevels, etc.. I got the band saw initially, but there must have been a reason to add the Dremel. You will be happier with both if you can swing it.

Joe

Jim Kraft · « **Reply #13 on:** October 28, 2011, 07:22:12 PM »

I have a bench top band saw. I use to have a jig saw, but after I got the band saw I never used the jig saw. Band saws will do so many more things with precision.

proparc · « **Reply #14 on:** October 29, 2011, 12:24:26 PM »

I can tell you with pretty much absolutely certainty, that you will need both. Of course, you will need a 48" x 24" Laser Cutter, and a dedicated Sterolithography machine that can handle full size prototypes from Solidworks STL files. A Mazak CNC five axis mill and a Mazak 3 axis lathe with Mastercam interface and full post processing capabilities will anchor your automated machining section nicely. In addition, you will need a CNC bender,(those landing gears can be tough) and a Plasma Cutter for your bellcranks and horns. We will talk about your sanding station in my next post-thats going to take a while.

john e. holliday · « **Reply #15 on:** October 30, 2011, 12:42:56 PM »

Quote from: Jim Kraft on October 28, 2011, 07:22:12 PM

I have a bench top band saw. I use to have a jig saw, but after I got the band saw I never used the jig saw. Band saws will do so many more things with precision.

Except the cut out for wings on profile fuselages.

LL~My opinion.

Joseph Patterson · « **Reply #16 on:** October 31, 2011, 08:51:09 AM »

You need both, besides as Ty says, a man can never have enough tools, but if you had to make a choice, go for the band saw.
Doug

Bill Little · « **Reply #17 on:** November 01, 2011, 12:21:00 PM »

Well, I have both, but use my scroll saw most. I cut parts with a scalpel and need to cut things like plywood firewalls, etc., and they are easier, to me, to do with the scroll saw. The band saw gets pretty dusty! LOL!

Big Bear

Ed Keller · « **Reply #18 on:** November 03, 2011, 10:57:13 AM »

The band saw has a huge advantage over a scroll saw in a couple of ways. My Delta band saw has a slotted table,& I am sure most others do also. This means you can use a guide for any serious straight cut, & also use it for accurate angle cuts. It also will make a cut faster & with less fiddeling. That said, the scroll saw will do certain things no other type tool will do. I find that I use the band saw more often, though. Ed

Howard Rush · « **Reply #19 on:** November 09, 2011, 02:57:20 PM »

Quote from: proparc on October 29, 2011, 12:24:26 PM

I can tell you with pretty much absolutely certainty, that you will need both. Of course, you will need a 48" x 24" Laser Cutter, and a dedicated Sterolithography machine that can handle full size prototypes from Solidworks STL files. A Mazak CNC five axis mill and a Mazak 3 axis lathe with Mastercam interface and full post processing capabilities will anchor your automated machining section nicely. In addition, you will need a CNC bender,(those landing gears can be tough) and a Plasma Cutter for your bellcranks and horns. We will talk about your sanding station in my next post-thats going to take a while.

I suppose you meant that as a joke, but it's embarrassingly close to how I think. I put off buying a scroll saw for a long time, because it would have been a waste of money that could have gone to a laser cutter. Besides, I only used my old jumpy Dremel jigsaw to cut the wing slot out of fuselage sides twice a decade. I got me a DeWalt scroll saw, and I like it. I still have the Taiwanese band saw, which would be more useful if: a) I would learn how to adjust it, which I have not, despite a good book on the subject having been in my bathroom for six years, and 2) it weren't so tempting to use it to cut metal or carbon fiber, rendering the blade null and void.

Randy Powell · « **Reply #20 on:** November 09, 2011, 03:36:12 PM »

Howard,

Yea, I cave every once in awhile and use the bandsaw to cut some piece of carbon and always regret it since I soon have to change out the blade. Sigh...

proparc · « **Reply #21 on:** November 09, 2011, 05:28:58 PM »

Quote from: Howard Rush on November 09, 2011, 02:57:20 PM

I suppose you meant that as a joke, but it's embarrassingly close to how I think.

It was my abstract way of saying you can't have too many tools. A lot of guys have trouble building because, they are not sufficiently equipped to do so. Control line stunt ships are serious business, and you should try to set up as much as you can to take care of that business in as efficient a method as possible. It can mean the difference between looking at a set of plans and saying, "I can't do that", to saying, "piece of cake"!!

dave siegler · « **Reply #22 on:** November 13, 2011, 06:44:14 AM »

For years I only had scroll saw. Dad started me on a junks old sears spring tensioned saw, so we did not cut off fingers.

I still use my scroller a lot. There is a lot of set up on a scroll saw. First if you have a spring tension one like the old Dremmel, or my old sears you won't like it. The parallel arm saws cut a lot better. Second get the right blade. For our use, the widest blade possible is what you want. I am going try a hunk of band saw blade some time. A cut off hacksaw blade even work well for carbon tubes. Lastly only the part of the blade in the wood make the cut so they get dull quickly and need to be replaced often.

With my cheap variable speed scroll saw I can cut al landing gear, plastic wood wood. Even with the widest blade it can make scroll cuts better than my band saw. With a wide blade and a fence and a little work you can make rip cuts with the scroll saw. I would trade my little 18 in saw for a 21 or 24 inch scroll saw. Rip cuts are limited by the depth of the throat. The proper blade with the burr removed the blade does not wander unless the tension is wrong or you are feeding too fast.

The 3 wheel band saw does nice job on rip cuts but can only cut wood. I like the band saw for cutting plywood and stack cutting ribs. Cross cuts a limited by the depth of the throat. The band saw gets used more for woodworking than modeling.

I am not saving for a laser cutter, but saving for a foam wing cnc machine.

Both have their place and both need to be understood and set up properly.

Bob Reeves · « **Reply #23 on:** November 13, 2011, 08:11:11 AM »

I have 3 band saws and one scroll saw, as they say one can't have enough tools. Hardly ever use the scroll saw but when you need it you need it.

For the smaller table top band saws (2 or 3 wheels) that take a 59 1/2" blade, this is the best blade going.. This is the Manufactures site but will give you enough info to find a supplier with a little help from Google.

http://www.supercutbandsaw.com/threewheeler.html

I buy the 3/8 - 24 because I don't try to use a band saw for anything but straight cuts and 24TPI gives me a pretty smooth cut. I have a Delta and a Sears that use the same 59 1/2" blade, use one for wood and the other for aluminum. When cutting aluminum sneak into the kitchen and grab the wife's PAM, it works real well as a lube and keeps the teeth from gumming up.

Another tip.. When you buy something that is packaged in plastic, sealed all around the edges that only a gorilla could open. Just run the edges through the band saw and cut off the part that's sealed.

phil c · « **Reply #24 on:** November 18, 2011, 03:49:21 PM »

a scroll saw is more versatile. One especially useful trick is to use hack saw blades cut down. This requires a saw that has blade clamps instead of using pin end blades like a Dremel. You can also get a small bandsaw blade for greater choice in tooth pitch. The hack saw blade allows a decent saw to cut as much as an inch of hardwood. Also cuts carbon fiber and glass laminate.(use a filter mask.)