Band Saw or Good Jig Saw

[baze7]

Is it worth spending the money on a band saw, or would I be better off getting a good jig saw??

Thanks

[Dr. Jabsco]

deffinatly a bandsaw. 10'' if you can afford, but 9" does nicly as well.

jigsaws dont give accurate cuts, and require a LOT of cleanup

[guitar_ed]

Jigsaws are slow and the blades break easily. Assuming that you are going to be cutting guitar bodies and not 1/4" woods.

Guitar Ed

After inflation, my $.02 ain't worth much.

[tdog]

If you can afford it, get a 14in bandsaw....you'll be glad you did.....I can't imagine trying to cut out a body on a 9 or 10in bandsaw. In my shop, I have a 9in.......a 14in.......and a 36in.......The 9in get used for cutting out jewelry pieces and also nuts and bridges.....I use my 36in Powermatic (7.5hp)for my resaw machine....it will cut anything up to 20in thick.

[Dr. Jabsco]

WOW thats an impressive shop!

My bandsaw is a kinnda inexpensive 9" I got from sears. It works for cutting out bodys, but you have to do some tricky monuvering to get the body to clear.

[SguitarM527]

yeh i use a 10" bandsaw. it works fine... i dont know why you would NEED a 14". it would obviously be nice to have but dont sweat it if you cant afford it

[daveq]

A 14" bandsaw would make your life so much easier if you can save up for one. I wouldn't spend money on a jig saw unless you think you have other projects that it would be handy for. The bandsaw and the router are my most used tools. Try to hold out as long as you can so you can afford a decent size bandsaw it will be worth it in the long run.

[baze7]

My problem is I would like a few other tools. I always have a hard time finding a jointer to use, so that is on my list, people always say a drill press is handy, so that is on my list, but maybe a band saw should be first on my list. I already have a decent router.

[daveq]

When you get around to looking for a jointer - check out the Delta bench top jointer. It's a variable speed, portable jointer that is a perfect size (in my opinion) for building guitars. If you need to use it for boards longer than 3.5 feet, you might want something with a longer bed but for building guitars, it's just right. It's about $180 or at least it was when I got mine.

If I had to choose between a band saw or jointer for my next tool, I think I'd pick the bandsaw. There are ways to flatten boards without a jointer (although those methods are usually much more time consuming) but it's hard to substitute something for a bandsaw.

I've read other threads concerning the size of the bandsaw. Most people believe that the smaller bandsaws aren't very good for building guitars. There are some who will disagree but I think the majority of people who have had them have been disappointed. The 14" seems to be the smallest size that really works well according to what I have read. I own a JET 14" bandsaw and have been very happy with it.

[Guitarfrenzy]

A 14" bandsaw would make your life so much easier if you can save up for one. I wouldn't spend money on a jig saw unless you think you have other projects that it would be handy for. The bandsaw and the router are my most used tools. Try to hold out as long as you can so you can afford a decent size bandsaw it will be worth it in the long run.

Listen to him on this. If you get to cutting out scarf joints and bodies, then your gonna want one that can really cut the wood without binding up. I wouldn't recommend going with anything under a 14" myself. You can get a good one from Grizzly that won't cost you as much.

Grizzly 14" bandsaw

Also check out their 16" bandsaw if you want to go with an even better one.

Grizzly 16" bandsaw

You can also find a good jointer from them.

Grizzly 6" Jointer sale

They make great products. Check them out.

[DaveMan]

I also have the 14" Jet. It is excellent, and I use it for all of my guitar building. Sometimes I wish I had a slightly larger one, but I have no regrets with this one. It is a decent tool and it does the job quite well. I have the riser blocks, so that I can resaw woods. This is great for making bookmatched tops out of a thicker board. With a bigger saw I could resaw really large slabs for one piece bodies, but this one works fine for everything else I do.

I do find that it gets a bit tight trying to make long horns on basses. A really deep cutaway gets the body bumping against the backside of the saw, and I have to plan my cuts a little bit. I always do my cuts on the outside part of the blade, having my scrapwood inside the saw, but with a really long horn with a big curve at the end, I can frustrate myself a bit if I don't plan ahead.

I also use the bandsaw for most of my other cutting, including necks, fingerboards, headstocks etc. I don't have a table saw, but I do have an old radial arm saw. I know I haven't used the Arm saw in over a year, so my last two guitars must have been built without it. Funny, I never missed it.

Dave

"If I use a sound proof finish, then nobody can hear how bad my playing is!"

[Simo]

As I'm short on workshop space I use a jigsaw, it's quite powerfull (800w). It's plenty quick enough for me and I've never broken a blade, I can rough cut a body in a couple of minutes... but like the other guys say just don't cut too close.