In most woodworking shops, things kinda happen around the table saw or, in the case of hand-tool shops, the workbench. Those are some critical components you can find in most shops, but there is another tool a lot of woodworkers rely on – the band saw.
That leads to this week’s question. Not every shop has a band saw. So, how does the band saw rank in your shop? Is it a critical piece of shop equipment, a nice to have or a waste of space?
Critical. Likely used more than any other piece of equipment, including table saw. I feel safer and faster on it for many things, particularly small/quick tasks.
And I tend to not pile as much crap on my bandsaw as I do the table saw requiring me to move it prior to use.
For me, bandsaws are essential. I use mine to resaw stock before I plane to thickness. I also use them to cut carving blanks to shape. I could go on and on.