Scroll Saw VS Band Saw – Which is Best for Woodworking Job?

If you are a carpenter or someone that’s planning on carrying out a DIY project, a saw might sometimes be needed to get the job done. When it comes to purchasing a saw for any of your needs, the large variety of options might get you confused. The most common confusion arises when choosing between scroll and band saw. Depending on the nature of use, any one of these saws can be used. If you don’t get it just yet, don’t worry, we have come up with this whole entire article to help you with understanding scroll and band saws. 

What is Scroll Saw?

Let’s begin by discussing what a scroll saw is. A scroll saw is an important tool for any DIYer or woodworker that wishes to add creative and personalized touches to their piece of art. Scroll saw makes use of short and thin blades that are about a quarter of an inch thick. Scroll saws are mostly used to cut intricate profiles, joints, and patterns on both plastics as well as wood. They do a wonderful job cutting curved, angled, and straight cuts. A scroll saw is one of the best kinds of saws that helps in cutting precise and accurate cuts.

Advantages and the use of a scroll saw? 

Below are a few uses and advantages that a DIYer or a woodworker can take advantage of when using a scroll saw:

  • When it comes to intricate and complicated contours and cuttings, you'll find nothing better than a scroll saw to get the job done. It is completely true that a band saw is a lot more versatile than a scroll saw but the preciseness of a scroll saw is a driving factor for its use.
  • If you are someone that has done a lot of cutting using saws, then you'll know that sanding is one of the most crucial steps to obtain a clean finish. When using a scroll saw, the effort you'll put into sanding will be reduced by a lot. The cut of a scroll saw gives a pretty clean cut but if you are perfectionistic then a tad bit of sanding will do.
  • The movement of the saw blade is controlled by a foot pedal so you've got both of your hands to make sure that the cut is perfect and on point.
  • If you've got limited space, a scroll saw won't cause trouble as it occupies very limited space.

The Scroll Saw: Pros and Cons 

Pros

  • A scroll saw does a pretty good job cutting on the interior side of the material. In fact, it is one of the unique features of a scroll saw to perform a plunge cut and make cuts on the interior. All you should do is insert the slim blade over the hole. This will help in cutting complicated designs on the interior of the material.
  • As we have said many times by now, the accuracy and preciseness of a scroll saw cut is absolutely wonderful. Most of the cuts produced by a scroll saw require a minimum amount of sanding. 

Cons

  • One of the major cons about scroll saw comes with straight cuts. Though scroll saws do allow a user to produce straight cuts, they are not the best option for doing so. In comparison to other cutting tools, scroll saws perform a bit worse with straight cuts. 
  • If you are going to be working on relatively thick material, scroll saws are gonna struggle a little. The thin blade in a scroll saw is very beneficial while cutting complicated patterns but faces difficulty with thick materials. 

What is a Band Saw?

As a woodworker, if you haven’t yet come across band saws in your woodworking career, then it’s probably time to get used to them now. The uniqueness and a ton of applicable situations of a band saw is one of the reasons you should start using one. When you look at a band saw, you’ll see that it is a saw with a lengthy and strong resaw blade. Band saws find their use with metalworkers, woodworkers, and many more. A band saw uses a motor to power its functioning. The tool can effortlessly carry out lumbering, metal cutting, rip cuts, woodworking, resaw, multiple piece cutting, cutting in circles, etc.

Advantages and the use of a band saw? 

Now, let’s get to talking about some of the fascinating advantages and uses of a band saw to give you an idea about which saw works best in a given situation:

  • Band saws do a very good job in cutting cross or straight cuts and are way better at doing so in comparison with other tools like a chain saw. One of the reasons band saws are better than other kinds is because of the blades.
  • You'll find a ton of advanced features like blade tracking adjustments, dual bearing blade rollers with very high quality blades in a band saw.
  • While most of the other cutting tools are good at cutting a specific material, band saws don't have such a restriction. Different models of band saws work with different materials like wood, timber, etc.
  • If you are someone that's looking for a tool that can cut with minimum wastage, a band saw is all you need. Minimum wastage is possible because band saws have a relatively smaller kerf in comparison with other tools.

The Band Saw: Pros and Cons 

Pros

  • Band saws are very good at cutting in straight lines as the blades are tough and big. Big size blades of a band saw help in making accurate straight-line cuts. These cuts are not easily achievable with a scroll saw. 
  • A band saw is very broad and powerful which helps in cutting thick materials with ease. All you need is the right blade and you’ll be able to cut through materials no matter how thick they are. 

Cons

  • Unlike scroll saws, band saws are not able to make inside cuts.
  • Depending on the type of blade, band saws can be pretty aggressive with their cuts. Even though it is a straight cut, the edges might end up pretty rough. A band saw cut will require a lot of sanding to get the edges to be perfectly clean.

Scroll Saw VS Band Saw: The Major Differences

Motor

Scroll Saw: These models have a variable speed motor.

Band Saw: They have a fixed single speed.

Price

Scroll Saw: They are less costly in comparison to band saws.

Band Saw: They cost quite a lot.

Noise

Scroll Saw: The noise produced is pretty less.

Band Saw: They are noisy.

Portability

Scroll Saw: These are portable and can easily be moved.

Band Saw: They are heavy and can’t be moved that easily.

Material

Scroll Saw: Cannot be used to cut thicker materials, materials up to 2 inches thick can be cut with ease.

Band Saw: Can easily cut materials up to 12 inches.

Conclusion

This is all we’ve got about the differences, advantages and pros, cons of scroll saws and band saws. If you still have confusion on when to use which variety, here’s a simple answer. You should use a band saw for cutting thick materials and a scroll saw for cutting thin materials. For straight cuts, go for a band saw, for curved and intricate cuts, use a scroll saw.

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