Band Saw Buying Guide: Resawing, Curves & Everything In Between

Why the Band Saw Is the Most Versatile Shop Tool

Many experienced woodworkers consider the band saw the single most important power tool in the shop — more versatile than a table saw for certain work. A band saw excels at resawing thick stock into thinner boards (creating bookmatched panels, veneers, and maximizing expensive lumber), cutting curves and irregular shapes, cutting round stock and logs safely, ripping thick hardwoods, and making compound cuts for cabriole legs and sculptural work. The continuous loop blade pulls the workpiece down onto the table rather than kicking it back, making band saws inherently safer than table saws. A well-tuned 14-inch band saw with a good blade can resaw a 6-inch-wide board into consistent 1/8" veneers — try that on a table saw.

Band Saw Sizes Explained

Band saws are measured by their wheel diameter, which determines throat depth (distance from blade to frame — roughly equal to wheel diameter). Common sizes: 9-10 inch benchtop ($150-350) — small, portable, limited to 3-4 inch resaw height and basic curved cuts. Good for scroll-work, small joinery, and light-duty tasks. 14-inch ($400-1,500) — the most popular workshop size. With a riser block upgrade (adds 6 inches of resaw capacity), a 14-inch saw handles most woodworking tasks. The Rikon 10-326, Laguna 14|12, and Grizzly G0555LX are top 14-inch picks. 17-18 inch ($1,000-3,000) — serious resawing capacity (12+ inches), more powerful motors (1.5-3 HP), and greater blade length allows better heat dissipation. The Laguna 18BX and Grizzly G0513X2 are popular in this class. 20-24 inch ($2,500-8,000+) — professional and industrial capacity for lumber mills and production shops.

Blade Selection Is Everything

The blade makes the band saw. A mediocre saw with a great blade outperforms an expensive saw with a cheap blade. Key blade specifications include width (1/8" to 1" for 14-inch saws), TPI (teeth per inch, typically 2-14 for woodworking), tooth set (alternate, raker, or wavy), and material (carbon steel, bi-metal, or carbide-tipped). For resawing, use the widest blade your saw accepts (typically 1/2" or 3/4" for 14-inch saws) with 2-3 TPI and a hook tooth pattern. The Timberwolf 1/2" 3 TPI and Wood Slicer 1/2" are the two most recommended resawing blades. For general curved cutting, a 1/4" 6 TPI blade handles most curves with reasonable cut quality. For tight curves and scrollwork, a 1/8" or 3/16" blade navigates radii as small as 1/4". Keep multiple blades on hand and swap based on the task — blade changes take 2 minutes on a well-set-up saw. Replace blades when teeth dull, the blade wanders despite proper tension, or you see cracks at the weld or near the gullets.

Setting Up and Tuning Your Band Saw

A properly tuned band saw cuts accurately and quietly. Start with coplanar wheels — the top and bottom wheels must be in the same plane. Adjust the bottom wheel tilt until a straightedge spans both wheels evenly. Set blade tracking so the blade runs in the center of the tire (some prefer the gullets at the front edge of the tire). Blade tension is critical — undertensioned blades wander during resawing, while overtensioned blades stress the frame and shorten blade life. The built-in tension scale is notoriously inaccurate; use the flutter test instead — raise the upper guide 6 inches above the table, run the saw, and push the blade sideways with a scrap. If it deflects more than 1/4", increase tension. Set guide bearings (or cool blocks) to just barely clear the blade with no contact when running idle — they should only engage under cutting load. The thrust bearing sits behind the blade and prevents it from being pushed backward; set it 1/64" behind the blade. Finally, adjust for drift — every blade tracks at a slightly different angle. Draw a straight line on a board, cut freehand following the line, and note the angle at which you must hold the board. Adjust your fence to match this drift angle for accurate resawing.

Resawing Techniques

Resawing (cutting a board through its thickness to produce thinner pieces) is the band saw's superpower. Joint one face flat on a jointer first, then place that face against the fence. Use the widest blade available with 2-3 TPI, maximum practical tension, and a feed rate slow enough that the blade doesn't deflect. A single-point fence (a tall, rounded post rather than a flat fence) allows you to steer the cut to compensate for blade drift in real time. For bookmatching, resaw a board into two thin halves and open them like a book — the mirror-image grain pattern is dramatic and adds perceived value to furniture panels. Expect about 1/8" of material loss per saw kerf plus another 1/16" per face for planing/sanding, so a 4/4 board yields two usable pieces about 5/16" thick. For veneers, a quality blade and careful technique can produce veneers as thin as 1/16" — far more efficient than a thickness sander approach.

Top Band Saw Recommendations

1. Best 14-inch value: Rikon 10-326 — 1.5 HP, cast iron table and frame, riser block ready, excellent guides, $650-
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4. Best 14-inch premium: Laguna 14|12 — 1.75 HP, ceramic guides, 12" resaw capacity, computer-balanced wheels, $900-1,
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7. Best 14-inch budget: WEN 3962 — 2-speed, 6-inch resaw height, solid performance for occasional use, $250-
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10. Best 17-18 inch: Laguna 18BX — 2 HP, 12" resaw with standard guides, ceramic options available, $1,500-2,
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13. Best benchtop: Rikon 10-305 — 10-inch, portable, surprisingly capable for small work, $200-
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16. When choosing, prioritize resaw capacity and motor power over throat depth — you can always rotate the workpiece, but you can't add resaw height.