Beginner's wood burner vs band saw

[Mischief]

The more I carve..there more I realise I NEED MORE TOOLS! lol. I have read the forum on wood burners and about band saw. I am at the usual dilemma that everyone gets to( at least I hope everyone does).
I have been following Lynn's blog and want to try his woodburning method.

Do I spend just $2x for a simple wheeler burner....fork out $1xx for a razertip....or spend that $1xx on delta shopmaster 9 in band saw. What is the next step. NO! I cannot buy them all...I am trying to make sure that I spend more on baby stuff vs stuff that mummy wants.

Cass
Do i turn left or turn right? With my luck a pigeon would poop on me because I stood still.

[tucker1931]

In my opinion the razor tip would be first, then the band saw. They will both cost about the same dollars but that's just my opinion.
Cliff

[William]

You can use the Razertip for many different things including carve.

Bill
^v^

[Iowa Carver]

I would get a bandsaw if it was me and I would look hard at the Craftsman 10 inch. Great little bandsaw (99. when on sale)
Craftsman 10 in. Band Saw - Model 21400 at Sears.com
You don't need anything elaborate for wood burning figures and that type of stuff. Colwood, Optima and Razortip all make nice burners. A Colwood cub would do the job just fine.

Corey

Corey

[Lynn O. Doughty]

Whatever you do don't buy one of those benchtop bandsaws. They just don't measure up. Save your money and look for a 12" Delta, Ridgid or used 12" Craftsman. Here's one for $20.

Sears Craftsman 12" Bandsaw - eBay (item 260225985576 end time Apr-07-08 16:24:10 PDT)

This is the model I've used since I bought it new back in 1974. The only thing I've ever had to change on it has been the rubber wheel tires and the accessory light. And, believe me, that saw has been used!!! Sears still makes parts for it. With a 3/16" skip tooth blade it will zip right through a 4" block of oak.

As for a burning system, I use a Burnmaster Hawk 1-port and the pen I use is a small chisel tip. This unit accepts all types of pens and the replaceable tips are the way to go as their cheap compared to having to send the others in for repair. I used to have a Detail Master. It was great but replacing a tip just costs too much compared to the one I use now. ALso, I can still use my Detail Master pens in my Burnmaster.

[Irish]

Me - I am with Lynn, I'd get a really good bandsaw first! That tool will open up so many new possibilities in both caricature carving and relief carving. Of all my machines - power tools I find the bandsaw indispensable.

Then I would take $25 and go to Michaels or AC Moore and get a cheapie wood burning kit. It will last forever. Mine first burner is about 25 years old now and working great. For real basic stuff like cleaning out the toughs between elements or burning carved details that will be painted over it will do you great.

Then on my calendar I would start marking - around August - that a variable temp burner would make a perfect present. You can get an excellent Colwood for well under a $100.

Susan

[Jim-Iowa]

Probably around 1992 I bought both a 16" Delta 3 wheel Bandsaw(Not one of Delta's better ideas) and a Navesink 65 watt woodburner.
I think of them as being two different tools and at far ends of the spectrum.
The Bandsaw is good for roughing out you work(Since I do a lot of woodwork other than carving, I consider it priceless). A Coping saw will do that job if your projects are small. Or again if your projects are small enough, My favorite tool is my Scroll Saw! I'm just now switching back to carving, from my first love,Fretwork.
The Woodburner is a detailing tool.
I think if I had to choose I would go with the burner first.
The biggest drawback to the less expensive soldering iron type burners is temp control. When I started with one of those I burnt up everything I touched and would have done as well with a propane torch.
You can get around that by using a common rheostat light dimmer switch(just like used in the house to dim lights) to control your temp. So one could go that way for little $ invested.
Buy every tool you can! But Choose wisely and within your budget!

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

Here's what I'd do. I would wait with the bandsaw until you can afford a good one. Until then a simple coping saw will work well for removing excess wood. Buy a good burner. There are a lot of benefits to one over the "hobby" types. You can do excellent work with one, but the "professional" burners are much more convenient and worth the extra cost. Several good ones have been mentioned in previous posts. When I purchased mine, I opted for a dual port, but really have not found it to be that advantagous. A single port will do fine. When you do buy a bandsaw, bigger is better. A 10" would be the minimum that I would even consider. A 12 is better. Be especailly concious of vertical clearance. That is one place where the smaller saws really lack.

[Sharon of the Dell]

baby won't care how much you spend, at least not until baby is a teenager.

[Iowa Carver]

Originally Posted by Lynn O. Doughty

Whatever you do don't buy one of those benchtop bandsaws. They just don't measure up. Save your money and look for a 12" Delta, Ridgid or used 12" Craftsman. Here's one for $20.

Sears Craftsman 12" Bandsaw - eBay (item 260225985576 end time Apr-07-08 16:24:10 PDT)

This is the model I've used since I bought it new back in 1974. The only thing I've ever had to change on it has been the rubber wheel tires and the accessory light. And, believe me, that saw has been used!!! Sears still makes parts for it. With a 3/16" skip tooth blade it will zip right through a 4" block of oak.

As for a burning system, I use a Burnmaster Hawk 1-port and the pen I use is a small chisel tip. This unit accepts all types of pens and the replaceable tips are the way to go as their cheap compared to having to send the others in for repair. I used to have a Detail Master. It was great but replacing a tip just costs too much compared to the one I use now. ALso, I can still use my Detail Master pens in my Burnmaster.

I know what many think of bench top bandsaws and I have owned a Delta POC myself. But this little 10 inch has a 7 inch resaw capacity and I know many woodworkers who have this one set up as a second BS in there shops. Fir sawing out figure blanks and the such it will handle the job with ease. It's a steal when it goes on sale for 99.00 I have the 12 inch version of this saw myself and I love it. They are made by Rikon's parent company and Rikon makes a darn good bandsaws.

Corey