What is a band saw used for and what is the difference as far as the cutting capability between a band saw and say a table saw or a jig saw etc?
Jig saw: (usually)portable saw for general purpose cutting, good for tight curves; slow, limited in thickness of wood that can be cut. capable of producing a very fine edge
Table saw(with rotary blade): capable of straight cuts only either cutting across the grain(crosscutting) or cutting along the grain(ripping); fast, can make deep cuts. Usually cuts made with a table saw are rough (although cut&plane blades are available)
Bandsaw: best compromise between the two above: can cut curves (but not as tight as a jigsaw), it’s faster than a jigsaw, but slower than a table saw - a bandsaw typically produces the thinnest kerf(cut) therefore with little waste, capable of producing a fine edge.
jig saws have a reciprocating blade - it moves up and down - and cuts in one direction, on the down stroke. (phew, jsut try to diagram that sentence!)
Band saws don’t have a reciprocating blade. It constantly moves in the downward direction, cutting the entire time. The result is a clean cut and a bit more control over the work. As stated above, the jig saw blade is usually very thin for detailed cutting.
Small technical point!
A JIG SAW, also currently known as a SCROLL SAW, has a thin reciprecating blade held in tension between two arms. Used for fine detail cutting and very tight curves. Named, I believe, for one of it’s jobs in cutting jigsaw puzzles.
What a lot of folks refer to as a jig saw is really a SABRE SAW. This is a hand held, generally portable tool with a stiff reciprecating blade. Some have the capability to turn the blade on it’s holder, thereby allowing tighter than nomal cuts.
A band saw is also useful for something known as ‘resawing’ - the process of cutting a plank down the center to create two (or more) thinner planks. IOW a 2X10 can be split into two-1X10’s.
Color me stupid, but I’ve always thought “jigsaw puzzles” were so named because they were cut with a jigsaw.
Interestingly, the best tool for amateur jigsaw making is probably the fretsaw (a non-portable variation on the jig saw theme, but with the blade held under tension)
I beleive the jigsaw is so named because the blade is held under tension in a… jig.
The sabre saw is so named because the blade resembles the namesake weapon, and is held from only one end like the weapon.
And the bandsaw - well, that one is obvious.
The bandsaw is present in many workshops because it is generally more versatile. Its speed can be easily adjusted so that the same blade can be used to cut a variety of materials. It’s generally used when you need to make a rough cut in something other than a straight line, and can finish the edge later.
I’ve seen people who can make very neat, almost finished cuts, using a bandsaw, but it’s not easy.
Fret Saw, Jig Saw, Scroll Saw…
My definitions:
Fret saw - hand powered with a thin narrow blade in tension. Used for fine cuts in realativly thin material. I guess any saw you use to make jigsaw puzzles is a jigsaw.
Jig saw - motor or some other form of mechanical drive with a thin narrow blade held in tension. Generally the arms blade and linkage form a parallelogram. I have used jig or scroll saws driven with pedals as a bicycle. Kind of neat. These are available brand new in some catalogs.
Scroll saw - same as jig saw.
Sabre saw - what bughunter said
YMMV