selling a bandsaw to someone who doesn't do curves...

I also never thought I had any use for a bandsaw. Needed to make a bunch of
interior cuts in a project so bought that cheap 9" Ryobi for $79. Quickly
became one of my most used tools, lots of quick uses when you have one
available and setup. Didn't take long to unload the small saw and get a
14". Sits in the middle of the shop and gets used on every project, usually
quite a bit. Have now got heavily involved in turning, so want a riser kit
so I can split 12" logs.

"Silvan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm looking toward the future of my shop, and I have a 14" bandsaw on the
> list. I'm trying to sell it to myself. I'm looking at a 14",
> specifically, because I'm a little tired of buying the little one and then
> buying the big one two years later. Maybe I should even hold out for 16"
> or larger.
>
> I'd like to do resawing, but then the only stock readily and conveniently
> available to me is all 4/4. That can be resawn, but the possibilities are
> limited.
>
> I have occasion to make plane totes from time to time.
>
> I could make bandsaw boxes.
>
> It would make cutting up turning stock hella easier. This advantage is
> mitigated by the fact that I've already figured out I can't make much of
> any real interest to me on my mini sized lathe. A bandsaw would make it
> easier to cut up the logs I have, but then what? I still couldn't make
> anything particularly interesting.
>
> What else are these things good for? I'm having trouble coming up with
> reasons to buy one, other than "everybody needs a bandsaw." I really
> don't
> do curvy stuff. I've had a scrollsaw for a year, and have only used it
> for
> any serious purpose once. I couldn't find any use for small curvy stuff,
> and don't see much use for big curvy stuff either. I have always liked
> straight lines, sharp angles, and geometric shapes, dating to way back
> before I ever tried dorking any wood.
>
> I've about talked myself out of even keeping it on the someday list. At
> least until I have room for a real lathe, money to buy a real lathe, and a
> thousand bucks worth of lathe gadgetry.
>
> --
> Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
> Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
> http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
> http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

I am looking for a bandsaw right now, as well. The Powermatic 14"
seems a good buy, 1.5 hp, fence, miter, light, dust blower, tension
release, carter-type guides, for $899. I am waiting for Woodcraft's
Feb 11 10% off sale, which when I combine with a coupon from a previous
Jet purchase (2 Sjobergs benches for $175 each, delivered from Amazon)
will bring the net cost to $720, plus an additional $50 off an
accessory, which will be the riser block, for net $20 or so. I suggest
getting the Lonnie Bird and/or Mark Duginske books for an idea of the
versatility of the saw.

>dating to way back before I ever tried dorking any wood.
This does not seem advisable, to me.

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 07:11:23 -0700, "Bill B"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I also never thought I had any use for a bandsaw. Needed to make a bunch of
>interior cuts in a project so bought that cheap 9" Ryobi for $79. Quickly
>became one of my most used tools, lots of quick uses when you have one
>available and setup. Didn't take long to unload the small saw and get a
>14". Sits in the middle of the shop and gets used on every project, usually
>quite a bit. Have now got heavily involved in turning, so want a riser kit
>so I can split 12" logs.
>
Yep... sort of why I want one too, Bill...

Actually, reading everyone's posts and thinking back to a prior life,
(marriage 2), when I had an old bandsaw, I remember having 2 kinds of
blades... wide or deep blades, depending on how you look at them, for
straight cuts, and short or narrow blades for scrolling or curves..
It seems that I used the BS quite a bit and almost never cut curves
with it..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Silvan asks:

>I'd like to do resawing, but then the only stock readily and conveniently
>available to me is all 4/4. That can be resawn, but the possibilities are
>limited.

You're not looking in the right places. Blacksburg is an area with a number of
sawmills. Make your neighbors happy and stack and sticker rough lumber on
cement blocks, with old metal roofing to cover the top. But it all in 8/4
thickness and wait two years.

>
>I have occasion to make plane totes from time to time.

There are your curves.

>
>I could make bandsaw boxes.

Yuk.

>It would make cutting up turning stock hella easier. This advantage is
>mitigated by the fact that I've already figured out I can't make much of
>any real interest to me on my mini sized lathe. A bandsaw would make it
>easier to cut up the logs I have, but then what? I still couldn't make
>anything particularly interesting.

Eventually, you will.

>What else are these things good for? I'm having trouble coming up with
>reasons to buy one, other than "everybody needs a bandsaw."

Pad sawing. Make a pad of lumber and cut multiple odd shaped pieces at one
time. Start doing work that requires more curves (but avoid bandsawn boxes: I
have yet to see one that doesn't look like a piece from a worm).

A bandsaw is good for cutting almost any odd or eccentric shape, not just
curves. And it does so much more safely than you can do it on a bandsaw.

Start making more really small projects so you can resaw that 4/4 stuff.

Charlie Self
"One of the common denominators I have found is that expectations rise above
that which is expected." George W. Bush

Luigi Zanasi wrote:

> Don't forget cutting frozen food. You can cut frozen bread slices perfect
> for the toaster. But don't let a butcher use it to cut moose. Your
> workshop will end up smelling of moose for months. (DAMHIKT)

I already have a metal-cutting bandsaw for that kind of stuff. :)

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

jo4hn wrote:

> /advice mode/ You want a bandsaw? Go buy a bandsaw. Life is short. As
> long as baby has milk, or beer, or whatever baby drinks, the money is no
> problem. I'm sure the wealthy Mr. Self will float you a loan. /advice
> off/

Money is in short supply with $50,000 worth of medical bills coming, and my
deductible/copay to consider. I'm probably theorizing about a year or two
from now, but I'm thinking this way with an eye toward what I'm going to do
with the space I have liberated in corner by rearranging my shop. About
one more day, and it will be damn close to organized. (For about 11
seconds.) 25 hours spent cleaning/arranging so far.

Dovetails and tenons are interesting. Otherwise not too much I didn't
already have in mind. The main thing that it would do incredibly well is
serving as a replacement for my much overused bow saw in turning prep, but
that's a thin justification in of itself. My mini lathe is basically a
tool for making a pile of shavings, and a neat curvy piece of firewood. I
haven't found much use for 12" spindles or 8" bowls, other than turning a
bit of wood into silly string for the merry hell of it.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

Charlie Self wrote:

> You're not looking in the right places. Blacksburg is an area with a
> number of sawmills. Make your neighbors happy and stack and sticker rough

Where? I'm going on what my boss said. He used to be in the sawmill
business around here, and he still cuts his own trees for fun. I asked him
about this, and he pretty much scratched his head coming up with any place
to buy real species like walnut, or walnut, or maybe walnut. He said that
he and all the other local woodcutters he knows about send off their walnut
and cherry to the log peeler directly, do not pass go.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 15:00:35 +0000, Andy Dingley
<[email protected]> wrote:

>14" works though. It's not great for resawing, but it is useful. The
>main difference with an 18" isn't that it _won't_ do something, it's
>that you have to spend 10 minutes fooling with adjustments to get
>everything spot-on before it will do it.


I've been looking at bandsaws and wondering about size:
why does an 18" take more time to set up ?

Silvan wrote:
> I'm looking toward the future of my shop, and I have a 14" bandsaw on the
> list. I'm trying to sell it to myself. I'm looking at a 14",
> specifically, because I'm a little tired of buying the little one and then
> buying the big one two years later. Maybe I should even hold out for 16"
> or larger.
>
/advice mode/ You want a bandsaw? Go buy a bandsaw. Life is short. As
long as baby has milk, or beer, or whatever baby drinks, the money is no
problem. I'm sure the wealthy Mr. Self will float you a loan. /advice off/

I have two bandsawrs, he gloated. The Delta 14" (a retirement "thank
God he's going away" gift) I use for resawing. The ancient Craftsman
12" (bought 30 years ago for $100) has a 3/16 blade and is used in
making kid toys. Great fun.

Look for something used that will suit you. But only for a month.
After that consult the Griz catalog, remembering to separate those pages
that got stuck together the last time you looked. Lotsa good stuff out
there. Go for it. You'll end up loving it and wondering what took you
so long or my name isn't J. Angus MacDougal.
mahalo,
J.

"Silvan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm looking toward the future of my shop, and I have a 14" bandsaw on the
> list. I'm trying to sell it to myself.
>
> but the possibilities are
> limited.
>
>
> What else are these things good for? I'm having trouble coming up with
> reasons to buy one, other than "everybody needs a bandsaw." I really
> don't
> do curvy stuff.


When out countersink screws and want to plug the holes you can cut the
dowels to short length for the plugs. If you use a plug cutter, you run the
plug wood on its side through the blade to release the plugs.

You can cut up a garden hose so you can play hose ball. Of course if you
don't live in a city and it is not the 1950's any more that may not interest
you. How bout half ball then?

There are many uses for cutting small things here and there that makes it a
very handy tool. Once you have it, you find the bandsaw is one of the most
versatile tools in your shop.

"Charlie Self" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> A bandsaw is good for cutting almost any odd or eccentric shape, not just
> curves. And it does so much more safely than you can do it on a bandsaw.

Huh? Did you mean "than you can do it on a tablesaw"?

Bob

Silvan wrote:
> I'm looking toward the future of my shop, and I have a 14" bandsaw on the
> list. I'm trying to sell it to myself. I'm looking at a 14",
> specifically, because I'm a little tired of buying the little one and then
> buying the big one two years later. Maybe I should even hold out for 16"
> or larger.

I think the 14" works wonderfully. If you go off an buy a little 3-wheel
jobbie, *then* you will just end up buying another one.

You have recieved some good things, but let me stress ripping on the
bandsaw, especially with 3 different situations:
- ripping rough wood with no "good" edge where you would prefer to rip
first, dress later
- ripping knarly wood that is being difficult; if it closes up on the
blade, you'll barely notice. On the TS, it is a different story
- ripping off-parallel. *If* you are trying to extract really
straight-grained pieces, you draw an line on the board following the
grain and use the bandsaw to rip; using a TS would be a major PITA.

Also useful for making tenons, dovetails and all sorts of non-curvy stuff.

All in all, if you start using rough lumber, especially in the larger
dimensions, you will find a bandsaw indispensible. If you are going to
work in sheet goods, not nearly so much.


> What else are these things good for? I'm having trouble coming up with
> reasons to buy one, other than "everybody needs a bandsaw." I really don't
> do curvy stuff.


Many many pieces benefit greatly from a gentle curve, from a simple
table apron to the legs of a stool. We have got so used to pieces turned
out in volume, all straight and blocky, that our own work starts to
resemble it. This is a shame. Consider adding some touches to your work
that seperates it out from the factory; and curves, just gentle ones,
are a great way to start whether it be the arch of a bracket or
something much more elaborate.

PK

Hold out for a Yates 36" "Snow Flake" like this one....

http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=511

This is what "real men" use for a bandsaw.


Silvan wrote:

> I'm looking toward the future of my shop, and I have a 14" bandsaw on the
> list. I'm trying to sell it to myself. I'm looking at a 14",
> specifically, because I'm a little tired of buying the little one and then
> buying the big one two years later. Maybe I should even hold out for 16"
> or larger.

Silvan <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> I'm looking toward the future of my shop, and I have a 14" bandsaw on
> the list. I'm trying to sell it to myself. I'm looking at a 14",
> specifically, because I'm a little tired of buying the little one and
> then buying the big one two years later. Maybe I should even hold out
> for 16" or larger.

While you're holding out, why not go all the way, and hold out for a
20"+ semi-antique? Something from pre-WWII, perhaps, or who knows? I
bet the OWWM folks have an idea or three.
>
> I'd like to do resawing, but then the only stock readily and
> conveniently available to me is all 4/4. That can be resawn, but the
> possibilities are limited.

Think outside the sawmill.

> I have occasion to make plane totes from time to time.

Bow saw, or coping saw, or jigsaw. Not a reason to spend $500

> I could make bandsaw boxes.

Every one I've seen is embarassingly ugly. Maybe it's just not my
thing.

> It would make cutting up turning stock hella easier. This advantage
> is mitigated by the fact that I've already figured out I can't make
> much of any real interest to me on my mini sized lathe. A bandsaw
> would make it easier to cut up the logs I have, but then what? I
> still couldn't make anything particularly interesting.

A bowsaw, chain saw or other hand saw also works pretty well. Maybe
better on green stock.

> I've about talked myself out of even keeping it on the someday list.
> At least until I have room for a real lathe, money to buy a real
> lathe, and a thousand bucks worth of lathe gadgetry.
>

I bought one (Jet 16"bs) 18 months ago, and almost sold it last month.
I would have, if the fellow had made me a real offer. I used it today
for three cuts in some still really wet Liquidamber (soft maple
species). Chucked the 6" diameter piece in the Shopsmith in lathe mode,
and turned something for the first time. Well, OK. It was a carving
mallet, rather than a piece of art. And I still have to get it dry
without cracking, spalting and/or molding. But that was as much fun as
I've had in weeks, working with wood.

The woodworking neighbor came over after work, and we visited while I
rested up from hunching over the Shopsmith (it would be nice if it were
8" higher.) Turns out, he has a bunch of turning gear he hasn't used in
several years. Chuck(s), duplicator, variable speed midi-lathe, etc.
Whe it warms up, we'll pull his out of the garage, and make us some
bowls or something. The walnut might be ready by then.

Too bad you're all the way across the country.

Patriarch

Silvan <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> I'm looking toward the future of my shop, and I have a 14" bandsaw on
> the list. I'm trying to sell it to myself. I'm looking at a 14",
> specifically, because I'm a little tired of buying the little one and
> then buying the big one two years later. Maybe I should even hold out
> for 16" or larger.
...
> What else are these things good for? I'm having trouble coming up
> with reasons to buy one, other than "everybody needs a bandsaw." I
> really don't do curvy stuff. I've had a scrollsaw for a year, and
> have only used it for any serious purpose once. I couldn't find any
> use for small curvy stuff, and don't see much use for big curvy stuff
> either. I have always liked straight lines, sharp angles, and
> geometric shapes, dating to way back before I ever tried dorking any
> wood.
...

Hi,

Sounds like you are not sure that you really need one ... so why not
hold off on getting one? In my limited experience it's better to only
buy the tools you need when they become necessary.

That said, I use my bandsaw more often than my tablesaw. I build
furniture, toys, gifts, etc. I do a fair amount of marquetry and lately
I've been learning to do veneering. Bandsaw gives you great ability to
make custom veneers.

Other than that, I use it for resaws ... especially to make bookmatch
patterns for figured woods.

And I use it for ripping rough lumber ... much safer than a tablesaw if
the wood has residual stresses in it.

I also use it for short cuts that would be dangerous on the tablesaw.

Have fun ...
Nate

I just entered the BS works about 9 months ago after being a TS guy for over
a decade. Yes, it does curves and resawing as expected, but the surprise
benefit is stopped interior/stopped cuts and the ability to safely and
quickly freehand quick & dirty (or precise for that matter) things:

Example: I want to hold a long piece with pointy ends between the dogs on my
bench. Any significant pressure directly on the pointy ends would damage
them. Solution: take two little pices of scrap wood flat against each dog,
set the piece on top of them and trace the ends onto the little squares. Cut
out trace lines on the BS. Voila, custom cauls. That took about 90 seconds.

My general impression is that *most* of what I want to do with a bandsaw
can be done with the combination of a jig saw and table saw. (hey I can
resaw up to 6" with my TS). But w/ a BS many of these operations are just
easier and safer. It is a really nice tool to have around. I think that
would will go to that saw for more than just curves and resawing. Things for
which you might have previously used another tool.

I'm really glad I have one now.

-Steve

B a r r y <[email protected]> writes:

> Silvan wrote:
>
>> What else are these things good for?
>
> * Roughing out material in hand cut dovetail and finger joints. A
> quick pass with a paring chisel finishes up.

I'm just learning to use mine. But it's a different tool.
Different thinking. (It's like learning a new language.)

When cutting dovetails, the cut is perpendicular to the wood because
the blade is perpendicular, and not curved. How else can you do a
square notch on a piece of wook 6 feet long? :-)

I was just looking an Duginske's Bandsaw bench guide, and he shows you
how to cut dovetails with the accuracy of a router template, using a
bandsaw only. Very clever.

Another thing - think thin kerf. The blade is pulled, not pushed, so
it's like a thin kerf japanese saw. Cutting and regluing wood is less
noticable.

--
Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail to this account incurs a fee of
$500 per message, and acknowledges the legality of this contract.

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 00:42:41 -0500, Silvan
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Maybe I should even hold out for 16" or larger.

If you've got the space and the money and it's just a question of
"Should I?", I'd go for 16" or 18"

14" works though. It's not great for resawing, but it is useful. The
main difference with an 18" isn't that it _won't_ do something, it's
that you have to spend 10 minutes fooling with adjustments to get
everything spot-on before it will do it.

Of most of my tools, and all of my machines, the bandsaw is the one
where soon after getting it I was wishing I'd got one a lot earlier.

It doesn't replace the table saw, it replaces hand saws. I cut tenons
on it that I'd never do with a circular saw, but can do more quickly
and more accurately than by hand. Just try something like the skinny
spindles in a Morris Chair - a few dozen identical tenons, banged out
accurately in minutes ? No problem.

--
Smert' spamionam

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 07:16:25 -0800, mac davis
<[email protected]> vaguely proposed a theory
......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

>IMO, if you have to find a reason to have a tool, you shouldn't get
>it... there must be other tools that you really want..

Can I borrow that? I think it's a good way to start about any tool.
Thanks.

On the other hand, are we talking reasons or tools? <G>. Do the two
_always_ go together?

What about this one - a 72" bandsaw with 67" vertical capacity...
http://www.hearnehardwoods.com/Facilities/Sawmill.html
http://www.hearnehardwoods.com/Facilities/Files/Sawmill/Sawmillrevised/image001.htm

might be a little big for most shops though...

JeffB

Pat Barber wrote:

> Hold out for a Yates 36" "Snow Flake" like this one....
>
> http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=511
>
> This is what "real men" use for a bandsaw.
>

To add to that, if you use it to cut up a bunch of pumpkins for fresh
pumpkin pies, be sure to clean up all of the orange goo quickly, cuz once it
dries, it's a real PITA to remove. Also, DAMHIKT ;) --dave



"Luigi Zanasi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 00:42:41 -0500, Silvan wrote:
>
>> I'm looking toward the future of my shop, and I have a 14" bandsaw on
>> the list. I'm trying to sell it to myself. I'm looking at a 14",
>> specifically, because I'm a little tired of buying the little one and
>> then buying the big one two years later.
> <snip>
>> What else are these things good for?
>
> Don't forget cutting frozen food. You can cut frozen bread slices perfect
> for the toaster. But don't let a butcher use it to cut moose. Your
> workshop will end up smelling of moose for months. (DAMHIKT)
>
> --
> Luigi
> Current real email is my first name in lower case while the domain is
> yknet dot ca
> www.yukonomics.ca/wooddorking/humour.html
> www.yukonomics.ca/wooddorking/antifaq.html

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 13:53:28 -0500, GregP <[email protected]>
wrote:

> I've been looking at bandsaws and wondering about size:
> why does an 18" take more time to set up ?

Sorry, I meant that the 14" took more setup time.

It's a question of accuracy. The 18" will laugh at a 6" high resaw,
even if things are a bit sloppy. The 14" is more marginal - you can do
it, but you need to check the guides are running spot-on, and that the
tension is right. Maybe it can't resaw so deep with any blade, and you
have to swap it over for your best resaw blade first (and then reset
everything).
--
Smert' spamionam

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 00:42:41 -0500, Silvan
<[email protected]> wrote:

IMO, if you have to find a reason to have a tool, you shouldn't get
it... there must be other tools that you really want..
Or, you'll plan or start a project (same thing for me, usually) and
find that you need a certain tool...

Personally, I never really had a need for a bandsaw until I found that
you could turn green wood... now that there is a demand, it's on my
list... but behind a few other things, like a good TS and a benchtop
planer..

>I'm looking toward the future of my shop, and I have a 14" bandsaw on the
>list. I'm trying to sell it to myself. I'm looking at a 14",
>specifically, because I'm a little tired of buying the little one and then
>buying the big one two years later. Maybe I should even hold out for 16"
>or larger.
>
>I'd like to do resawing, but then the only stock readily and conveniently
>available to me is all 4/4. That can be resawn, but the possibilities are
>limited.
>
>I have occasion to make plane totes from time to time.
>
>I could make bandsaw boxes.
>
>It would make cutting up turning stock hella easier. This advantage is
>mitigated by the fact that I've already figured out I can't make much of
>any real interest to me on my mini sized lathe. A bandsaw would make it
>easier to cut up the logs I have, but then what? I still couldn't make
>anything particularly interesting.
>
>What else are these things good for? I'm having trouble coming up with
>reasons to buy one, other than "everybody needs a bandsaw." I really don't
>do curvy stuff. I've had a scrollsaw for a year, and have only used it for
>any serious purpose once. I couldn't find any use for small curvy stuff,
>and don't see much use for big curvy stuff either. I have always liked
>straight lines, sharp angles, and geometric shapes, dating to way back
>before I ever tried dorking any wood.
>
>I've about talked myself out of even keeping it on the someday list. At
>least until I have room for a real lathe, money to buy a real lathe, and a
>thousand bucks worth of lathe gadgetry.



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Luigi Zanasi wrote:
> Don't forget cutting frozen food. You can cut frozen bread slices perfect
> for the toaster. But don't let a butcher use it to cut moose. Your
> workshop will end up smelling of moose for months. (DAMHIKT)

I cut some smoked salmon for a friend (with a fee of salmon, of course).
Took a while to get it all out...

Did a dandy job though.

PK

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 19:20:02 +0000, Andy Dingley
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>Sorry, I meant that the 14" took more setup time.


Ok ! (I was afraid that the mythology I have been
evolving about these things was completely off
base...)

Silvan wrote:

> What else are these things good for?

* Small cutoffs where your hands are too close to a table saw blade.
* Rough ripping with no kickback.
* Splitting round parts and halving diagonal narrow stock.
* Roughing out material in hand cut dovetail and finger joints. A quick
pass with a paring chisel finishes up.
* Cutting green wood into turning blanks.
* Cutting foam rubber and insulation board.

And of course, what you already know, resawing and curve cutting.

Barry

I rarely cut curves on the bandsaw. When I do, it's usually a long
graceful curve in thick wood that's more than my scrollsaw can handle.
The scrollsaw can cut up to 22" behind the blade. The bandsaw can cut
(at the moment) about 12 feet behind the blade, and it's a lot faster
than the scroll saw.

So what do I use the bandsaw for?

Rough cut-to-length. The TS's original miter gauge is on the bandsaw
all the time (the TS has an incra), I use it to cut small pieces to
length when the TS is rigged up for something else.

Notches. Cutting a notch in the corner of a chunk of wood is fast on
the bandsaw.

Ripping. If I'm going to joint it anyway, it's a LOT easier to rip
hardwoods in the bandsaw than on the table saw - it's like having the
ultimate thin kerf blade ;-)

Kids. My kids can safely use the bandsaw, but not the table saw
(yet).

Resawing. Not just 6" wide hardwoods, but 1-2" wide strips to make
1/4" thick slats. Or taking strips off the edge of a 4/4 board to
make shims or whatnot.

Non-flat wood (firewood), mostly for lathe work.

Plastics, foam, etc - cut quite well on the bandsaw.

Thick wood. Sometimes, it's easier to cut a 6" thick piece of wood on
the bandsaw than do multiple cuts on the table saw - assuming you can
do it at all on the table saw.