Shopsmith bandsaw projects
Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2026 10:21 pm
A few months ago I bought a bandsaw attachment and after overhauling it, I bought a lot of blades and began to make things. I wanted to post some of those projects as a thank you to those who helped me get the saw up and running and perhaps as ideas to others.
I settled on 3/8” blade as my standard size after trying several and bought 4, 8 and 12 TPI. I like the 8 for finer work and the 4 for general work. I also like my 1/2” for straight cuts. I use my tiny Grizzly bandsaw with a 1/8” blade or a scroll saw for super fine work.
I made two bandsaw boxes both out of Douglas fir with a 1/4” blade. The 3/8 wouldn’t make the 90+ degree inside turns.
I made several bowls, as described by the Nick Engler on the Workshop Companion. I just bought good wood to make a real set after figuring out the angles and spacing with pine (and unfortunately with two chunks of walnut!)
I made solid cedar bandsaw reindeer, also from Nick Engler. He suggested a multi species glue up, but I kept it simple.
Lastly, I rough cut an 8” diameter log. It wasn’t great wood and it isn’t big enough to do much, but it was proof of concept.
Hope this helps someone and gives you a project idea.
Karl
I settled on 3/8” blade as my standard size after trying several and bought 4, 8 and 12 TPI. I like the 8 for finer work and the 4 for general work. I also like my 1/2” for straight cuts. I use my tiny Grizzly bandsaw with a 1/8” blade or a scroll saw for super fine work.
I made two bandsaw boxes both out of Douglas fir with a 1/4” blade. The 3/8 wouldn’t make the 90+ degree inside turns.
I made several bowls, as described by the Nick Engler on the Workshop Companion. I just bought good wood to make a real set after figuring out the angles and spacing with pine (and unfortunately with two chunks of walnut!)
I made solid cedar bandsaw reindeer, also from Nick Engler. He suggested a multi species glue up, but I kept it simple.
Lastly, I rough cut an 8” diameter log. It wasn’t great wood and it isn’t big enough to do much, but it was proof of concept.
Hope this helps someone and gives you a project idea.
Karl