: I'm getting ready to build a strip kayak and I've just about got all the
: tools I need.It has been suggested by lots of folks that a bandsaw works
: well to cut forms(as well as other stuff)but wouldn't a scroll saw work
: just as well with the bonus of being used for cutting/fitting strips,
: veneer work etc? Comments or suggestions anyone? Thanks

Go for the band saw.

Most of the other tasks are performed easlily with handtools. For example, thin veneer is easily cut with a sharp utility knife.

Strips are trimmed with 5 or 6 pulls (or pushes) on a hand saw, or they can be whittled into shape with a knife. Fine adjustments to the width are done with a plane, one pass at a time.

Yes, you could rip your strips from boards with a scroll saw, but it would take 4 or 5 times longer than with a bandsaw. The bandsaw usualyy has a more powerful motor, and the teeth are always cutting. With a scroll saw the blade only cuts on the down stroke -- or only half the time. Scrollsaw blades tend to be small with small tooth spacing. The kerf is almost invisible, but you can't remove much wood with each stroke of the blade. the teeth are too small and the space between them is too shallow. A sabresaw would be a better tool here, and very few people are ripping strips with their sabresaw.

You can find blades for bandsaws which have very aggresive teeth. They'll take a huge bite, and carry away the waste, without getting choked on their own sawdust. The wide blades availabe for bandsaws (1/2 inch or more) also help the wood track better when you rip your strips. the narrower blade on a scrollsaw is meant to follow slight movement, and it does so -- to your detriment in this case.

Generally, you are going to be working with stock that is just a bit thicker than a scrollsaw likes to work with, and for many of the tasks it is easier to bring a handtool to the strip (or veneer) on the boat, than to remove the strip and bring it to a powertool.

Hope this helps

PGJ
Hope this helps.