Why is it that spouses are incapable of telling the difference between a garage and a boat shop? They always give us hell about building a boat in the garage not realizing they're the ones at fault for parking a car in the boat shop. That's what you need a pre-nup for, never mind the mony stuff. Sigh.

Anyway, my thought on 9" band saws is that they're cute toys that have no place in a serious workshop. Anything that a band saw that small can do might as well be done by sharp hand tools. I would recommend  going with a larger saw if you can, or save your money and use hand tools.

Good luck,

Laszlo

Laszlo is right of course. (that's the way I start all my posts.)

When my wife was looking for a bandsaw she checked the bench top models but read many reviews about broken blades. Seems the small radius wheels stress the blade weld to premature failure. She ended up finding a 14” Powermatic on craigslist. We’ve used it hard for nearly 15 years. The mobile base has been a big help. It tucks into a tiny space when not in use. IMHO the bench top jobbies are not very useful for boatbuilding scale work.
If it were up to me I’d a gotten a Laguna but hey, her saw, her choice.

And yes, I'm rubbing it in ;-p

I have a Delta 9" band saw that is a tool i enjoy having for strip build kayak tasks.   my view is its a limited tool and so i think it's really about what you are trying to do.

first, i would say i use it primarily with cedar - a soft wood, and relatively small thicknesses.   i don't consider it a precision tool and the main use i have for it, is making custom width (not length or thickness), strips.   i have built a gate system that controls the piece and the blade (so i am basically using it as a table saw) where i can take a standard 3/4 inch wide strip and make a strip as little at 1/8 inch wide or any multiple of that.

if i use the tool without my custom gates (mainly to hold the blade in place and and the piece in place), its very challenging to freehand because on a small tool like this the blades are bendy and don't resist well grain and other side forces....so its very challenging to cut precisely along a fair line without seeing a lot of wobble that you then need to correct for.

when i use it in freehand mode, i will typically be 'rough cutting' 1/8 inch proud of my line (so i don't cut into my pieces and have to start over) and then use a block plane to finish it up (take out the wobble and bring it to the line.)

so for my work, strip building, it gets a lot of action....

and yes, its easy to break blades as discussed above.

these are not powerful machines so you need to pay attention to thickness and types of material

but it doesn't occupy a lot of space so its easy to stor... and is a bit more flexible to handle the jobs i have vs a table saw.

h

   Thanks everyone for your thoughts. So the bottom line is this, unless I come across a cheap used larger band saw on Craigs List or a garage sale, I am either going to by jig saw for around $75 or a small band saw for around $150.  Either one will be lightly used.  Which would you do?  I think I have made up my mind but this is a hobby so I love the input.  

I went with the jigsaw when I had that decision. For making masts and oars and big stuff like that I use a hand saw combined with planes, spokeshaves and a belt sander. For small stuff like Howard talks about I rough cut with a hand saw (or even a razor knife, depending on the thickness and type of wood) and trim things down to size with a shooting board and plane.

The jig saw is for small pieces with compound curves and bevels.

Laszlo

   I went with the jig saw in the 1970s when I was building sailboats.  I'm on my third jig saw since.  A year ago I found a band saw to fit my Shop Smith, but still use the jig saw. It has less set up time and bulk.  The band saw is in storage. 

First of all my Navy callsign was Tools, I’m a little biased...

Uh, I think bandsaws are like thumbs.  Can’t even imagine life without them.  It’s the first power tool I got for my girlfriend... uh, ain’t even considering sharing one of the 10 or so others I got...

Not gloating, I think they’re THAT useful.

I’d get a used 14” Delta.  Hexagonal upper blade guide post is the best, but ANY vintage will be fine.  Expect to pay $150 to $300 depending on how patient you are.

If floor space is an issue, get rid of the hot water heater!

Second choice, besides a different make of American made 14” saws (walker turner, powermatic, etc) would be an import version, expect to pay $100 and spend a little more time tuning up.  Worth the effort.

Tools

   Tools,

She's a keeper.