Large radii are OK. That said, a bandsaw, if made to run slowlyenough, with a very narrow blade and fine enough teeth, might beuseful. Holding work down against the upstroke ofthe blade is difficult. Thehold-down can obstruct your view of the work if the opening in it istoo small but it can be ineffective if the opening is large enoughto see the work easily.
Your husband is right, in a way – those saws will all cut metal and many people use these saws for the construction of jewelry. Electric tools are definitely easier but, there is nothing like getting into the rhythm while sawing! I love sawing! When used properly, the saw doesn’t cause any strain on the body. Most of the time people don’t use the saws because the saws eat up too much of the metal up and especially, if you’re working with gold, they can be quite costly – waste wise.
Jewelers Saws can use scroll, fret or jewelers blades of any size. Jewelers blades have finer teeth or more Teeth Per Inch TPI – which is prefered for cutting metal. These saws can also be used with Plain End ScrollSanders and Plain End Scroll Saw Files.