Laguna purchasing experience. [Archive] - Sawmill Creek Woodworking Community

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Rick Fisher

05-11-2009, 11:19 PM

Well, I believe in giving credit where credit is due.

Some of you may have noticed that Laguna has some aggressive pricing on some display models and similar right now.

I have been looking for a big jointer.. Cant find a used one in my area, the search has been ongoing for a year.

The Laguna J-12 is made by Griggio in Italy and is a well regarded machine. It weighs about 1125 lbs out of the box, and for a hobby woodworker, its a lifetime machine..

I bought it because it was priced at 50% off .. the regular price is just over $9000, and I paid $4500 ish..

The machine is a floor model, it has some ding's from being moved to shows .. It hasn't actually been used for woodworking..

So I contacted Laguna because I saw it on the webpage.. got a response the next morning from Benny..

I told him I was concerned about the condition. He took 13 pictures of every flaw and scratch.. emailed them right away.. The flaws are minor IMO.. the machine has a Tersa 4 knife cutterblock and a 4.5 HP PH3 Motor.. The fence is bigger than the bed of my Delta X jointer at 54" long and 6.5" high.. I can suffer a few dings for all that and $4500 off the price.

I am writing this because I have found Laguna excellent to deal with. Sunday night, I emailed Benny for an electrical diagram, today it was on my email when I got home..

Benny sent me a pic of the wooden crate they put the machine in and told me to call if there are any problems.

I can tell you that I have emailed him at least 12 times and he has always gotten back to me within an hour, or the next morning.. I have called 3-4 times and he has always answered the phone.. He has gone way .. way out of his way to be helpful..

So, the machine is arriving this week. I have so many pictures that I already know what to expect. If the shippers destroy it, well, that's life..

I just wanted to do the right thing and post about someone who has been excellent to deal with.

Here are the pic's that Ben sent to me..

The machine was paid for last week.

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/12_Griggio_jointer_3_phase_w_tersa_.jpg

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/12_Griggio_jointer_3_phase_w_ter-1.jpg

Notice the scratches on the housing.. looks like it rubbed on something when being moved in a truck.

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/12_Griggio_jointer_3_phase_w_ter-2.jpg

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/12_Griggio_jointer_3_phase_w_ter-3.jpg

I wont post them all, but I have photo's of every side and angle..

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/12_Griggio_jointer_3_phase_w_ter-4.jpg

When it show's up, I will finish the post.. If your looking for a machine, I can honestly recommend Benny at Laguna to deal with.

Phil Thien

05-11-2009, 11:28 PM

When it show's up

You aren't superstitious in the least, are you? :eek:

Its okay, I knocked on wood for you. :p

Mark Carlson

05-12-2009, 12:16 AM

What a beauty. Congratulations. Let us know when you get it up and running.

~mark

Rick Fisher

05-12-2009, 12:40 AM

You aren't superstitious in the least, are you? :eek:

Its okay, I knocked on wood for you. :p

Phil.. .lol.

I have 3 building supply stores and about 150 employees. One thing I know is that the unhappy are 100x louder than the happy. Its easier on a local level to contain complaints because my customers dont jump on the internet and complian..

This was tempting enough for me to buy.. its exactly what I wanted, and so far, I am really impressed with Laguna..

The cool thing is that this machine is really of the quality that goes in a factory.. as a hobby use / weekend warrior machine, it will still be ready for that factory when I die of old age.. :)

I bid on one at a factory closing, a Griggio PF-330.. I stopped at $2500 and the winner paid just over $3000. The whole shop was full of SCMI, Griggio and Biese machines.. The jointer was about a 1995.. so a few thousand more for a new one seemed a good deal to me.

I picked up an SCMI Bandsaw at that Auction and caught the Italian/ German machinery bug.. Its like the Festool bug, but much, much heavier..

Steve Rozmiarek

05-12-2009, 12:53 AM

Tom Leasure

05-12-2009, 12:03 PM

WOW, the tables look like the deck of an aircraft carrier !! :eek::eek::eek:
NICE MACHINE

Tom

scott spencer

05-12-2009, 2:59 PM

Nice looking tool Rick. It's good to hear some positive feedback about Laguna...they've gotten slammed a couple of times over various issues on a couple of other forums.

Good luck with it!

Mike Wilkins

05-12-2009, 3:43 PM

Congrats on your jointer deal. Great to hear of other happy satisfied Laguna customers, especially in light of the negative comments on this and other sites. I am the proud owner of 2 Laguna machines and looking at a 3rd: I have had a LT18 bandsaw since 2001, and took delivery of the Laguna Pro 6 foot sliding tablesaw in Feb. of this year. Love them both and love the service.

Wes Grass

05-12-2009, 4:39 PM

Rick Fisher

05-12-2009, 9:24 PM

I also had a good experience with Benjamin buying my LT-16HD. Called them on a thursday for a price. He spent a fair amount of time researching the lowest shipping cost, and then discounted the machine so the shipping was essentially free. E-mailed me a quote, and I mailed a check on friday. Got a message monday that they'd received the check, and the machine would ship 'in a couple days'. It was at the shop thursday. Very nicely palleted and wrapped, and not a scratch on it.

Benny sent me an email, telling me that he had the guys go over the machine and touch up some of the ding's..

Considering that I was buying it "as is", I thought that was really decent of him..

He sent 3 pictures of the ding's gone..

Benjamin is a good guy to deal with..

Rick Fisher

05-12-2009, 9:27 PM

Nice machine Rick! That definatly falls into the too good to pass up deals list. I think I saw that very machine on one of the last "scratch and dent special" emails. Glad to hear some positive feedback on Laguna too.

Yeah, I dont think spending $5K on a 12" jointer would ever be a gloat.. lol..

At 50% off, the Grizzly is still a better price, but this is what I wanted..

I am just impressed with Laguna.. I have read the negative posts and feel its fair to post a positive one if its true.. I wouldn't hesitate to deal with Benjamin again.

Peter Quinn

05-12-2009, 9:33 PM

Congrats. My dealings with Laguna have been largely positive also. You are going to love that type of grind on the tables. if you haven't used a jointer with that type of table, let me tell you its a thing of beauty. I use an SCMI at work with similar build, truly a pleasure to work with. I look forward to a review.

Peter Scoma

05-12-2009, 9:48 PM

Awesome machine. Question though. How will you go about moving it in(to) position at your shop?

PS

Rick Fisher

05-12-2009, 9:55 PM

Awesome machine. Question though. How will you go about moving it in(to) position at your shop?

PS

I will use a crane in the driveway to get it on a mobile base.. Which I have to have made.. Everything I have is on wheels.. even the Dust collector.

I have an SCMI Bandsaw with the same grooved table top, I think its far superior to the flat cast iron..

Arnold E Schnitzer

05-13-2009, 8:17 AM

I had no problems in my purchase of an LT-18 bandsaw four months ago. I even received a courtesy call from customer service to make sure all was okay. Perhaps they have listened to all the horror stories and are trying to sort things out. Now if they would just redesign the adjustment system for the lower blade guide...

C Scott McDonald

05-13-2009, 7:45 PM

I am still trying to figure out where Benny's accent is from. :D

I have talked to Benny several times seems like an OK guy.

One thing is dealing with Laguna is you generally get a better price when you call and talk to Benny. He will throw in extra stuff to sweeten the deal too.

Scott