Laguna BS Wait? Or should I get the MM or Agazzani?

[richard poitras]

New Laguna Bandsaw is it worth the wait? Or should I get the MM or Agazzani?

I recently sold two large bandsaws ( I am up grading my entire shop line of tools with bigger units) a Grizzly, 1 year old 514x and a 10 year Laguna LT18… 12’’ re-saw and was going to buy a new Laguna 16 LT HD… 16’’ re-saw. They said they had one left in stock so I put a deposit down on it before I sold the old saw so I would have one. As it turns out supposedly the one they had was damaged at their ware house so basically they wouldn’t have one for a least a month or more.:( I was just wondering for those that have seen these saws side by side if it’s worth the wait for the Laguna? The only reason I sold the old Laguna was I wanted to upgrade to the new features on today’s saw’s and have the greater resaw height and I could get it within a short period of time and not be out a saw. The Laguna I had was a good saw and I was happy with it but I opted to trade up to a larger and newer saw but as things unfold I can’t get the saw in a reasonable time frame and with the holidays coming up I not sure about waiting till next year. I have been checking other venders and options for saws there’s Jesse at Eagle Tools they sell the Agazzani and Sam at Min-Min Max but I have never seen either one of these saws in person. The prices I have gotten are very competitive and all in all pound for pound actually cheaper delivered to my door step. Please someone throw some injector into the mix to help me decide. Others saws are available or should I wait?

Thanks Richard

[Scot Ferraro]

They are all good machines -- I have seen the Aggazzani's up close and I have worked on the Minimax and SCM before. I own an older LT18 like your former model and I like it a lot. I think that the main thing with Laguna is the newer guides that come standard (of course you could upgrade any of the other saws to these) and the Baldor motors that come standard on Laguna. Aside from that, you are getting similar machines with similar capacities. The Aggazzani saws seemed to have less horsepower motors on similar size machines if I recall -- and I am not sure if this is still the case so please do not hold me to it -- but I seem to think that they had 2.5 HP motors on machines up to 18 inch and then bigger motors on the larger machines (someone please correct me if I am wrong on this). Also, I am not sure that I am a big fan of the stretched frames to gain the extra resaw -- it seems like they might flex a little more than the smaller resaw height. On the 16HD, you are gaining resaw height, but you are losing throat depth over your previous 18 inch machine -- to me the throat capacity has been more a limiting factor on my 18 inch machine than the resaw height.

Scot

[Doug Shepard]

Saginaw is a bit of a drive but if you want to get up close and personal with a MM16 you can look mine over.

[richard poitras]

Doug, that’s a very generous offer I may just take you up on it. Actually it’s only about 1 3/4 hours at the most. I will PM you if I decide to take you up on your offer. I do know I would like to see one up front (MM16) and in person, these types of purchases are ones that will last a long time if taken care of and seeing them can make a big difference and that’s what I am contemplating.

A Sincere Thanks
Richard

[Dan Forman]

Sam's (MM) customer service is legendary. I still hear from him now and then, years after the sale. Not looking for new sales, just to see how things are holding up and if I have any questions. The saw is doing great.

Dan

[richard poitras]

Sam's (MM) customer service is legendary. I still hear from him now and then, years after the sale. Not looking for new sales, just to see how things are holding up and if I have any questions. The saw is doing great.

Dan


Dan, I know that Sam’s and Jesses sales and service are top notch and when I contacted both organizations I was well taken care off.

Richard

[Don Bullock]

The only thing that I can add is that Jesse at Eagle Tools provides service that's fantastic plus he's a great guy. While I have seen the Agazzani line of saws demonstrated by Jesse and his crew I haven't actually used one.

[Greg Portland]

I upgraded my LT18 to the new guides and larger motor. IMO, there was not much of a difference with the larger motor, assuming a good blade and technique. I think if you are using a power feeder or need high feed rates the larger HP motor would be worthwhile. The newer guides hold the blade better (than the old carter rollers) but are a pain to adjust. I need a wrench & 2 allen wrenches to full adjust the guides. Why can't they make it so I'll need 1 tool to perform the adjustments? To be fair, this is a common issue with many bandsaws.

[Philip Johnson]

The Agazzan lacks the resaw capacity of similar sized Laguna or MM machines. I gave up trying to figure out Laguna if you were buying an Italian saw or a Chinese one or from some other eastern european country. I also read a lot of customer service issues so I stayed away from them. As I recall the Laguna was the most expensive next the MM and the cheapest was the Agazzan. I may have given the Agazzan a closer look but I did not recieve pricing and info on it till after I ordered the MM. At any rate I had very good service from Eric at MM. I started out looking at the MM 16 but the good folks here talked me into the MM 20 once I decided on the MM 20 found it was out of stock for several months. So with a good price from MM I ended up with the MM 24 which was in stock.

I can't say much about the saw as I have more time moving it around the shop then using it. I hope to change that with a few projects and got a
new funace in the shop yesterday so have some heat to keep me warm.

I think saws in this class are all well made and you can not go wrong with any of em. Just a matter of price and maybe a few features and how you feel toward the person and company your dealing with.

Phil

[doug faist]

Richard - I got an Agazzani 18" from Eagle Tools about 2 years ago. (I've been buying Inca tools from Jesse for almost 20 years.)

I really like the saw. It's powerful (2.5 HP motor), easy to tune and has plenty of resaw capacity for my needs (12+"). The guides work quite well and are very easy to adjust with no tools.

The table is a bit disconcerting because the finish is slightly fluted, not polished flat, but I haven't found it to be a problem at all. In fact, wood seems to slide over it easier than a perfectly flat top.

I, too, looked at the Mini-Max and the Laguna, but the service I've gotten over the years and the show deal Jesse cut for me were too good to turn down.

Any one of the three is a good choice, so let your wallet do the shopping for you.

Let me know if you need any more details.

Doug

[Sean Nagle]

I gave up trying to figure out Laguna if you were buying an Italian saw or a Chinese one or from some other eastern european country. I also read a lot of customer service issues so I stayed away from them. As I recall the Laguna was the most expensive next the MM and the cheapest was the Agazzan.

I will second the poor customer service from Laguna. Worst of any tool company that I have ever dealt with. I just recently purchased an LT16 model 3000 and had several delivery-related problems. Getting any response from Laguna was like pulling teeth. I still have several outstanding issues. had I known about the poor customer service I would have looked elsewhere.

By the way the sales guy at Laguna that I worked with was great. Customer service, terrible.

[Jack Camillo]

I have the Laguna 16HD (made in Italy) and love it to death. No problems whatsoever. I have an MM 12-in jointer/planer combination and love it to death. Again, no problems. Both companies are top notch in my book. Eric at MM does write occasionally to see how things are going. That's an added touch.

[Scott Stafford]

I broke down and bought a Driftmaster fence for my bandsaw and mentioned that I was still waiting for a return call from their customer service... I had been waiting for six months. The young salesman assured me he would follow up and that I should stay near my phone expecting an immediate call from customer service. I also mentioned that I was thinking about upgrading my saw in a few months.

So far I have received dozens of calls from the Laguna sales department trying to sell me a new bandsaw. No call yet from the service department.


Buy one of the other saws.


Best regards,

Scott in Montana

[richard poitras]

Well it’s a done deal. I was talking to Tim at Laguna and expressing my concerns about not being able to get the LT16 HD in a timely fashion and we worked it out. Now I am getting the LT 18 with the Driftmaster fence and two of the Resaw King blades. The saw has been shipped! I will let you know how it all go’s and give my reviews of the new saw and service. Thanks for all the input.

Richard