Laguna LT14 SUV Bandsaw - Great Price! Drift Q

[Geoff Chapman]

Laguna added free shipping + free mobility pkg + 5 free blades to selected bandsaws - including the LT14 SUV; got the whole set on order (and no tax for me in Pa) for about $1500 - great price; details here (http://www.lagunatools.com/bandsaws;jsessionid=0a010c461f4364a45d2abeeb4f08bb 3fa25766662da1.e3eSc3qPbN0Te34Pa38Ta38QaNn0) :)

At first the seller (Chris) thought the two offers couldn't be combined, but the front office later told him they were to be combined!! He called me back AFTER I had placed the order for $200 more and lowered the price to the $1495 price out the door! :D They are trying to move stuff, I would guess. 'March Madness'

A question on the fence that comes with the saw - can it be set to compensate for drift well enough? Don't want to spring for the Driftmaster if I can avoid it. I was told that the Driftmaster is being re-engineered to fit their smaller saws - to avoid having to lift the table to open the lower bandsaw door during blade changes, as has been the case previously.

Thanks for any help on this. Reading the posts on Sawmill has been a great help in making a choice.

Geoff Chapman

[Van Huskey]

That is a pretty good price.

My take on drift is the more often you change blades the more you need to have a fence that compensates for drift easily. If you change blades once a year even the 4 bolt versions aren't a big deal. If you change out at least once per visit to your shop then having a fence like the DM is a must. I think the fence on the SUV is a two allen wrench version. If you wantch the videos on their site I think they show the fence being set for drift.

[Mark Neidinger]

If I read the specs correctly, I don't believe this saw comes with a fence. If you look at the accessories available, they list the standard fence for about $140. I can't find anywhere that the fence that is pictured on the saw actually comes with the saw. That and the availability of the fence as an accessory has led me to conclude it comes without a fence.

I tried emailing Laguna to find out, but didn't get an answer (although it is quite likely that I didn't actually send it - something went wrong).


Laguna added free shipping + free mobility pkg + 5 free blades to selected bandsaws - including the LT14 SUV; got the whole set on order (and no tax for me in Pa) for about $1500 - great price; details here (http://www.lagunatools.com/bandsaws;jsessionid=0a010c461f4364a45d2abeeb4f08bb 3fa25766662da1.e3eSc3qPbN0Te34Pa38Ta38QaNn0) :)

At first the seller (Chris) thought the two offers couldn't be combined, but the front office later told him they were to be combined!! He called me back AFTER I had placed the order for $200 more and lowered the price to the $1495 price out the door! :D They are trying to move stuff, I would guess. 'March Madness'

A question on the fence that comes with the saw - can it be set to compensate for drift well enough? Don't want to spring for the Driftmaster if I can avoid it. I was told that the Driftmaster is being re-engineered to fit their smaller saws - to avoid having to lift the table to open the lower bandsaw door during blade changes, as has been the case previously.

Thanks for any help on this. Reading the posts on Sawmill has been a great help in making a choice.

Geoff Chapman

[Geoff Chapman]

Van - thanks for your comment on the drift. Makes a lot of sense. I'm not a 'change the blade every time to the shop' worker, but I certainly do want to change it without too much effort. I'll see how it goes.

Mark - The saw does come with the 'standard hi-lo fence'. Verified that with Laguna this AM.

Geoff

[Stephen Edwards]

Why do some band saws experience drift and others do not? I'm fairly new to the resawing operation, about two years now. My bandsaw that I use for resawing is a G0555X with riser block. For resawing I normally use a TW 1/2' 3 TPI. With the roller guides properly set and and sharp blade properly tensioned, I've never experienced drift on this saw.

I'm just curious as to why some people do experience drift and others don't. Another woodworking mystery to me!

[Jeff Willard]

It comes with a fence, and it's a pretty decent fence, too. If you max out the adjustment latitude with that fence, you have bigger problems. My experience with the LT14 SUV is that, given a known good band, drift is so negligible as to be nonexistent.

[Geoff Chapman]

Stephen,

I understand that drift is generated by the angle of the blade as it comes off a crowned wheel. Because of the crown on the tire, it is all too easy to have a slight angle on the blade, and more so as you change blades. Hence the importance of tension, tracking adjustments, and guide adjustments - and, when these are not adequate, a fence that is parallel to the drift angle.

But others will know better than I and may chime in!

Glad to know of no drift issues with your Grizzly!

Geoff

[Geoff Chapman]

Here's some better info.

On the Laguna video, the guy says that drift is caused by how the blades are sharpened - and by the burr left from the sharpening process.

Geoff

[Van Huskey]

Why do some band saws experience drift and others do not? I'm fairly new to the resawing operation, about two years now. My bandsaw that I use for resawing is a G0555X with riser block. For resawing I normally use a TW 1/2' 3 TPI. With the roller guides properly set and and sharp blade properly tensioned, I've never experienced drift on this saw.

I'm just curious as to why some people do experience drift and others don't. Another woodworking mystery to me!

First are you looking for drift as in actually measuring it even by eye or just going on the fact that it rips resonably straight?

Second, blades drift not saws. Even the best tuned uber-high end Italian BS exhibit drift based on the blade. Most of the time 1" and larger blades exhibit little if any drift assuming they are tensioned high enough. From 1" down it becomes more pronounced with the worst being 1/2" or below.

You either have been very lucky with blades or you may expect more visual drift than actually occurs.

I honestly have yet to see a blade less then 3/4" that didn't exhibit drift with a standard drift test.