GLOAT: New Bandsaw

[Rick Markham]

:D This showed up at my door this morning, now I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the driftmaster fence, and my friend who is an electrician. It's not a 16HD but it is the most saw that I could afford or justify, and definitely more than I need.

It assembled easily, with almost no problems, I did have the ball on one of the included ball drivers break off in a machine bolt that held the magnetic switch in the shipping position. :eek: I managed to get the machine bolt out with little effort and replaced it and it's partner in crime with stainless machine bolts. Other than that, I am extremely impressed. :D Thanks Tim!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/Rick357/018.jpg

[Greg Peterson]

Yeah, it's gloat worthy.

Congrats.

[Van Huskey]

Very nice, let us know more when you get the juice to her!

[Victor Robinson]

that looks yummy

[Thomas love]

good on you, nice saw.

[Doug Carpenter]

Those laguna tools are cooler than cool.

If you don't mind roughly what does that machine cost?

[Harold Burrell]

"Dear Lord...Please forgive me for coveting this fellow's beautiful bandsaw..."

[gary Zimmel]

Congrats on the new toy Rick.

[Neil Brooks]

I get more than a little envious when somebody gets 100bf of free cherry.

IMAGINE how THIS feels :D

Great saw !!!

May you NEVER need their (reportedly lousy) customer service, and may you ALWAYS enjoy their (reportedly incredible) machines !!

[Chris Nolin]

Oh, WOW! That is gorgeous!

[Dan Friedrichs]

Enjoy that saw, Rick - I think you're right that you'll never need more than it can offer!

I have an LT14, and came across a piece of 12" wide maple for the first time since buying it. Resawing that board was just a euphoria-inducing experience :)

[Chip Lindley]

Yeah You Suck! Let us know how it resaws when you get it tuned up!!!

[Van Huskey]

Those laguna tools are cooler than cool.

If you don't mind roughly what does that machine cost?



http://www.lagunatools.com/bandsaws/bandsaw-lt16-3000



But if you need a "little" extra resaw ability you could always step up to this:

http://www.lagunatools.com/April-2010-FREE-Accessories/bandsaw-lt24


Nothing like resaw height measured in...feet.

[Van Huskey]

May you NEVER need their (reportedly lousy) customer service, and may you ALWAYS enjoy their (reportedly incredible) machines !!


Fortunately, it appears watching forums they have really addressed their CS issues from the past.

[Rick Markham]

Yeah, I am looking forward to trying it out. She sure is purdy... I got a good deal through Tim on here, he really worked with me on a whole lot of stuff. I originally wanted the 14 SUV but they were out, so Tim made me an offer I couldn't refuse on this one with a great deal on the driftmaster fence (which I was going to wait on) I couldn't pass it up... I have no regrets, I'm glad I chose the 16, i think it will offer me a little more flexibility.

Now a good question for y'all, is the Flutter method what y'all use to get the tension right on your blades? Is that applicable to a 1" blade?

What are y'alls favorite resaw blades? What about blades for scrolling? Multi purpose etc... Just trying to get a consensus. I got 5 Swedish silicon blades with it, I had Tim give me a good variety to try out. 1" 3 tpi, 1" 1tpi (for green wood,) 3/8" 3 tpi, 1/2" 3 tpi, and a 1/4" 3 tpi.

[Rod Sheridan]

Enjoy that saw, Rick - I think you're right that you'll never need more than it can offer!

I have an LT14, and came across a piece of 12" wide maple for the first time since buying it. Resawing that board was just a euphoria-inducing experience :)


Euphoria-inducing???

What's the altitude in Aurora Dan ? Were you getting a little oxygen deprived?:D

Boy that made me smile, you weren't simply happy or pleased you were euphoric......That's great to enjoy a machine so much.

To the proud new owner, that looks like a great machine, I hope you enjoy it.......Regards, Rod.

[Van Huskey]

Now a good question for y'all, is the Flutter method what y'all use to get the tension right on your blades? Is that applicable to a 1" blade?

What are y'alls favorite resaw blades? What about blades for scrolling? Multi purpose etc... Just trying to get a consensus. I got 5 Swedish silicon blades with it, I had Tim give me a good variety to try out. 1" 3 tpi, 1" 1tpi (for green wood,) 3/8" 3 tpi, 1/2" 3 tpi, and a 1/4" 3 tpi.

You can use the flutter method but most good BS (yours is one of them) the guides are pretty accurate. For a sharp non-carbide/stellite blade set them by the scale, when it gets a little dull move up the scale one blade size. With carbide or stellite blades tension one to one and a half blade sizes up.

The best resaw blades I have used are the Laguna Resawking or the Lenox Trimaster, both very expensive but savemoney in the long run. For a (much) cheaper resaw blade I have always recommended the Highland woodworking wood slicer but recently got turned onto the kerfmaster

http://www.spectrumsupply.com/kerfmaster-2.aspx


Very similar blade but is cheaper.

[Frederick Gross]

Congrats on the LT! I have had my 16HD for years and love it! One of the best values I have ever had.

[Dan Friedrichs]

What's the altitude in Aurora Dan ? Were you getting a little oxygen deprived?:D



Maybe that's the problem - a flatlander like me still getting used to the altitude :)


+1 on the Woodslicer as a cheap resaw blade (if you're not yet ready to spend the money on a carbide one). I bought one from Highlands Hardware, but Phil says:


Just a friendly reminder: Iturra sells Blade Runners made from the same Atlanta Sharptech stock for less $$$.

[Bruce Page]

Rick, congrats on the new BS, she’s a beauty. I use the flutter method for general sawing. When I do any resawing I set blade tension with a Starrett blade tension gage and I run a Lennox tri-master, 3tpi carbide tip blade. I have been very pleased with this setup.

[Scot Ferraro]

Congrats on the new saw -- they are great machines. I have had my LT18 for years and it is awesome. Laguna is a great company to deal with too and the folks there provide great after sales service (Rick Kerrigan and Tim Lory are great). I really like the look of the 3000 series bandsaw -- I got a chance to look at a couple of them up close at the Laguna showroom and they seem very well made -- heavy duty and I like the anodized throat plate.

In terms of blades, I have had great luck with Laguna's blades and usually run a 1/2 3 tpi as my main blade and of course the Resaw King is a dream blade to use. You are going to love the DriftMaster fence -- that is a must-have accessory in my book -- makes correcting for blade drift so much easier than tinkering around with the adjustment bolts.

Congratulations!!

Scot

[Jeff Willard]

Now a good question for y'all, is the Flutter method what y'all use to get the tension right on your blades? Is that applicable to a 1" blade?


Nope. I'm running a 1" Lenox TriMaster on mine-LT14 SUV-and I tension exactly as Laguna suggests. And I'm getting phenomenal results. I haven't been terribly impressed with the steel bands I got from Laguna-have had two out of five break so far. I also have a selection of Lenox steel bands for more general work that seem every bit as good, if not better, than any other band that I have used, and they're no more expensive than any other.

[Alex Silva]

I use the scale on my LT16HD and it seems dead on for my 5/8 and 1'' resaw blade.

Cheers

Alex

[ed vitanovec]

Congrats on your new bandsaw, it looks really nice. Let us know how you like the saw and driftmaster.

Regards!
Ed