laguna anyone

[shaun gardner]

I am looking at purchasing a new band saw. A 14 or 16in sized. I cant find any info thats new on laguna bandsaws on this site. So am I just inept with the search function or does no one have a newer one? I would like any info on laguna that you would have. Thanks to those that can contribute.
shaun

[Scot Ferraro]

Hi Shaun,

What info are you looking for specifically? I own an LT18 that is 9 years old and I love it. I have upgraded to the Laguna Ceramic guides and the Baldor motor (both of which come standard on the heavy duty series of saw). I also have the DriftMaster fence, which is awesome. Not much has changed on the HD line other than the two things I mentioned and great resaw capacity (mine hase just over 12 inches with the Laguna guides). If you are looking at the other line of bandsaws Laguna carries I cannot offer much assistance other than I have seen them up close at Laguna's showroom and they seem well made for the price. If you can swing it I think you cannot go wrong with the Heavy Duty line and the 16HD would be a great saw.

Scot

[Bruce Page]

Shaun, I assume that you have looked at the Laguna Tools website for spec's & pictures.
http://www.lagunatools.com/

[Robert Maloney]

Shaun,
I was in the same position this summer. I opted for the 16HD for multiple reasons. It is an Italian built bandsaw, Has 16" resaw capabilities, which is more than I need now but would want to upgrade later. It also has a 4.6 HP Baldor motor, plenty of power for resawing. I just recieved the saw a little over a week ago and just got it set up this weekend. I made a few test cuts resawing some 2" thick walnut into 1/4" veneers and was very impresses at the ease and quality of the cut. Still have to play with it a little more, but as of right now I am very impressed. I will post some pictures in the next day or two.

[frank shic]

their customer service leaves something to be desired

[bob cohen]

I've owned an LT16 for about 10 years. I have been happy with it, but wish I had gotten the 16HD version. I upgraded to the ceramic guides about 5 years ago, but still have the original fence. The saw is very solid and has excellent resaw capabilities, especially when using the laguna resaw king blade, which I have had for about 8 years. It is an awesome 1 inch wide, carbide-tip blade, but expensive. I think I paid $250 for mine, but it is worth every penny. Some people will complain about Laguna service, but I have no complaints and have dealt with them often over the years. It is a smaller company than you might think and I believe they try hard.

They have lots of videos demonstrating their equipment and I suggest you check them out on their website. Again, I am happy but would probably save my money if I had to do it over and get the 16HD and maybe also the drift master fence.

Good luck

[shaun gardner]

It seams most the reviews I found where older ones. 7 years old or so. I was hoping to get some ones take that has bought one this past year or 2. My local woodcraft has become a dealer and has one on there floor. Its the 14 suv version. I have a rikon 14in but after seeing the laguna my senses perked up. I am sure they would let me demo it in there store as they have great customer service at my woodcraft. I am a hobbiest but I dont want cheap tools that require lots of tweaking. It comes with 3hp lesson,14in resaw,ceramic guides plus a few extras features. How are the blade changes and guide adjustments after? Easy and fast or a pain? I really hate changing mine on the rikon. Thaks again

[Rick Fisher]

The older saws and some of the newer saws are made in Europe by ACM. Some of the older ones might be Meber. If you get a newer European made bandsaw, you will likely be very happy.. Some of the new Laguna saws are made in Asia. I think they are distinguishable.

If your looking at a 16" .. you might also look at the MM-16.

[Jim Andrew]

Had a email from Minimax this morning, year end sale. The S45N 18" is 2295, and the MM16 is 2895. My MM 16 wheels are amazingly heavy, looked at a friends new 17" Grizzly extreme series, amazingly light wheels, and it is a good saw. Would think the S45N would be plenty heavy. The webs in my bandsaw wheels are about 1/2" thick, the Grizzly about 1/8". How heavy do the wheels need to be? My cooks bandmill wheels are much lighter than the Minimax. And I've cut boards 2' wide on the bandmill.

[Mike Wilkins]

Another satisfied Laguna LT18 owner since August 2001. Not a single problem out of it, other than lack of time to spend in the shop. Back in '01, their bandsaws did not come with the ceramic guides, but I have since upgraded to these guides, and it is a really nice improvement over the standard Euro-style guides. The newer versions come with American made Baldor motors also. There was an article in one of the latest issues of American Woodworker magazine that covered the LT14SUV. Lots of features in a bandsaw of this class. Worth a look.

[Steve Rowe]

Wow, at the MM16 price why not just get the 24" Felder at $2995 or the Agazzani B24 at $3095?
:)

Had a email from Minimax this morning, year end sale. The S45N 18" is 2295, and the MM16 is 2895. My MM 16 wheels are amazingly heavy, looked at a friends new 17" Grizzly extreme series, amazingly light wheels, and it is a good saw. Would think the S45N would be plenty heavy. The webs in my bandsaw wheels are about 1/2" thick, the Grizzly about 1/8". How heavy do the wheels need to be? My cooks bandmill wheels are much lighter than the Minimax. And I've cut boards 2' wide on the bandmill.

[Jim Tobias]

FWIW, I am a happy owner of a 8-9 year old Laguna HD16. Upgraded to ceramic guides a couple of years back. Have resawed a fair amount with success.

Jim

[Todd Bin]

Go with the one you like. It seems like I read hundreds of posts about bandsaws before I decided on the minimax (MM24). The one reason I did was the supposed poor customer service of Laguna. Well, I had an issue with the minimax and I didn't think the service was all that stellar. Most of the posts on the minimax are several years old and minimax is now owned by another company. Things have changed (for the worse based on the older posts)

Anyway, I say all that to say that Minimax, Laguna, or Aggazzani are all good bandsaws and it's a crap shoot whether you are going to get a good saw or have to struggle through less than stellar customer service with them. In retrospect, I probably would have bought the Laguna.

~Todd

[Greg Portland]

Shaun, those smaller Laguna bandsaws are made in Taiwan and IMO you might as well buy a Grizzly and save yourself some money (especially given Laguna's history of customer service problems). If you are looking at the 16HD or larger saws then they are all excellent. Comparable products would be Aggazzani from Eagle Tools and the Minimax saws.

[Rod Sheridan]

As Steve indicated, look at Felder and the Hammer N4400 bandsaw.

All of the above are Euro machines with Felder customer support which is top notch.........Rod.

The 17" N4400 is on sale over the Christmas holidays and comes with a blade brake, 4 HP motor.

[Van Huskey]

Shaun, those smaller Laguna bandsaws are made in Taiwan and IMO you might as well buy a Grizzly and save yourself some money (especially given Laguna's history of customer service problems). If you are looking at the 16HD or larger saws then they are all excellent. Comparable products would be Aggazzani from Eagle Tools and the Minimax saws.

The 3000 series is indeed Asian BUT they are a far sight from the Grizzlys. Have you compared each in person? The 14SUV is an excellent saw and I plan to get it or the 16 3000 for a second saw. Just look at the wheel bearings of the 14 SUV and compare them to ANY 14" saw and the size difference will astound you. The Laguna guides are just the best guides for a hobby sized bandsaw also.

[Mike Heidrick]

I have read some of the Felder salesmen don't recommend the Felder bandsaws - is that true? Maybe you should ask them first. I saw a 24" Felder saw at a shop in Chicago and no way I would trade my MM20 for it. Personal feelings but it was light weight compared to my MM20. It was prettier though and both doors opened at teh same time and would be MORE than enough saw for me but having the MM20 that is the bar I have to measure against:) . I would look at MM but then again that is what I own and I think it is great but there has been some MM hate threads recently so best to just find a good local dealer that can show you one or wait till a big international show and put your hands on all the vendr's saws that attend. Not a purchase to take lightly. I bought a MM20 sight unseen until I went to pay for it and having only touched a 16HD before.

Agazanni get good press too btw. That would be a safe bet to buy unseen too as is the MM especially if you can find one used.

[Nick Lazz]

their customer service leaves something to be desired

+1
I have the 14SE. Bought about 5 years ago. I was disappointed originally as it was advertised with a 2hp motor. Turns out the motor they have on it is proprietary and was not one that was easily compared. Using the plate data, I found my motor was only capable of about 1hp. I complained and they stated it was "2hp saw duty" which is garbage.
I made them replace the motor. I do not think my saw would run well with the original motor. Ultimately they made everything right but there was a lot of back and forth. I probably would not buy another tool from them. I think I could have done much better with something cheaper.
So far the saw is fine, I just think there are only a few things you need to look for in a bandsaw (wheels, spine, motor) and you shouldn't need to spend a lot of money on one as it is not a precision machine to start with.

My. $02

[Van Huskey]

I saw a 24" Felder saw at a shop in Chicago and no way I would trade my MM20 for it. Personal feelings but it was light weight compared to my MM20. .

The reality is every steel spined saw imported to the US currently is light weight compared to the Minimax line. I would be completely happy with a Laguna or Agazzani but wouldn't trade my MM20 for them.

[Justin Bukoski]

I currently have an LT14 3000 series from Laguna and I'm very happy with it. I've owned bandsaws from Grizzly in the past and they were very good as well. I find my current saw to be better than the griz 513x2 I used to own.

[Eric DeSilva]

I've a very happy owner of a 14SUV. The 14SUV also got good marks in a FWW head to head with a number of "full size" 18" BSs. I'm really not sure there is any other 14"er that compares. Very easy to use, rock solid, resaws really well. I have had very good luck with Laguna's customer service, but I gather that isn't universal. But, the machine is wonderful.