Rojek PK300V with CV2 table vs Laguna TSS

[des diesel]

I am in a quandary. I have ordered a Rojek PK300v Table saw with the CV2 table.
But,then yesterday I felt the Laguna TSS may be a better saw, so I placed an order for the Laguna. Now I have to make a decision in short order. I am a novice woodworker upgrading from a Shopsmith. Any pros and cons would be appreciated.
Des

[Richard McComas]

First let me say I have not used either of the saws you mentioned. I have looked closely at the Laguna (several years ago now) and had some dealing with the sales staff at Laguna tools and of course I’ve had dealing with many other tool companies.

What I’ve learned is not only to research the quality of the tool but more importantly the quality of the after sales service and the knowledge and attitude of the sales staff.

I personally have chosen not buy from Laguna tools for reason I will not go into here.

Here’s a site with a review you will be interested in.

http://benchmark.20m.com/reviews/RojekSaw/Rojek_PK300vReview.html

[Paul B. Cresti]

Des,
Like Richard I would stay away from Laguna, just to many bad stories and negative business ethics happening there. I had some dealing with Tech Mark and they did seem like a good company to deal with. The person I delt with was Keith Jackson and he was very nice. In the end I went with MiniMax machines and have never regretted it. Since you seem to be willing to spend a little take a look at all machines available and then compare their features. This includes MiniMax and Felder. Do not be shy about the prices of some of these machines because the quality is quite amazing and the performance is even more so. I can personally vouch for MM service as top notch and I am sure Richard and others can back up their Felder service also.

So in the end unless you did all the research, do not rush into this purchase.

[Mike Wilkins]

Having owned a Laguna bandsaw for 4 years now, I can say that it is by far the most high quality machine around. I too have read the reports and complaints about Laguna in this and other sites. But here is some food for thought: how long do you think a company can stay in business if it consistently ticks people off and does'nt try to resolve their issues??
From the threads that I have read bashing Laguna, I get the idea that folks don't realize that all companies will sometimes have problems with their products, whether they sell widgets, cars or woodworking machinery. Please don't be fazed by complaints of others. Remember: the opinions of others are the ones that ruin us.
You will find compelling arguments for each machine; only you can make the ultimate decision, as it is your money that's being spent.
Good luck with your decision and watch those fingers.

[Richard McComas]

Having owned a Laguna bandsaw for 4 years now, I can say that it is by far the most high quality machine around. I too have read the reports and complaints about Laguna in this and other sites. But here is some food for thought: how long do you think a company can stay in business if it consistently ticks people off and does'nt try to resolve their issues??
From the threads that I have read bashing Laguna, I get the idea that folks don't realize that all companies will sometimes have problems with their products, whether they sell widgets, cars or woodworking machinery. Please don't be fazed by complaints of others. Remember: the opinions of others are the ones that ruin us.
You will find compelling arguments for each machine; only you can make the ultimate decision, as it is your money that's being spent.
Good luck with your decision and watch those fingers.



You are correct. All products are subject to problems no mater who manufactures them. It's how the company addresses those problems is the point I'm making.

I purchased a (used) Felder 16'' Jointer/planer from felder. To make a long story short the machine had been abused by the previous owner by moving/lifting the machine by it tables thus damaging the table adjusting mechanism.

Long story short again, Felder flew a technician from Sacramento California to my shop in Alaska to fix the problem. The fix did not work in the long run so felder again flew a technician my shop and installed a new out-feed table with all the trimmings. The jointer/planer has worked flawlessly since and that been a few year now.

I doubt I would have received that service from all other companies.

BTW, did I say Felder didn’t charge me 1 cent for those service calls or parts.

BTW again, ACM of Italy makes the band saws for Felder, Wilke Bridgewood and Laguna. Last I heard the Laguna saw is made in Belgium by a different manufacture so one can’t necessarily say that because Laguna has a good band saw they have a good sliding table saw or they have good after sales service.

[John Shuk]

I have looked at the Laguna saw in the video and like the premise behind it safety wise. It has a track record as it has been around a few years. That said, I bought a Laguna bandsaw. I have had nothing but trouble with it. I bought it the first year it was around so I give some leeway there. I had some good experiences with some of the staff there and a horrible experience with the customer service manager they hired. At the end of the day I have a bandsaw that I am not terribly happy with and get so frustrated with that I have sort of pushed it to the side and stayed away from it for a while because it has been a headache. For me the moral to the story is this. I try to buy from a local vendor if I can. If I have a problem I can get the tool back to my retailer if I have to without having to crate it up and get a truck and all the usual blah blah blah. That goes a long way. Maybe saw stop will get a local network. They have alot of safety features as do the euro machines. I know that these are well built machines but aside from a riving knife what are the real advantages over a well built American saw? A sliding table can be gotten for most of them and with the Euro high right now you might be talking alot of money for a comparable product. Sorry for rambling I get that way some times. Welcome to the Creek.
john

[Greg Hairston]

I was in the same situation a couple of years ago. It was between a Laguna and a Rojek. My advice would be to get neither. Laguna gave me the hard sell routine which I hate. When I mentioned I was looking at other machines they basically said I was stupid to look at such inferior machines to theirs. Rojek's Salesman was ok until a couple of EX-Rojek owners contacted me personaly and told me to stay away from them. When I mentioned some of the issues the previous owners told me I never heard from him again. So what did I do.... I got a Mini-Max and I have been very happy with the machine and their customer service before and after the sale. I also purchased a bandsaw from them a year later and had the same great experience. Now Mini-Max is not perfect but they really try to make things right.

Greg