Laguna Tablesaws?

[Gary Herrmann]

Does anyone have any experience with the Laguna tablesaws? I saw one briefly at the show, but it was very crowded and didn't get much time to examine it - plus, the wife wanted lunch. :p

I like the idea of the riving knife. I was wondering how they compare to PM or Delta - fit and finish, overall quality, set up etc.

Thanks for your input...

[Frank Pellow]

I was very tempted to purchase this saw. See the thread http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=14400. Like you, a big attraction for me was that the saw has a riving knife.

In the end, I decided on a General 650 rather than the Laguna for reason you will see in the referenced thread.

I suggest that you browse the Laguna web site, particularly the forums, and that you get a copy of their free video.

[Jim Becker]

I have not used one, but have examined them on the show floor a number of times. IMHO, it's a well-built machine, but has some serious compromises. In fact, it really sits between a typical US-style cabinet saw and a "real" sliding table saw. Too expensive over the former and too little size and functionality as compared to the latter. For example, the sliding table is seriously limited in capacity on the Laguna saw. A US-cabinet saw with a third party slider is probably a better buy (sans the riving knife, of course) than the Laguna saw, IMHO. And true Euro-slider is better on the other end of the cost range...

[Frank Pellow]

Jim mentions that the slider is "seriously limited in capacity" and, as well, from what I read, it appears to be difficult to set up accurately.

I decided right away that I did not want the (optional) sliding table, but I remained interested for some time on the basic saw plus the scoring knife option.

[Gary Herrmann]

Just the basic unit. I've also read the posts on the Laguna site on the slider.

Any thoughts on the basic unit? Quality vs cost? Is it worth the $?

[Frank Pellow]

Just the basic unit. ...
Any thoughts on the basic unit? Quality vs cost? Is it worth the $?
My bet was that the General 650 (which I could get for about 20% less than the Laguna) was a better choice. :) But, I have been known to bet incorrectly. ;)

[John Renzetti]

Hi Gary, My friend Carl Knapp from Laguna gave me a good demo of the TS at the woodworks show in Philadelphia back in November. It looked like a solidly made saw. I just got a flyer in the mail from Laguna and the price for a floor model was about $2195. Might be worth taking a look at. Not sure what shipping would be.
take care,
John

[JayStPeter]

That saw came out back when I was looking to upgrade. I wound up with a Unisaw (because I got a good deal). The things I liked about the Laguna in no particular order:
- Deeper table
- Riving knife
- Real beefy saw
- shroud style dust collection

I had decided that I liked the Laguna over the PM66 in that price range. But in the end, I dropped to the lower price cabinet saws (Uni, Jet, Grizzly).

- I don't remember all the measurements, but since I added an outfeed table, the deeper table would only be worthwhile if the distance from the front of the saw to the blade is longer, thus allowing more crosscut capacity from a sled/miter gauge.
- While a riving knife would be nice, the removable splitter I have is pretty acceptable in function. But, the additional overhead guard I have I hate. See comments below on this.
- The Unisaw is plenty beefy for my purposes.
- EVERY time I run a piece through my Unisaw and the thing spits dust at me, I wonder if that would happen with a true shroud style collector hooked to my cyclone. I have an overhead guard with DC, but still get lots of dust released from the TS. If you think about it, the price difference is just a little more than the cost of an overhead guard. I kind of wish I had spent the money up front, I hate the overhead guard.

If you can wait until your name comes up on the list, the SawStop also has the same benefits and similar price. Plus, a little bonus safety feature.

Jay

[John Shuk]

How about the SAW STOP TS? It has a riving knife. If I'm not mistaken the Laguna has off sized miter slots as well.