Laguna bandsaw??

[Billy Webb]

I want to know if laguna ceramic guides or carter guides would bet the better choice. I want the saw to cut straight and smooth as possible. They both say theirs is the best but I dont want both. Thanks

[Jeff Nicol]

Like any tool the set up and maintainence of the setup will keep you cutting great. I have the carter guides on my Jet and they are wonderful compared to what was there originally. I think the Laguna ceramic guides will do very well as they are very tough and not wear like other type guides and the Laguna saw has a pretty sturdy height adjustment arm which will keep the gap on the guides as tight as they can. That is what keeps the blade from wobbling or wandering during the cut along with proper blade tension.

Good luck,

Jeff

[Andrew Hughes]

Billy,I have a powermatic 14 with the carter guides.And i had a laguna with the ceramic guides.The carter guides work fine but sometime when i would saw oily woods such as teak the bearing would get coated with dust and start screaming.Just spent xtra time cleaning but they work just fine.The laguna guides seemed to scrape the blade and not affect the cut as much when the oily dust starts flying.I dont have the laguna saw anymore just sold it but i did favor the ceramic guides bit for accurate sawing.

[Van Huskey]

First, which Carter guides are you talking about? They have the 2000 (2300, 2400) series, Guidall (400, 500, 600) and the Micro Precision guides (10,20,30) there is a LOT of difference between these!

In general I prefer the Laguna guides to just about every other guide on the market but how much better they are than other guides depends on what type of blade/cuts you are using/doing.

What saw do you we talking about and will it be a dedicated resaw/rip machine, dedicated contour/medium & small blade machine or will you be doing everything with one saw?

[Billy Webb]

It is a 16" italian laguna and I will be ripping 1 1/2" squares clamped to a jig that runs in the slot on the table. They will be cut at an angle for about 9". The carter model is the Euro 5.

[Van Huskey]

It is a 16" italian laguna and I will be ripping 1 1/2" squares clamped to a jig that runs in the slot on the table. They will be cut at an angle for about 9". The carter model is the Euro 5.

The Euro 5 is a Guidall 500 series guide, quit good, middle of the Carter line. I am guessing your Laguna was an older one before they came with the current ceramic guides.

Honestly, I would use a wide blade to make those cuts which means lots of beam strength and resistance to twisting due to the high tension on the blade. Guides will make little difference in those cuts if everything is set up correctly. For that I would use the stock Euro guides and not think twice. If you really want to replace the guides I would get the Laguna ceramics, I prefer them to the Guidall guides and though I don't think any of them will make a difference with these cuts overall I like them better.

[Carl Beckett]

I have a small Jet 14" saw with Carter guides.

And also have a Laguna 18 with ceramic guides.

Obviously different machines, but I prefer the ceramic guides. (and Van suggestion is my experience exactly - if a wide blade with lots of tension, the guides dont even come into play)

[Mike Heidrick]

I own the Laguna ceramics. Prob did not need to change from my Euro bearings but I got a deal on them. They are great!

[Mike Wilkins]

Another LT18 owner since 2001. The saw originally came with the Euro guides which worked great until the thrust bearing fried itself. About the same time Laguna came out with the ceramic guide as part of a promo offer with the Resaw King. Happy sawing since installation. Kind of a pain in the backside to change guide settings after every blade change; but you will have to that anyway, regardless of what guide system you use. The ceramic guides actually help clean the blade while running because you can set the guide blocks close to the blade.

[Greg Portland]

I also swapped out the guides on my LT18 and the ceramics were definitely better. You'll want to create or buy your own cool-blocks style guide for narrow blades. Laguna sells an expensive set but I've had good luck with small blocks of hard wood (lignum vitae, maple, Ipe, etc.).

[Scot Ferraro]

I love Laguna's ceramic guides...the best guide system I have used. The retrofit on my 11 year old LT18 was pretty straight forward and well worth the money. I do not find them hard to adjust at all and they do keep the blade from wandering. With a RK blade the cuts are near perfect.

Scot

[Billy Webb]

Thanks for all the nice information.