Laguna 12" J/P

[Robert Maloney]

I have an opportunity to get a used J/P in excellent condition. I was just wondering what everyone's thoughts were. I've been researching this for a while. I had decided on either a Hammer or Minimax, then this came up. Any info would be helpful.

[Jamie Buxton]

There have been multiple 12" jointer-planers sold by Laguna. For at least a decade, Laguna sold one that was made by Robland, in Belgium I think. It went through several iterations. More recently, Laguna has been selling other machines. I think they're from Taiwan or China. So you might want to get a little more info from the seller about which one he's selling.

[Jim Matthews]

I figure any working combo machine this large that can be purchased for less than $200 per inch of width is a bargain.

Do you have sufficient power to run this? Adding a 220 line won't come cheap.

[Robert Maloney]

It is definitely one of the newer ones. It is less than 5 yrs old. I have sufficient power to run the machine. I already have a jointer and a planer, but am looking at the space saving aspect. It also has the helical head. I was just wondering where it stacks up against others, and if anyone has one their likes and dislikes.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Robert, are you talking about hte platinum series machines? For example:

http://www.lagunatools.com/combo/combo-platinum12

I have the 10" version, which is basically just a scaled down version of the same machine. Alan Lightstone has the 12".

have a look here at a few posts he and I made about the machines:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?199009-Plainer-Jointer-Combo-Help-and-feedback&highlight=laguna+jointer+planer

[Mike Wilkins]

I have the same version of this machine sold by another dealer. I also posted on the earlier inquiry about this machine. Overall a good machine for the price point. But you mentioned the spiral cutterhead. That alone is worth the purchase. I eventually switched to the DisposaBlade system, but changing and aligning a fresh set of blades (the original ones) is a pain in the posterior. These spiral cutterheads are supposed to leave a smoother planed/jointed surface, and also quieter. I say go for it and don't look back.