A most pleasant hour - nice start with a new machine

[Sam Murdoch]

One of my task today was to rip some 1" cherry into 3" wide stock - 76 pieces - for some bench legs I will be gluing up.
I just barely had enough width with most of my boards to get 2 or 3 full rips - at least using the table saw and a regular kerf blade.

I therefore decided to try ripping these with my new Laguna 14" SUV bandsaw blade. Using a 1" Resaw King (a carbide tipped blade)
OMG - this was like Zen woodworking :). What a pleasure and with such ease. No pressure just a steady light feed rate. I managed to get the optimum yield
because of the thin blade. The rip side surface is smoother than with the TS with none of the drama or tension (or noise or dust) that ripping stock of varying density on a table saw can impose. I am enlightened. Can't wait to start resawing my laminations for the curved aprons.

My first trial cuts on the Laguna were some resaws of some 6" wide old growth yellow pine. With no fuss about setting the stock fence I
produced some very consistent 3/16" boards (at what thickness does a board become a veneer?) and 1/8" and 1/16" too. The quality and consistency of those cuts
made me happy. Today started off great too. I have never owned or used a bandsaw as good as this Laguna so I am very happy with my purchase.

[Rick Potter]

Wow, Sam,

I didn't know you could use a 1" blade on a 14" saw. That is interesting, as I have always wanted a bit more resaw capability (not height) than my 14" Delta with a riser block and a half inch blade. I don't need a monster band saw, as 7 or 8" is probably as much as I will ever need. I will have to check that out.

Rick Potter

[harold bowlin]

I know exactly how you feel. I got my SUV about 18 months ago and have similar Zen experiences with it ever since. What a beutifully functional tool. I also got the DM fence and that is a dream to use also. My experience with Laguna customer service was also superior. Glad you like your new tool.

[Sam Murdoch]

Wow, Sam,

I didn't know you could use a 1" blade on a 14" saw. That is interesting, as I have always wanted a bit more resaw capability (not height) than my 14" Delta with a riser block and a half inch blade. I don't need a monster band saw, as 7 or 8" is probably as much as I will ever need. I will have to check that out.

Rick Potter

Rick, There are some on this forum that will tell you that no 14" bandsaw can properly tension a 1" blade but Laguna will tell you that their 14" SUV will and I can attest to that. I haven't even maxed out the available tension and the cutting with the 1" Resaw King is smooth, easy and so quiet compared to the TS. I'm loving it.

And Harold - I'm glad I took the leap. I really like this saw and Laguna has been great to work with.

[Rick Fisher]

Not all bandsaws are the same ..

I have a friend with a 14" Hammer.. Its not at all like a 14" Asian delta clone..

A great bandsaw with a great blade is a joy to use for ripping lumber.. makes you ignore your tablesaw..

[Dick Mahany]

Wow, Sam,

I didn't know you could use a 1" blade on a 14" saw. That is interesting, as I have always wanted a bit more resaw capability (not height) than my 14" Delta with a riser block and a half inch blade. I don't need a monster band saw, as 7 or 8" is probably as much as I will ever need. I will have to check that out.

Rick Potter

Laguna also has a 3/4" Resaw King blade that will work on a Delta 14". 1" is too wide. I've had two of the 3/4" RK blades on mine and tension is not a problem. One thing to consider is that due to the small wheel diameter, it is very important to de-tension the blade after using it. I put a Carter quick release on my Delta for that reason and it works great.

[Rick Potter]

OK, Dick,

I have to ask. What's with this 'Chevota Guy' tag? Do you by any chance have an old Toyota Jeep?

Rick P

[Curt Harms]

I too find a band saw more pleasant to use than a table saw. The downside is my bandsaw - not using a carbide tipped blade - will not produce the finished surface the table saw will and I find plywood has quite rough edges. I wonder though how a combination of band saw and track saw would work in space challenged shops. Neither takes much room when not in use.

[Dick Mahany]

OK, Dick,

I have to ask. What's with this 'Chevota Guy' tag? Do you by any chance have an old Toyota Jeep?

Rick P


Yep. '75 FJ40. I'll never grow up!

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OP------Sorry, not trying to hijack the thread:)

[Sam Murdoch]

I too find a band saw more pleasant to use than a table saw. The downside is my bandsaw - not using a carbide tipped blade - will not produce the finished surface the table saw will and I find plywood has quite rough edges. I wonder though how a combination of band saw and track saw would work in space challenged shops. Neither takes much room when not in use.


I'm mostly doing it that way now. The track saw is excellent for sheet goods and not so bad on processing some lumber. I'm seriously thinking that I will fold up the table saw and place the band saw in the more prominent and permanent position. It will be the TS that will be pulled out occasionally for building doors and other specialty work.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Yep. '75 FJ40. I'll never grow up!

266391

OP------Sorry, not trying to hijack the thread:)

Sweet rig- i have a dune beige 76 with an sbc 350! Fine minds think alike!

[Rick Potter]

Nice, Dick,

I have a Rubicon.

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread. Getting back to the subject...........Dang it Sam, just when I thought I had all the tools I could want, you got to me. I hope Laguna has a sale soon.

Rick Potter

[Bob Cooper]

Sweet. '85 FJ 60 w/a Chevy V8 here

[zayd alle]

Sorry, Sam, but while we're at it -- '69 FJ40 with SBC350/SM465. Sadly, it recently became the down payment on our first home :(

http://i1003.photobucket.com/albums/af153/zayd762/5e1f4f5f60f5c3c4fd265ae9b036bc49_zpsf32ec224.jpg

[Joe Cowan]

I have the SUV14 with the 1" blade. I have used it many times to get some stock down to almost final thickness prior to going to the planer. A great tool to have in the shop.

[John Coloccia]

FWIW, I dumped the table saw months ago and only occasionally miss it.

re: Resaw King
Great blade and it's what I'm running. It's no ordinary blade. The backer is very thin...may even be spring steel. Then the carbide is welded to that. It's specifically made to run with low tension.

[scott spencer]

...The rip side surface is smoother than with the TS....

Congrats on the new setup. I'm with you on most of the other arguments in favor of a BS, except the quoted above. If true, something is wrong with the TS or blade. Just about any TS that's setup reasonably well with a decent $30 blade should be able to leave a glue ready edge in 1" cherry....something I've not witnessed from any BS setup even from the best rigs at the wwing shows. The cut from a BS almost always requires some smoothing prior to glue up, which in many cases negates much the gains claimed for increased yield. In fairness, I haven't used a Resaw King or seen one in action. Is the Resaw King blade a game changer for bandsaws that no other blade can match?

[Alan Lightstone]

I use the 1" Resaw King on my Laguna 14SUV all the time, but I still prefer the table saw. I think less than 1/8" qualifies as veneer, but others may chime in.

That being said, I still prefer my Sawstop table saw for most cuts. I keep the Laguna for curved cuts, and most certainly for veneering.

Check out John Lanciani's resaw fence. I built one and use it with my Laguna all the time, and it's an amazing way to make great reproducible veneers.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?178546-Veneering-Resawing-questions

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What I'm toying with now is a way to make the table larger and more useful on the Laguna. Clearly a work in progress, but here's where I'm at so far:

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I need to add a miter slot, and a metal plate inlayed in the top to allow the resaw jig to magnetically attach to the new top. The downside is that it's quite heavy with the Driftmaster fence, so removing it to change blades will be a chore. Anyway, a work in progress to improve the saw even more. Of course, if I had just bought a far larger saw, I wouldn't be chiming in here. Don't mean to hijack your thread. Just adding some thoughts to improving a good bandsaw even more.

It's a really nice saw. Enjoy it Sam.

[Sam Murdoch]

No hijacking from you Alan but there have been a few others...:rolleyes: Anyway I welcome the advice and the ideas for set up to improve the versatility of the saw.

As I am not using a Sawstop TS but rather a Bosch 4000 contractor saw that may be why my first impressions of the Laguna are so enthusiastic, almost to the point of hyperbole. The new blade and my not too challenging ripping and resawing projects may have colored my 1st impression to more rosy than warranted. I'm stilling playing with the tension and have yet to try any wide resawing or even other blades than the 1" Resaw King. Plenty of time for those tests.

As to Scott's comment about the smoothness of the ripped surface from a TS cut comparing to the bandsaw I can only say that using my $ 38.00 rip blade (decidedly not freshly sharpened) on the Bosch saw the ripped surface is not better than that from the Laguna. Feed rate and the specific piece of wood all factor in, but I just made a comparison using the same 18" x 7" x 1" cherry board and the primary difference is that both faces (on either side of the cut) coming off the bandsaw do have regular vertical blade tracks but no burning and no irregularities. They can be glued together with no evidence of the joint. By comparison the waste side of the TS cut absolutely can't be used without rejoining. The fence piece shows evidence of the blade and I admit that in sections the saw tooth pattern is less pronounced than the regular vertical pattern from the bandsaw cut, but overall the cut is more pronounced. No question that my specific rip blade and its condition, the saw itself, the guy feeding the stock, are all factors in the result.

Not wanting to start a long discussion about this - we all know that such results are very subjective based on sooo many factors. My first impressions were simply that. I like the Laguna and am glad to have it in my shop. Wish I hadn't waited so long.

Seems like if I am to try to go to a more advanced level of resawing on this bandsaw I will need to invest in a Driftmaster fence and build a version of the masterful Lanciani's resaw fence. WOW! Do veneers come off that set up needing only some light sanding. I'm afraid of where I might be going with this tool :D.

[Alan Lightstone]

Seems like if I am to try to go to a more advanced level of resawing on this bandsaw I will need to invest in a Driftmaster fence and build a version of the masterful Lanciani's resaw fence. WOW! Do veneers come off that set up needing only some light sanding. I'm afraid of where I might be going with this tool :D.
Do you want me to lie to you, or tell you the truth. :)

I run the pieces through my drum sander afterwards, and they come out as great veneers, at whatever thickness I choose. The resaw jig is amazing. I have mixed feelings about the Driftmaster. Clearly the taller fence is an advantage (and since I bought it afterwards, I do have the shorter one too). But I find that my Driftmaster fence is fussy with staying on the lead screw, gets in the way of changing blades, and mounts in a Rube Goldberg way to my saw (which is hard to fathom as it's their fence and their saw). But I hear that much of that was fixed on the new Lagunas, so this may be totally old news to you.

[Gus Dundon]

I'd like to ask about your blade guides and how did you set them up?

[Sam Murdoch]

I'd like to ask about your blade guides and how did you set them up?

I followed the instructions in the manual. Seems to be the right thing to do as I am having no problems with tracking.

[Gus Dundon]

I followed the instructions in the manual. Seems to be the right thing to do as I am having no problems with tracking.

Thank you. I have issues with the guides on my band saw. I should have check the manual. I'll figure it out.

[Sam Murdoch]

Thank you. I have issues with the guides on my band saw. I should have check the manual. I'll figure it out.

One thing that the manual doesn't tell you is to make certain that you tighten the clamp that holds the upper blade guard post. At least on my saw I discovered that tightening the post clamp centers the post or at least keeps in in the same relative position to the upper and lower guides. They should be set up as a unit. I had not tightened the blade guard post for the first few times and I kept needing to readjust the side blade guides. All OK now.

To elaborate - I have been changing out blades just to try them out and to get some practice. After 2, 1" blades, 1 at 1/2" and 1 at 3/4" and a 1" again it still takes me nearly 30 minutes to be satisfied that all is properly set up. Seems excessive but the results have been good. The lower guides, even with fewer adjustments, are a challenge because they are so difficult to reach. My hands are medium size at most. I don't know how big hands could do this unless with long and agile fingers.

Anyway - other than what the manual describes I have found that setting the side guides takes a light touch. I now set the top outside guide first and am very careful not to move the blade as I tighten the knob. The guide wants to roll in so I hold it steady and vertical with one hand with each ceramic piece just barely away from the blade and even top to bottom. Then I do the inside guide and move to the bottom ones using the same procedure. All this to say that keeping those side guides from rolling in or out requires a delicate touch but it's doable and seems to get easier each time. Good luck.