Laguna 18" bandsaw question

[Josko Catipovic]

I'm looking for a large bandsaw, primarily for resaw. (I'm switching from KD FAS wood to buying from sawmills and have 1000+bf and growing supply of 8/4+ air-drying New England hardwoods.) I'm considering a Laguna 18", but no local dealer has them on display. Specifically, what is the practical difference between an 18BX and LT 18HD (now LT 18x18), other than the 2 hp bump and the extra 300 lbs? What does one get for the extra $2k? Thanks in advance.

[David Kumm]

If you mainly resawing, it is the 300 lbs that make the difference. Minimax is having a sale on their Centauro machines. You might want to check them out. They are good resaw builds. Dave

[Alex Zeller]

The cheaper one is made in Taiwan and last I knew the LT was Italian made. The Taiwanese model comes with a Taiwanese brand motor while the Italian one comes with a Leeson. Over all the Italian model is most likely a more robust build. If I was going to be doing a lot of resawing and could justify the extra cost I would go with the Italian saw. But chances are the Taiwanese saw will do everything you want.

[Justin Rapp]

I have a Laguna 14BX 2.5hp version and have used it for some resaw and am happy with the results and I love the saw. I considered the 18BX but didn't need the capacity and will never have even come close to the quantity of wood you are stock piling. The LT18x18 is a serious piece of equipment and if you are going to be doing production quantity work the extra 2hp will make your work go faster. Not that the quality of the Asian models are sub-par, you will be getting a superior machine with the Italian model.

[lowell holmes]

I have a 14" Jet with a riser block that does a good job resawing.

[Josko Catipovic]

Yeah, I have a tricked-out Delta 14" that 'will' resaw 12" oak, but it's a struggle. I frequently loose 1/8" to blade wonder, and have to keep feeding it woodslicers. I'll keep the Delta with a thin blade, but I can't see myself resawing routinely with it.

[Dmitri Joukovski]

Bandsaw is one of the simplest machines and even Grizzly can’t screw it up. For resawing you need powerful motor, heavy wheels and high quality blade. Buy 3HP 19” Grizzly G0514X2B and upgrade blade to carbide tip Lenox and you will be happy with your resawing results.

[Doug Dawson]

The cheaper one is made in Taiwan and last I knew the LT was Italian made. The Taiwanese model comes with a Taiwanese brand motor while the Italian one comes with a Leeson. Over all the Italian model is most likely a more robust build. If I was going to be doing a lot of resawing and could justify the extra cost I would go with the Italian saw. But chances are the Taiwanese saw will do everything you want.

I don't understand the assumption that because the saw is Italian it should be better. If it's anything like the Fiats I'm familiar with, she nottaworkasogood.

The Taiwanese, OTOH, are industrious, un-temperamental, and can be taught to do stuff. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[Mike Vsoika]

I have the 18bx and I really like it. I regularly resaw 15+" stock and it does a great job.

[Alex Zeller]

I don't understand the assumption that because the saw is Italian it should be better. If it's anything like the Fiats I'm familiar with, she nottaworkasogood.

The Taiwanese, OTOH, are industrious, un-temperamental, and can be taught to do stuff. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

The Italian saw is made with better components. Would you rather a Leeson or an unknown Taiwanese/ Chinese brand motor for example? Most likely things like the bearings, heater, and contactor are also name brand. It's not that the Taiwanese are making junk, it's that they are making equipment to a different price point. While lower wages and overhead can account for some of it they also source parts that aren't industrial quality. Don't get me wrong, if not for a 10% off coupon from Grizzly I would have the BX18 in my shop right now vs G0514 as it would have been more saw than I ever needed.

There's also things that can't be easily seen. Take the castings for example. Taking an extra set or two can produce castings that are less likely to warp after machining. Do the Italians do it better? My personal opinion is yes.

[Doug Dawson]

The Italian saw is made with better components. Would you rather a Leeson or an unknown Taiwanese/ Chinese brand motor for example? Most likely things like the bearings, heater, and contactor are also name brand. It's not that the Taiwanese are making junk, it's that they are making equipment to a different price point. While lower wages and overhead can account for some of it they also source parts that aren't industrial quality. Don't get me wrong, if not for a 10% off coupon from Grizzly I would have the BX18 in my shop right now vs G0514 as it would have been more saw than I ever needed.

There's also things that can't be easily seen. Take the castings for example. Taking an extra set or two can produce castings that are less likely to warp after machining. Do the Italians do it better? My personal opinion is yes.

The Taiwanese are making what Laguna tells them to make. The SawStop is also made in Taiwan (and SawStop tells them what to make.) It's not like you're buying whatever shows up at the pier.

If you think the Italians are inherently superior, I've got a bridge to show you. ;^)

[Mike Kees]

Doug have you ever pulled an Italian saw apart ? I own a Centauro CO 600 that was built in 1980. Last fall I replaced the bearings in the wheels and motor,replaced the belts and made a new dust chute and a few other missing parts. This is not my first bandsaw. It replaced a Steel City saw (18 inch).The Steel City was designed to make everything adjustable,after extensive adjustment/tuning it worked very well. The Centauro is built far heavier with a very simple and strong design,it does not have the adjustments that the Steel City did because it is built precise enough that it does not require them. So yeah I would say that the Italians really know what they are doing when it comes to bandsaws. That Steel City saw was a good one but I do not miss it because the Italian made Centauro that replaced it is a big step up.

[Josko Catipovic]

This sort of gets to the heart of my question: is it worth paying double for an Italian-built bandsaw over an Italian-designed, Taiwan-built one with similar specs? For instance, if two motors are built to the same specification, does a Leeson one have any advantages over a Lng-Tung?

[Mike Kees]

Josko ,my bandsaw was purchased used for cheap. If my only option was new I would consider Asian made saws for sure. Grizzly makes some good ones,there is at least one guy here on SMC very happy with a Go636. As to your motor question ,for me if they were built to the same spec I would have no problem with country of origin. Check out the Minimax sale right now.Good luck.

[David Kumm]

In the larger bandsaws, I've seen some very nice Taiwan made machines. Companies that cater to the industrial market ( Cantek, Extrema, some others ) will spec a heavy frame. If theri QC is good so the wheels are well balanced and the motor decent, a TAiwan saw can be really good. They tend to use more and thicker metal than the Italians although the welds may or may not be a pretty. The Italian fit and finish usually leaves something to be desired as well. A heavily spec'd small saw can be every bit as good but the price won't be half and again, it is all about QC. Most saws under 24" tend to be price pointed and IMO underperform for resawing. AS to motors, my motor guy tells me there are good motors made in China but they are few in comparison to the crap he sees in sizes under 5 hp. Keep in mind that Leeson also makes smaller motors in China so the comparison might not be as valid as it once was. I look at efficiency and amp draw as a hint as to quality but the only way to really tell is to pull the ends off and look. Not really practical. Italian motors aren't perfect either as I have rewound more of them than any old NEMA US motor. Dave

[Alex Zeller]

This sort of gets to the heart of my question: is it worth paying double for an Italian-built bandsaw over an Italian-designed, Taiwan-built one with similar specs? For instance, if two motors are built to the same specification, does a Leeson one have any advantages over a Lng-Tung?

That's the real question, lol. If you run a shop where down time is big money and 999 out of 1000 Leeson motors (made up number) will run for 100,000 hours without fault while only 750 out of 1000 Lng-Tung motors will do the same is it worth saving $2K to not be one of the 250? If it sounds like I'm saying Italians make better stuff, I'm not. What I'm saying is the standards are higher for the Italian made machine in this case.

Where I work we have 1000s of motors running 24/7. They are mostly Baldor, US motor, and some Leeson motors. When one fails it can be up to a $50k event. Some of these motors have been running for more than 20 years. We take them out of service when they reach a certain point just because the cost is so high as a result of failure. Some of these motors are over 100hp (so not cheap). My Grizzly band saw has a motor made by ???. The nameplate says "Grizzly" and made in Taiwan but they don't make the motor. If it lasts 5000 hours it'll most likely last longer than me. If it dies and I can't repair it I'll replace it when I get around to it most likely with a name brand motor.

My Grizzly has basically the same motor as the BX18 but only a 12" resaw height. I have resawn some cherry that was over 10" with it and the motor had no problems with power. I think the BX18 would serve you just fine. But I also think that, if it was me and I could justify the extra expense, the LT18 would be a real workhorse that wouldn't blink an eye if pushed to it's maximum capability. One thing that I don't think anyone talked about is that the LT18 will tension up to 1 3/8" blade. Both my Grizzly and the BX18 say up to 1 1/4" but in my opinion that's going to be pushing it. That's why I got a 1" resaw blade. The LT18 will most likely be able to better tension a 1 1/4" blade. I'm in a wider is better camp when it comes to resawing.