Delta vs Laguna Spindle Sander

[Brian Brightwell]

I am going to purchase either the Delta 31-484 floor model spindle sander or the Laguna SS-24t spindle sander. The prices I have found is Delta $1950 free shipping and Laguna is $1800 free shipping. The Delta has a 5 year warranty while the Laguna has a 1 year warranty. The other difference is the weight. The advertise weights of both vary quite a bit but in general the Laguna is advertised a little lighter. I have heard someone speculate that the cast iron top is thinner on the Laguna but I know not for sure if true. I am looking for input on which one to buy. I would really like to know about the weight.

[Cary Falk]

Definitely would not buy anything Delta because they have been circling the drain for years. Laguna would not be my first choice for customer service reasons even though I have 2 Laguna tools because I couldn't find the equivalent elsewhere. I have a Grizzly spindle sander and am happy with it.

[Jim Becker]

Judging purely by the information you provided, the $150 seems to give you four extra years of warranty and potentially a heavier tool with more mass. I don't know these two machines at all, but I might be influenced by both the piece of mind that the warranty brings and I always like heavier when it comes to tools. More mass often has less vibration which provides better finish when the tool engages the material.

[glenn bradley]

Sorry the quality of the responses are going to be tepid. It can be frustrating when you have narrowed your choices down and then ask for help with the tie-breaker only to discover that the contenders are not on the short list of a lot of folks. I will say that the 10 year old Delta drill press I have is one of those with 'no parts available'. That being said if I had to choose a sub $2k drill press today it would quite possilby be a Delta 18-900 (or a Nova).

I wish the current version of Delta all the luck in the world but, the track record is not good. I have trouble considering Laguna given their long reputation of good-bad-bad-bad-good-bad-bad-bad customer service and support. I hope others will chime in to even out the responses so far.

[Mike Kees]

I just bought a used spindle sander about 6 months ago. If I had purchased new it would have been Grizzly. They have the best combination of quality,price and parts/support. I have never seen anyone post that they hated one either,seems that it is a good and dependable machine.

[Bradley Gray]

I bought an old Boice- Crane with 13 spindles last year. I had been looking for several years but held out for a used one to show up - they are out there.

[Brian Brightwell]

I didn't realize Laguna and Delta had such bad reputations. I have not bought a new machine tool in years. I have a lot of old iron. The Grizzly would save me a good amount of money at about $1220 with shipping and tax. Thanks for all your opinions.

The four years of extra warranty for $150 could be useful however it is a pretty simple machine with not a lot to go wrong. I was thinking the oil bath gearbox and tilting spindle vs tilting table would make for a more enjoyable experience. I have never used a spindle sander of any kind before.

[Jim Becker]

An OSS is an incredibly useful tool. For quite a while, mine didn't get as much use, but in the last year or so, the nature of my work shifted to where I am using it more and more. (I have the older Delta BOSS benchtop) They are relatively simple tools but the oscillating action has to be smooth and handle a lot of iterations over time.

[Terry Therneau]

If you are ok with older iron, you might take a look for an oder State or Max. I see them for 1 to 1.2K moderately often, though make sure they have all the spindles you want -- they tend to go missing. I got lucky and bought a State S3 with all 10 spindles 1 week ago for 350; it had a mechanical issue with turned out to take a day's thought and tinkering, but had been considering the Grizzly.

[Gregory King]

Keeping an eye for one locally but doubtful I'll find a floor model. Inquired about the cost of a Porter Cable 121 a few years ago as a temporary solution. Was going to mount it in the extension table for the table saw. They wanted $500 for it then. Discontinued now probably. And I would not hesitate to but a Delta. Really like the sheer weight of those animals. In all honesty, what could break that you could not get welded or machined anyway?

[Alex Zeller]

Without taking them both apart it's hard to know exactly where the extra weight is. When I was looking for a 18" bandsaw I was able to see the Laguna BX18 at a Rockler. Part of the table trunion was made from aluminum. While not a super heavy part there will be a difference in weight. On a tilting OSS you have both a trunion and gear box. If Laguna uses aluminum for some of the parts that would change the weight. For a gear box case I don't think it would matter but for a trunion (one of the reasons I didn't buy the BX18) I like cast iron. Or it could be the trunion and/or the gear box is larger on the Delta.

I own Grizzly tools and have good luck with them. If you can wait they usually will have a 10% off coupon a couple times a year that will cover a good part of the shipping. But you can't take a look at them unless you live close to either of their two showrooms before you buy. I suspect that an OSS is not something you will find in very many showrooms so you're most likely going to be buying it without seeing it.