Need Keep or Sell Advice.

[Stan Smith]

I feel sort of weird asking this question. I have a Laguna 12-16 with problem after problem. The tail stock and banjo have been replaced. I've had problems with the belt tension and belt movement on the pulleys. Laguna tech support has been pretty good, but I haven't heard from them for some months now. I am able to do some projects, such as pens, but I frequently have to stop and re-position the belts. I live in a small town in No. CA and I'm not really much of a mechanic. Prior to this I've had Jet lathes including a 1014 and 1221 vs. I gave the 1014's away and the 1221 was probably damaged from the heat of a wildfire here.

I recently watched a Craftsupplies demo of their Artisan 1420 lathe. I've considered buying one because I like the size and features. Not sure what to do with the 1216 though. I'm limited on space to work on it, but I would probably have to remove the motor and the parts inside the headstock are difficult to get at. I do have the outboard turning attachment that's still in the box. Packing it for shipment would be difficult. I did sell a Jet 1642 some years ago and I met the guy from Sacramento who bought it halfway.

I had really hoped that this Laguna would work for me, but I think that I'm doing less turning because I can't get it working right. Just wondering if you guys have any suggestions as to what you might do if you were in my position.

[Tim Elett]

You're saying reposition the belt, do you mean putting the belt back on the desired pully? How old are the belts,are the bearings in the head worn? Unplug and loosen belt,their can't be any slop in bearings, I use the 15/24 ,not shut if you have the same belts, I would replace them, it would be a cheap fix then go to bearings or worn shaft.. No help from Laguna?... I would call call and call again.

[Reed Gray]

Sounds to me you should send the lathe back to Laguna, or the store you got it from.

robo hippy

[Kyle Iwamoto]

NO offense intended. You did mention that you are not much of a mechanic......
The belts should not wander or require constant adjustment. Which brings me to ask this question. Are you lining up the belt on the correct speeds (assuming that is a multi speed)? The belts must be in a straight line. So the biggest spindle pulley should line up with the smallest drive pulley and so on. First thing is to check the pulleys are mounted in line.
I have seen equipment where the operator put the belts on the incorrect pulley. Not pretty.
Apologies.
And yes, call them for help.

[Earl McLain]

Stan--i'm a hobby turner, with no sponsorship or support from any vendor or manufacturer. I own one Laguna tool (2004 Bulgarian-built bandsaw, bought used), do a bit of buying at Craft Supplies (even have stopped there a few times). I have 2 lathes in the class you're in--a Rikon 70-220 and a Delta 46-460 (my first). I also have a Robust Sweet 16, which is in a bit different class. I work in the insurance industry, and firmly believe that with a book and Google i teach myself anything (i may be wrong on that...) All that to give you the perspective i'm coming from.

The specs on your Laguna are nice for a machine that size, especially the low speed range--i don't recall a 12" lathe that can reach down to 50 RPM. Very common in the 10" to 16" machines to have 3 speed ranges to accommodate what's needed, so even with the CS Artisan you still have 3 ranges and belt changes. From the Laguna manual i'd say you could general skip over the center range, use the low at 50-525 and the high for 650-3500 (if i recall correctly), skip the medium range overlap. For small, relatively balanced stock, most of the time you could start in the 650 RPM range--pens & bottle stoppers i'm usually 1200 + from the start. Then slow down for sanding & finishing--that would cut down on the number of belt changes.

The rest--the best thing i did to improve my turning was to join a woodturning club, taking a fundamental class and adopting a mentor. I've learned a LOT from videos & books, but those methods cannot provide any feedback on where MY tool presentation/speed/etc are off. Even in NorCal, if a club is not in close, i'd bet there's a seasoned member or three in fairly close proximity to you. And, woodturners are a very sharing bunch of people!!

Good luck in your decisions!!
earl

[Stan Smith]

Thanks for the advice. I'm confident that I know how to move the belt on the pulleys. I've owned 2 1014's and a 1221 before this lathe. I've neve had to realign the pulleys on any of them. I have experience belt tension problems with this Laguna which is not much more than a year old. I don't think that I have used this lathe often enough to wear down the belt. Laguna did help me to reposition the motor using a wedge when the tension became too loose and I also had to adjust the tensioner mechanism. I really don't get why the belt moves off the pulley. It must be an alignment or tension problem or both. It seems like something is always wrong with this particular lathe and I guess I'm just tired of hassling with it. Also it's really hard to get at things inside the head stock. I'm 82 years old and time is running out.

[Tim Elett]

We're here to help,I personally believe Reed Gray gave the best advice .Being told to ,Reposition the motor with a wedge. I thought Laguna would stand behind their products better.

[Karl Loeblein]

Some belts stretch too easily causing them to vibrate and possibly move around on the pulleys. Try watching the belt while it’s running at different speeds with safety glasses on. I bought a ribbed belt for my Vicmarc and it’s much sloppier than the OEM belt so I’m thinking about swapping it out for another brand soon. Swapping belts is a good time to check the bearings and pulley alignment.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

If the lathe is less than a year old should it not be under warranty? Reed was the first to mention that you should be able to return the lathe..... I agree.

Apologies about the belt positions. My underlying point is that the belt should not be getting too loose and require a wedge or anything. I have 5 lathes and only replaced one belt on a used Rikon that I picked up. And I knew it was worn and he had a new belt for it. So yes there is something not right on the lathe (it happens) and/or the belt is defective, which is a possibility.

Wish you luck in trying to return the lathe.
And I hope to reach your age and still be turning and complaining! And that is a COMPLIMENT.

[Richard Coers]

Based on your experiences and your admission of limited mechanical ability, I suggest you stay away from another Asian made machine. I don't expect a huge different experience with another brand. I strongly suggest you buy from Robust or Oneway. You'll have to pay for the quality, but it will be the last lathe you ever buy. My 1998 Oneway 24-36 was plug it in and turn, from day 1. Will send the head back soon for a new belt and will have upgraded bearing put in at the same time. I've paid for that lathe about twice with sold work.

[Stan Smith]

Again, many thanks for the responses. I've owned the lathe for over a year. I doubt that it can be returned now, but I'll have to check that out. I've gone back through my emails and related attachments to/from Laguna. I'm going to go through all of their recommendations again and see if I can do them all. After I try again, I'll come back here and post my results or lack thereof. I have some back problems and am unable to move really heavy equipment around so shipping this lathe is not an option since I'm not wanting surgery at my age--been there done that. I may be able to get the lathe loaded onto my pickup if I sell this lathe. As to buying a Robust or Oneway, I think that's an overkill for some old geezer turning pens and other small items. I do recognize that they are top of the line though.

[Richard Coers]

Buying high quality is never related to old age. Both companies sell smaller machines. I get a lot of pleasure hitting the button and using a machine the is such a pleasure to use. Resale is much better on those brands as well. I'll be 70 soon, and simple pleasures are important to me now.

[Brian Tymchak]

... I've owned the lathe for over a year. I doubt that it can be returned now, but I'll have to check that out...

If you reported the issue to Laguna before the warranty period expired, then you have a case to be able to return it. If they refuse then I'd say that Laguna CS is catching up to Delta in the basement.

[Tim Elett]

You can also try to get the party involved that you purchased it from, you never know, they may have a solution or even swap out the one you have and deal with Lagona, eather way,what have you got to loose.
I wonder if other Laguna owners have unresolved problems.

[Kevin Jenness]

Another stellar review of Laguna machine quality and customer service. Seems like a complete crapshoot.

If the belts are jumping from one pulley groove to another in use it may be due to the motor and spindle pulley being misaligned. If you have access place a straightedge across the end of one pulley extending across the end of the other one. They should be in plane. If you can't get a straightedge in there try to line them up visually. The belt should run in a plane without offset or twist. If they are out of line that may have caused excessive wear and insufficient tension, making the problem worse. If offset, find the grub screws that secure the pulleys on the shafts, loosen one or both and move the pulleys in line with each other. If twisted, that may be a matter of loosening the motor mount and repositioning it, if possible. If the tension is inadequate you may need a new, possibly smaller belt.

[Stan Smith]

Thanks to all for your encouragement. I spent some time looking into the problems today as well as reviews of emails I had received from Laguna customer service. One email enclosed instructions for removing everything in the headstock and then reinstalling it after flipping the motor mounting plate upside down. This prompted me to see how this was assembled and I discovered that there was a slight flex in the motor due the mounting bolts being slightly loose. The motor is mounted to a plate. The plate is mounted to the headstock housing with bolts. From the pics I don't see how anything would be changed by turning the plate upside down. I also discovered that the belt tensioning mechanism is attached to one of the mounting bolts via an open slot. The mechanism actually moves on the mounting bolt when the tension handle is turned. Initially, I tightened the bolt too tight and then the mechanism would not move. I loosened the bolt very slightly so that I could release the tension which allowed for the belt to be moved on the pulleys. I've replaced motor belts before. I can tell you that there is no wear whatsoever on this lathe belt. I may have stumbled upon a fix because with the belt on the middle pulley, it ran true and didn't move. The tension mechanism does not move smoothly, but I'm reluctant to mess with it because it has a heavy duty spring in it. The pulleys appear to be lined up okay, but I"ll check further as use the lathe more.

[Tim Elett]

Good to hear.