Anyone have a Laguna 8" jointer?

[Michael Drew]

I have outgrown my old 6" Jet. It's nearly impossible to face join boards, so I don't. The tables are way too short as well. I've decided to bite the bullet and move up to an 8". My local wood working dealer carries Laguna, Jet and Powermatic. The Laguna looks feature packed compared to the other brands, and price seems fair. Obviously, the Powermatics have more mass to them, but I don't know how much that matters. I'm leaning towards placing an order for the JX 8 II. I bought the Laguna 18BX bandsaw last year, and it's turned out to be a good machine. I don't hear much about the Laguna jointers though. Figured I'd ask the resident Creekers before I push the buy button on this machine.

https://lagunatools.com/classic/jointers/jx8-pro/

[Andrew Hughes]

I think the buying from your local woodworking dealer is worth pointing out. If they take delivery you get a chance to inspect the pallet for damages. If you find a problem with the machine as in badly twisted fence or warped table will they help dealing with laguna?
My woodworking friend Hal has a laguna jointer he hasn’t complained about it at all.
Good Luck

[Jim Becker]

I don't disagree with Andrew about the desirability of working with a local firm when that's possible. But I feel compelled to suggest you at least consider going the J/P combo route for larger capacities at an approachable cost. 8" sounds bigger 'cause it is over a 6", but it's still pretty limiting for face jointing, IMHO.

[John Kananis]

Jim, this just came up in another thread. Why not joint half the board and run it through the planer twice? First using an 8 inch runner and then flip to even out the jointed side.


I don't disagree with Andrew about the desirability of working with a local firm when that's possible. But I feel compelled to suggest you at least consider going the J/P combo route for larger capacities at an approachable cost. 8" sounds bigger 'cause it is over a 6", but it's still pretty limiting for face jointing, IMHO.

[Jim Becker]

Jim, this just came up in another thread. Why not joint half the board and run it through the planer twice? First using an 8 inch runner and then flip to even out the jointed side.
It's a workable technique for that occasional board the greatly exceeds capacities, but I sure wouldn't want to have to use it frequently. Interesting, the few times I've seen this on the 'Tube, it's been ultra wide boards on an actual wide jointer...like a 12-16" machine...and for a unique board/project.

[Bryan Hall]

I've got the 12" laguna, I've had it for about a year now.

Pros:
Nice big long table.
Easy to calibrate.
Quiet.

Cons:
A few days after receiving it the feet snapped, poor welds. I bought from a small local shop and they were good about helping with the issue. It did take several months for laguna to cough up the money to replace the legs with a mobile base.

Outfeed table just doesn't want to stay set. It's easy to put it back into position, but it has to be adjusted every few weeks. As soon as I get snipe I adjust again.

Sadly mine came with an aluminum fence. I was hugely disappointed in this. It looks like they have changed that on all machines though.

Levers feel pretty cheap.

Ghost marks on every board, I've never been able to figure out how to stop that.

Altogether it's a decent machine. I wouldn't recommend it, but I also wouldn't say avoid it. I dearly miss my 8" grizzly. The cast iron fence was so much nicer but more than anything, I got a fantastically glass smooth finish from it. However, I needed 12" capacity and at the time the laguna was available and reasonably priced.

[Jeff Roltgen]

Not to blow your budget, but a 2" gain isn't much, and you're right, that's a fairly lightweight looking unit. Lotsa dough for not much gain. Can you squeeze up to a 10-12? At least check out Southern tool - they're offering a Baileigh helical 8" with extra-long beds (83"). A little more money, but more iron, and with your longer stock, you'll find that almost 7 foot of support makes a huge difference. Almost matches my grizzly 10" for overall length. Cannot stress enough what a great difference that extra length makes for flattening. Free ship/liftgate and a $750 rebate, currently.
A little scrolling here will get you to it:
(Click the tab with model # under the little pic's for better image/details)

https://www.southern-tool.com/store/baileigh-wood-jointers.php

just another option, FWIW.

jeff

[Jeff Roltgen]

Even Better:

https://www.grizzly.com/products/grizzly-8-x-83-helical-cutterhead-jointer-with-digital-height-readout/g0495x

I have been happy with my 10" Grizz for close to a decade now.

Jeff

[Justin Rapp]

I have a 6 inch laguna and love it. My only regret was not getting an 8 inch.

[Michael Drew]

Thanks for input everyone. That 8" Griz does look like a much better machine. It would be too large for my garage shop though. I'm pushing my luck with Laguna. I know it will be a compromise of sorts, but worlds better than what I have now. The Powermatic machines are an option, but still, I don't think I can make them fit either.

I did look into a combo machine, Jim. Quite a bit more money than I want to spend right now. I just spent 8K'ish on my slider, 3K for a bandsaw, another 3K for a dust collector

I live in Alaska, so shipping machines to me is horribly expensive, which is why I'm trying to source from a local dealer. They just bring it up on a barge with their normal shipments, so it's significantly less expensive. For reference, I paid about $1600 to ship the K3 slider.

Bryan,

I literally just watched a guy on YouTube (been trying to find reviews) with the same problem you have with the outfeed table not staying put. He worked with Laguna, and ended up grinding the set screws a bit to create a flat spot on the ends. It might be worth a try? He goes into detail on this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-3p0AyqUPc

[Todd Worstell]

Jim, this just came up in another thread. Why not joint half the board and run it through the planer twice? First using an 8 inch runner and then flip to even out the jointed side.

I have been looking a this technique too. But, if I understand it correctly, this works differently depending on whether or not the machine has a removeable rabbeting ledge when jointing wide faces. If the ledge is not removeable, you get one pass. If the ledge is removeable, you get as many passes as you like up to the max rabbeting depth.

[Bryan Hall]

I live in Alaska, so shipping machines to me is horribly expensive, which is why I'm trying to source from a local dealer. They just bring it up on a barge with their normal shipments, so it's significantly less expensive. For reference, I paid about $1600 to ship the K3 slider.

Bryan,

I literally just watched a guy on YouTube (been trying to find reviews) with the same problem you have with the outfeed table not staying put. He worked with Laguna, and ended up grinding the set screws a bit to create a flat spot on the ends. It might be worth a try? He goes into detail on this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-3p0AyqUPc

Thanks Michael! It's not bad enough for me to get grumpy and look for a solution but I'd love to get it sorted out! I'll check out that video and see if it will work for me.

[Mel Fulks]

I suggest putting the board on a piece of plywood with a a nice piece of straight hard wood on bottom of each side . That is the “platter” Then shim between board and platter to get the board that will be planed in best position. Send the whole thing thru planer til it’s planed . Then
put the new “miracle jig “ in a safe spot . Then you are ready to flip the board over and run in thru on other side.

[John Kananis]

Yes, correct. The one pass is usually enough though... you're going to get a flat surface from the planer after all.


I have been looking a this technique too. But, if I understand it correctly, this works differently depending on whether or not the machine has a removeable rabbeting ledge when jointing wide faces. If the ledge is not removeable, you get one pass. If the ledge is removeable, you get as many passes as you like up to the max rabbeting depth.

[Jim Becker]

I live in Alaska, so shipping machines to me is horribly expensive, which is why I'm trying to source from a local dealer. They just bring it up on a barge with their normal shipments, so it's significantly less expensive. For reference, I paid about $1600 to ship the K3 slider.


Shipping on my SC3C from Georgia to SE PA in August was $1250... ;) THAT was eye opening!

[Michael Drew]

Order placed for the Laguna. Thanks to the folks who helped me spend money. :)

It'll probably end up taking a month before I see it. I'll post my impressions when I get it.

I think this will about do it for me..... This is my last 'playschool' wood working machine that was in need of being replaced with an adult machine.

[Justin Rapp]

Order placed for the Laguna. Thanks to the folks who helped me spend money. :)

It'll probably end up taking a month before I see it. I'll post my impressions when I get it.

I think this will about do it for me..... This is my last 'playschool' wood working machine that was in need of being replaced with an adult machine.

Congratulations when your new machines shows up