Bandsaw "features" questions

[John Miliunas]

With some tool budget monies left, an upgrade band-saw may be in the works. I'm really leaning toward a Laguna, probably just the LT 14SE, but among other things, I note a couple differences with the little guy as opposed to its larger brethren. One, it doesn't have the rack & pinion height adjustment for the saw guide. Is that an important feature? Secondly, the foot brake is an "optional" item (though it's not priced anywhere that I could find.). I know this is a safety feature, but it seems that *most* band-saws don't come with this item until you really start hitting some of the heavy hitters.

Oh, and if there are any Laguna 14" BS owners reading this, I'd sincerely love to hear your feedback on it! :cool:

[Todd Burch]

John, I have a Laguna 18". I like the rack and pinion height adjustment. It's wonderful and you can dial in the height you want with one hand. (No more banging with your palm to nudge it into place.) The brake is also nice too. That saw takes a while to "wind down" and the brake cuts out the noise faster, if nothing else. Todd.

[Jamie Buxton]

John --
I've had a Laguna (ACM) saw for a couple years. I don't find the rack & pinion height adjustment a big deal. If it wasn't there, I could still shove the thing up and down -- after all, I did that on my previous bandsaw, a Delta. However, I really like the foot brake. The part that I like is that touching the brake turns off the power to the saw. That is, I get to kill the power without having to use a hand, which I'd much rather use to hold the workpiece. I can also find the footbrake by feel, so I never have to take my eye off the blade.

Jamie

[Jim Becker]

I'm going to humbly suggest you consider "holding off" on this upgrade for a little while so you can save up and make it a true upgrade to a larger machine. The 14" Laguna or simlar machines from MiniMax and others are certainly nice, but a bigger saw will give you more flexibility in blade width as well as more power for "real" resawing. Make your next bandsaw the last one you will want to buy if at all possible. The 16-20" range really does offer more in the long run. (Coordinating your purchase with a show can also save you a bundle of money) But this is just my opinion...your needs are what is most important!

[David Rose]

I wholeheartedly agree with Jim but not for the same reasons.

I don't use my bandsaw like most. I don't own a table saw so it does whatever won't fit the miter saw. Yes, I have a little more work on edges than a table saw owner will, but not too much. Even with an add-on huge sliding table (don't laugh, it works) that post is often just a little too close to the blade. That limitation will always be there with a blade that forms a loop, but oh for another couple of inches!

David


I'm going to humbly suggest you consider "holding off" on this upgrade for a little while so you can save up and make it a true upgrade to a larger machine. The 14" Laguna or simlar machines from MiniMax and others are certainly nice, but a bigger saw will give you more flexibility in blade width as well as more power for "real" resawing. Make your next bandsaw the last one you will want to buy if at all possible. The 16-20" range really does offer more in the long run. (Coordinating your purchase with a show can also save you a bundle of money) But this is just my opinion...your needs are what is most important!