Anyone? newer Laguna TSS? please!! Newbie

[joe pezza]

:) Hello All, My name is Joe and I am a first time poster here at SMC. Really impressed by the volume of participation here too. Great!!

Quick Bio- I am in the new car auto business, and live<w/familly> and work in RI. Been a hobbyist woodworker for about 15yrs.(im 36) and have really got more serious past 5 yrs. Basement shop, but hey, don't have to go outside to get to shop. I do not take any for pay projects, just for myself and my peace of mind after a long day desk job.

I have been slowly upgrading my shop and now replaceing my PM66. Anyone purchase the newer laguna TSS and your thoughts on the machine. I've looked at diff saws, but price and features put me on this machine. I already have a laguna LT16 BS, so I,m comfortable with Laguna as a company. I was about to go with a SStop, but I really like the idea of a slider, but its a change of workhabits too, so-here I am? Anyone with the newer TSS, your thoughts.

Thanks very much,
Joe P:)

[Jim Becker]

The Laguna is almost a hybrid of a cabinet saw and a slider when you break it down...which is a nice combination. Slider, riving knife, large table surface for "traditional cutting", etc. The one downside is that the slider is short...great for cross-cutting, but not usable for captive rips or straight-lining slabs using the wagon. (This is the major reason I recently ordered an 8.5' slider from another manufacturer)

As to the change in work habits, I'm actually looking forward to learning a new way to work as well as the potential increased safety from using a sliding saw. (hands are away from the blade area for all cuts using the slider) But because there is a regular rip fence, the adaptation should be comfortable, too.

[Mike Heidrick]

Jim, how do you keep your hands away from the blade when cutting small pieces on a slider? Sacrificial fence?

[Jim Becker]

Mike, you use hold-downs to keep the material fast to the wagon as you push through the cut. The wood stays in place without your hands being involved...quite similar to Dino's "Dead Wood Principle". This is admittedly one of the "learning new things" opportunities, but based on my conversations with users, it becomes second nature.

[Todd Solomon]

:) Hello All, My name is Joe and I am a first time poster here at SMC. Really impressed by the volume of participation here too. Great!!

Quick Bio- I am in the new car auto business, and live<w/familly> and work in RI. Been a hobbyist woodworker for about 15yrs.(im 36) and have really got more serious past 5 yrs. Basement shop, but hey, don't have to go outside to get to shop. I do not take any for pay projects, just for myself and my peace of mind after a long day desk job.

I have been slowly upgrading my shop and now replaceing my PM66. Anyone purchase the newer laguna TSS and your thoughts on the machine. I've looked at diff saws, but price and features put me on this machine. I already have a laguna LT16 BS, so I,m comfortable with Laguna as a company. I was about to go with a SStop, but I really like the idea of a slider, but its a change of workhabits too, so-here I am? Anyone with the newer TSS, your thoughts.

Thanks very much,
Joe P:)

Hi Joe,

You may want to take a look at the Felder and Mini Max sliding table saws as well. These are true, format-style sliding tables, but I believe they'll cost you more than the TSS. I've got a 9' Felder K700S, just a fantastic machine.

If you'd like to learn about the differences between cabinet saws and european sliders, Mark Duginske wrote an informative article about the advantages of sliders. If you join the Felder Owner's Group, then look in the Files section, you'll find this article.

If you Google, "yahoo felder owners group," you'll find the site, as well as the Mini Max group.

Todd

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Laguna was the first slider I looked at.
I am so very very very glad I went with a full length slider.

I was concerned about it taking up too much space and uninformed enough to believe the stuff about them being more for sheet goods than general cabinet work. I was wrong on both counts. My slider takes less space than my old contractor's saw.

[joe pezza]

:confused: Thanks for all the replies.

I was trying to keep the cost down and I am ok with the trade up from a cab saw, while limiting my slider stroke. Still seems better than a sled.
I deffinetly looked at other mfgs, but its still a 2kplus difference between a full slider with a 8 ft rip cap and the TSS with a 52" rip cap. I am not set on the TSS by any means, but I run my machines maybe 2 hrs week, so price/value weighs heavilly. Am I missing a mfg that offers a slider w/96" cap in a hobby price point?
Thanks Joe P

[Dan Larson]

Joe, I have an older model Laguna TSS with the scoring blade, so I'm familiar with all of the options available for the TSS. The new saw has some cosmetic upgrades and a few new features, but is fundamentally the same saw as mine. My general impression is that it's a great saw. Here are my thoughts regarding the saw as configured as a TS:

Likes: Very robustly built in all respects... I think it weighs in at close to 1000 lbs. The new version of the saw currently being sold has a new style rip fence... I have the old style fence on my saw... so I can't help you there. Throat plate is huge and there is an arbor lock, so blade changes are easy. Blade has a dust shroud, so dust collection is very good. True riving knife, so kickback is a very unlikely event. Plenty of power from 3 HP Baldor motor. Fit and finish is pretty basic, but good enough.

Dislikes: The extension table is not especially flat. I can't remember exactly how much of a crown mine has (1/16" maybe?), but it is annoying. From what I've heard from other owners, this is par for the course. Fortunately the cast iron main table is flat, though. The plastic blade guard is a little junky. I replaced mine with an overhead guard. The 4" flex hose that connects the blade dust shroud to the port on the cabinet is terrible. Looks like it was stolen from grandma's 30 year-old clothes drier (and mine was liberally soaked in the shipping grease.) This was, of course, easily replaced with a proper piece of flex hose.

Options: The scoring blade is nice to have when cutting sheet goods. Works as advertised. The 50" sliding table is also a really nice option. It's well built and slides smoothly. My only complaint with this is that the crosscut fence design has some weaknesses. Resetting it back to precisely square with the blade is a bit of a pain... although I see that they now sell an optional crosscut fence miter table with positive stops... so this might fix the problem. Mobility kit is well worth the $$, too. It's the only way to move that beast!

Well anyway, I'm satisfied with the purchase. It's not perfect, but it is darn nice & the price is right. If you have any specific questions, let me know.

Dan

[Frank Snyder]

Hey Joe,

You might find a Hammer (Felder) in your price range with the specs you mentioned. Grizzly also has a 12" full size slider for around $6K.

Personally, I'm not a slider guy, and I'm quite content using my Festool collection when dealing with sheet goods (or even straight lining hardwoods). I upgraded from a Ridgid TS2424 to PM2000 and I couldn't be happier.

Have you ever tried using a slider? See if you can locate someone local to you and see if they will give you a test drive. Minimax and Felder could also put you in touch with one of their customers. Try before you buy.

[Ted Miller]

Joe, I own the Laguna TS without a slider and its the best cabinet saw I have used in my day. I work about 4 miles from the Laguna Company and I get great service when I order things from them and I could not ask for a better comany to deal with...

[joe pezza]

:) thanks for all the replies. some great tips, and i have tourtured myself long enough, now its time to pull the trigger.
thanks to all!!
joe p