laguna 1847

[alex carey]

I currently have the maxi lathe 25-200 general international. The VS has stopped working twice now. I am waiting for the new shipment in a couple week to get a new headstock. This current lathe is 12" with 17 outboard which isn't bad... if it worked. I still find that for what I am trying to do it is never big enough and I am constantly wishing it was bigger. I am going to stick with this lathe for now but, I have been doing a lot of research on bigger lathes and I have a few[/URL] questions.

The first is the Laguna 18/47 platinum. I watched their preview video and looked at all the specs and this seems like a really nice lathe. Plus it is only 30 miles from my house. What scares me is that this is listed at 1854$. Meanwhile the powermatic 3520 has 2 more inches and cost another 1K. So whats the deal with this lathe. Anyone know? Or better yet anyone have one.
http://www.lagunatools.com/lathe.platinum18.aspx (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=20)


The other lathe I was a big confused by is the Grizzly 16 x 42 VS G0632. It is listed at 1400$. Meanwhile the lathe that looks like it's parallel is the Jet 1642 with 1 1/2 hp. But that is listed at 1850.
[URL]http://www.grizzly.com/products/16-x-42-Variable-Speed-Wood-Lathe/G0632

Any idea what the big differences are?
I dont think ill be purchasing anything very soon especially if my lathe is up and running good as new, but if and when I finally do I'd like to be 110% informed to make the right purchase.

Alex

[Steve Schlumpf]

Alex - not trying to dodge your questions but wanted to point out that a search on this subject brings up a lot of threads:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=87587&highlight=laguna
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=77695&highlight=laguna
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=68803&highlight=laguna

Seeing as you are just looking for info - those threads should help. Let us know if you have any additional questions.

[Cyril Griesbach]

Alex,

I have a friend that bought the Laguna and he had nothing but problems with it and nothing but difficulty resolving them. Eventually he got Laguna to to accept it's return but he had to pay for the shipping again. I never saw this lathe so my comments are hearsay. My friend then bought a PM 3520 and he's mighty happy now.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I had a friend that had the 1847 Laguna and it was terrible. It took forever to get parts and when that didn't fix it he wanted his money back. They wouldn't return his calls till his lawyer called. He had his money back in 4 days. Sorry doesn't work for me. He got the Jet 1642 2 hp EVS and hasn't looked back. I would definitely get the Jet before the Grizzly.

[dennis kranz]

At the beginning of the year the Jet and Grizzlies price where close to the same. Jet has had 2 large price increases. Expect Grizzly will do the same with new catalog.
Dennis

[Dick Strauss]

Alex,
The Jet 1642 EVS is tried and true. It is also in the same price range as the Laguna. If I were in your situation, the Jet 1642 would be at the top of my list!

[David Walser]

Alex,

Despite the recent price increase, I still think the Powermatic 3520b is the best value in a full sized lathe. The new Jet 1642 is a close second. My reasoning (YMMV) is that both of these lathes are well made and few owners report any problems with their lathes. Both lathes have enough capacity that few turners will out grow either lathe. Powermatic gets the nod because it is massive and beefy enough to handle large out of balance blanks. The Jet can handle out of balance blanks, too. It's just asking a lot. The Powermatic's the one-ton truck. The Jet's the half-ton pickup with overload springs.

Where does this leave the two lathes you mentioned? The Laguna is relatively new. The quality troubles people have seen might just be the result of a new design. Maybe they've gotten the kinks worked out and you'll get a great lathe at a very good price. Unfortunately, many of the same arguments and concerns apply the the Griz.

Another option is to buy a quality used lathe. If you can find one, a 10 year old Woodfast lathe with a 20" swing and variable speed drive will run about $1,500. Not bad considering that was one of the elite lathes not too long ago. That's just an example. There are other good, quality, used lathes around.

[alex carey]

thanks for the links Steve, didn't realize these were already topics. The links were quite useful.

Alex

[Rick Mills]

I have some mixed feelings on the 18/47, I've had it since around March, I live in Southern California so I was able to pick it up myself to save shipping also. It seems to be the biggest and most torque for the price, I have done some large odd shaped logs with no problems. The headstock and tail stock seem to line up pretty close.

In the first few months I was turning a large piece of walnut and the tool rest snapped in two, and by this time the hand screws for securing the tool rest were getting worn, the lathe came with a spare one. But they sent me a free replacement tool rest, two extra hand screws, and threw in a spare drive belt which I have not yet needed. It took a week or so to get my replacement parts, and when I opened the box it was the wrong parts they got my box mixed up with someone else who needed different replacement parts. So I had to send it back, and after quite some time and a few phone calls I finally got my tool rest, I had a small one I purchased for doing pens, so I was not without a lathe for any time.

One of the problems with mine is you can not slide the tail stock off the machine, like they show you in their film. They redesigned the original lathe with a bigger nut clamping down the tail stock and banjo, which prevents them from sliding off the end. If you want to outboard turn, you have to reach under the lathe and undo the nuts to remove the tail stock and banjo. It's a pain if you intend to do a lot of outboard turning. They have likely fixed this by now on the newer lathes.

Overall it seems like a good lathe for the money, but sometimes I wish I would have waited, and saved my money for the powermatic or a Jet.

[Gary Max]

I would take up knitting before I would buy a Laguna-- Laguna may win awards for the worst service ever.