Jet vs Grizzly vs Rikon vs Laguna bandsaw

I need a 17" bandsaw for general woodworking and resawing.

Jet 710750B JWBS-18QT 18" Wood Cutting Bandsaw $1785 plus a base plus tax with free shipping. It doesn't have a brake. Tool less blade guide. 1 3/4 HP. Net weight 410 lbs.

I also like the Laguna 14BX 2.5 hp as it gets good reviews. It has a disc brake, quick tension release and ceramic guides. Weighs 270 lbs. $1499 plus 150 for the base and 99 shipping. NO tax. Warranty is two years

Grizzly has the G0513X2F. 2 hp motor, weight is 335 lbs. $1399 plus 119 freight plus a base ($100) plus sale tax.

Rikon - 18" Bandsaw, Model #10-342 $1799 plus tax and a mobile base. 2 hp, No brake that I can see. 324 lbs

The only neg review I have read on the Laguna refer to customer service. On the Grizz I see several talk about the tires needing replaced in 6 months. Heck my 14" Delta is 15 years old and original tires are still good! Also talk of fit and finish not very good.

Which do you have? What do you like or not like about it? Thanks

There are a lot of bandsaw threads here that are worth checking out. I have the 18BX and love it. The ceramic guides are sweet (although I hear good things about the newer rikon tooless guides also, but haven't used them). I personally would not buy a bandsaw without a foot brake. I think it's both a safety issue and a productivity issue. The 18bx will spin for a *long* time if you don't use the brake and while that's not a huge issue on short cuts, I don't like the idea of 10 or 12" of exposed blade coasting for a long time after a cut. And I don't feel safe adjusting the fence or height or table angle for the next cut when the blade is still moving. I have had zero need to contact support, so can't comment on that, but when I was researching the saw before buying it seemed to me many of the support gripes were from several years ago.

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Originally Posted by Paul F Franklin

There are a lot of bandsaw threads here that are worth checking out. I have the 18BX and love it. The ceramic guides are sweet (although I hear good things about the newer rikon tooless guides also, but haven't used them). I personally would not buy a bandsaw without a foot brake. I think it's both a safety issue and a productivity issue. The 18bx will spin for a *long* time if you don't use the brake and while that's not a huge issue on short cuts, I don't like the idea of 10 or 12" of exposed blade coasting for a long time after a cut. And I don't feel safe adjusting the fence or height or table angle for the next cut when the blade is still moving. I have had zero need to contact support, so can't comment on that, but when I was researching the saw before buying it seemed to me many of the support gripes were from several years ago.

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Seeing the Laguna is the lightest of the saws I am looking at, does it run smooth? Did you go with the Laguna base?

I just brought home a Laguna 14bx and I have been supremely impressed. I have a 3/4in resaw king on it and just love the whole setup. Butter smooth running, cuts anything like it’s cutting air, and bang on accurate. Setup was maybe 30 mins being obsessive. The guides are incredible. They take 30 seconds, if that. So much better than bearings, etc. I can’t praise this thing enough, I’m very happy with fit, finish, quality, and ease of use. I have the mobility kit and the multi arm light on it too. Everything has lived up to expectations and then some. I would spend the money again.

I got an email from Laguna yesterday saying that their bandsaws were going on sale in January. I'm not in the market so I deleted it without really reading it, but it's worth checking out. The 18bx is usually in that ballpark when it's on sale and is quite a step up from the 14bx.

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Quote Originally Posted by Paul F Franklin View Post
There are a lot of bandsaw threads here that are worth checking out. I have the 18BX and love it. The ceramic guides are sweet (although I hear good things about the newer rikon tooless guides also, but haven't used them). I personally would not buy a bandsaw without a foot brake. I think it's both a safety issue and a productivity issue. The 18bx will spin for a *long* time if you don't use the brake and while that's not a huge issue on short cuts, I don't like the idea of 10 or 12" of exposed blade coasting for a long time after a cut. And I don't feel safe adjusting the fence or height or table angle for the next cut when the blade is still moving. I have had zero need to contact support, so can't comment on that, but when I was researching the saw before buying it seemed to me many of the support gripes were from several years ago.

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Seeing the Laguna is the lightest of the saws I am looking at, does it run smooth? Did you go with the Laguna base?

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The 14BX will be lighter than the other saws you mention as it is a 14" saw; the 18bx (the saw I have) is an 18" saw and more comparable to the 17 and 18 inch saws you listed. It runs without any vibration at all. I did buy the mobile base. It works well and I would recommend it if you anticipate having to move the saw from time to time. It barely increases the footprint and is rock solid when in the stationary position. You can move it without the mobile base, but it's a lot easier (and probably safer) to move with the base.

I would not consider anything smaller than 16" for resawing. And buying a quality used saw, in excellent condition, is a much better way to spend your tool budget.

I own the Griz. Good saw except for the tires. I did replace them. Though I have been running wide, deep gullet blades (3/4"). Good tires are less than $100. So one way to look at is the tire replacement adds that cost.

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Originally Posted by Mick Simon

I got an email from Laguna yesterday saying that their bandsaws were going on sale in January. I'm not in the market so I deleted it without really reading it, but it's worth checking out. The 18bx is usually in that ballpark when it's on sale and is quite a step up from the 14bx.

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Thanks for the heads up

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Originally Posted by tom lucas

I own the Griz. Good saw except for the tires. I did replace them. Though I have been running wide, deep gullet blades (3/4"). Good tires are less than $100. So one way to look at is the tire replacement adds that cost.

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Is it just the original Grizz tires are cheap and once you replace them they last for a long time? What tire did you put back on?

I can't say all Grizzly urethane tires are bad but the ones that came on my 19" (G0514X2) Grizzly were. I could have gone down the road of having Grizzly send me a replacement set and hope they were better but I just bought a set of Blue Max tires (maybe $60). My bandsaw went from vibrating to the point where I though about sending it back to smooth enough now that I can stand a nickle on edge and then start it (A dime will stand while running).

My personal take is each one offers something to stand it out from the others. The Ricon had the toolless guides and the Laguna had a better resaw capacity. One of the deciding factors was weight. The Jet with only 1 3/4hp seamed like it might not be enough. The Rikon was quite a bit lighter (maybe 100 lbs) and only 2hp. The Laguna BX18 was tops on my list but the customer service left me a little nervous. The Grizzly was right below it (less resaw but had a much stronger rack and pinion table). What it came down to was which one went on sale first. Grizzly sent me a 10% off coupon and the choice was made.

My personal opinion is there's a big difference between a 14" and the larger saws you've listed. Since you are willing to spend about $2000 I would, as far as Grizzly goes, look into the 514X. I went with the X2 because it came with the foot brake and the rack and pinion table adjuster (makes the table extremely stable when putting heavy blanks for cutting bowls on it). The X2B has an electronic brake in the motor. But it doesn't have a foot brake lever. The foot brake lever is nice because stepping on it turns the saw off. So if you are using two hands to hold your work you can still shut off the saw.

One thing I would add is pick a saw with a key lock. Unless you are better than most you will de-tension the blade and forget and turn the saw on. I have a magnet next to the tension lever and hang the key next to it so I can't turn the saw on without tightening the blade.

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Originally Posted by Alex Zeller

I can't say all Grizzly urethane tires are bad but the ones that came on my 19" (G0514X2) Grizzly were. I could have gone down the road of having Grizzly send me a replacement set and hope they were better but I just bought a set of Blue Max tires (maybe $60). My bandsaw went from vibrating to the point where I though about sending it back to smooth enough now that I can stand a nickle on edge and then start it (A dime will stand while running).

My personal take is each one offers something to stand it out from the others. The Ricon had the toolless guides and the Laguna had a better resaw capacity. One of the deciding factors was weight. The Jet with only 1 3/4hp seamed like it might not be enough. The Rikon was quite a bit lighter (maybe 100 lbs) and only 2hp. The Laguna BX18 was tops on my list but the customer service left me a little nervous. The Grizzly was right below it (less resaw but had a much stronger rack and pinion table). What it came down to was which one went on sale first. Grizzly sent me a 10% off coupon and the choice was made.

My personal opinion is there's a big difference between a 14" and the larger saws you've listed. Since you are willing to spend about $2000 I would, as far as Grizzly goes, look into the 514X. I went with the X2 because it came with the foot brake and the rack and pinion table adjuster (makes the table extremely stable when putting heavy blanks for cutting bowls on it). The X2B has an electronic brake in the motor. But it doesn't have a foot brake lever. The foot brake lever is nice because stepping on it turns the saw off. So if you are using two hands to hold your work you can still shut off the saw.

One thing I would add is pick a saw with a key lock. Unless you are better than most you will de-tension the blade and forget and turn the saw on. I have a magnet next to the tension lever and hang the key next to it so I can't turn the saw on without tightening the blade.

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Thanks very much. More to think about..

I have a 14BX with the mobile base, it's used in my garage shop, so light use. This saw is a world of difference from my cast iron 14 in delta.

I had some trouble with the fence moving out of position when tightening the 3 bolts for drift. I called customer service they were very slow to responed takes 2 -3 days. After a few phone calls I discovered they respond faster to emails. Try email it works better. They did try to help, even sent a new casting that the fence attaches to. That is the problem but the new casting is the same as the old casting. There is a small casting radis (filet?) that the washers under the bolts tighten against causing the fence to move. A Dremel tool with a grinding wheel will fit in this small space. I ground the area away and now all is well. I came across this problem when assembling and setting up the saw. It the turns out the saw does not have any drift to speak of any way. The fence still needs to be set one time parallel to the blade, I haven't touched it since.

The leveling feet do not have enough travel for my uneven floor. I had to use shims to level and stabilize the machine

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Originally Posted by Carl Crout

Is it just the original Grizz tires are cheap and once you replace them they last for a long time? What tire did you put back on?

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I think it was just Grizzly's tires. The replacements have been on for a couple of years now and show no signs of wear. I don't think the saw is particularly hard on the tires. It has always tracked perfectly and resaws beautifully. I bought them from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1