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Thread: Laguna Italian Resaw Master Bandsaw feedback? (18" wheels, accommodating 2" blade)

  1. #1
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    Laguna Italian Resaw Master Bandsaw feedback? (18" wheels, accommodating 2" blade)

    Hello folks,

    Does anyone here have any experience with the Laguna "Italian Resaw Master Bandsaw"? This 18” model is unusual for being (by far) the smallest saw I am aware of to accommodate 2” blades, which seems theoretically appealing. Unfortunately, there has not yet been much commentary about this model.

    As a hand-tool focused woodworker with limited space and even more limited sound isolation (jointer or planer out of the question), I do my milling and rough squaring on the bandsaw before refining the faces with hand planes. Typically I laminate quarter-sawn blocks of eastern maple or white oak, and then resew strips or panels of the desired thickness to make furniture and boxes.

    Currently, I perform this task on a US-made Delta 14 bandsaw running a 3 TPI 1/2” bi-metal blade. Although the saw has performed admirably for the size, there is certainly room for improvement. When compared with my results from a Hammer N4400 running a 1” Resaw King, for example, I find it takes me twice as long to clean up my cuts made on the Delta. As a result, I would like to streamline my workflow by adding a much sturdier bandsaw for ripping and re-sawing.

    But what bandsaw to choose, for straight cutting only with a ~$5,000 budget (and a 96” ceiling)? Again: my goal is to achieve the cleanest, squarest results off the saw so I can reduce the drudgery of all that hand planing. Ideally the saw would also accommodate 16” of resawing, but the real priority is squareness. My research suggests that using the widest properly tensioned blade possible will help me achieve this goal, although I have no experience with blades wider than 1". The 2” Resaw King blade certainly seems to fit that bill, but the only saw I am aware of that accommodates it within my limitations is the $4,700 Laguna Italian Resaw Master.

    If you were me: would you go for the Laguna Italian Resaw Master model, or give up on the 2” blade and buy a more typical saw (like a used Minimax or Hammer)?

    Thanks for your time.


    Best regards,

    Ryan Lloyd

  2. #2
    Ryan,

    I’ll throw in my 2c. I recently moved my shop to a bandsaw centric shop and use it for all my cuts. For cross cuts/ripping up to about 6/4 I have a bimetal 5/8 variable tpi blade which gives me great results. For anything above 6/4 I go to my trimaster 2/3 variable tpi blade. Both blades are 1” on a Felder FB510.

    I get excellent results with both blades that require only a pass or two with a hand plane to be perfectly smooth. I don’t know that going wider would be beneficial.

    That being said I have a Hammer A3-31 J/P with the spiral head and it’s easily as quiet as my bandsaw.

    My main tools are the J/P and the BS with a smaller 2hp dust collector because I too have a small shop footprint and noise worries.

    I went with the 20” BS because I wanted a larger table for cross cuts which was way more important than resaw capacity (limited by 12” J/P). If it’s your primary cutting tool I’d consider a larger table over a 2” blade.

  3. #3
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    I'm not sure if a 17" saw will run a Lenox Woodmaster CT 1", 1.3 TPI blade or not, but if it will, I'd put a couple of hundred dollars in trying one before buying another bandsaw. It's a much thicker blade than the Resaw King, and puts a better cut on a board, on my 24" saw, at about 20 times the speed, as a Resaw King on my 14" saw.

  4. #4
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    Well, i'm not precisely sure what you mean by squareness (cross-cut? to the face?), but I'll suggest that, in most any case, the answer is that you're looking at the wrong tool for the purpose. A table saw, jointer or possibly a mitre saw would be a better solution.

    I seriously doubt a 2" blade is going to do much for you besides increase your kerf width and cost you a lot of money.

    Mike

  5. #5
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    I think the Hitachi CB75F has you beat on size.

  6. #6
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    Thanks for your feedback, everyone.

    Michael: Interesting comment about the Felder Jointer/Planer being similarly quiet to your bandsaw. I also take your point about the virtues of the larger table. For the relatively few crosscuts I make, I’d rather rely on my 12” Ryoba than set up my bandsaw for a different blade.

    Tom: Thanks for bringing the Lenox Woodmaster CT to my attention. I am confident that my 14” Delta will not adequately handle that blade, but I will consider it carefully when I acquire a larger saw.

    Mike: By squareness I mean taking rough lumber and making all four faces flat and the corners 90 degrees. I agree with you that the bandsaw is not the ideal tool for this, but the equipment you describe is out of the question for me.

    Matt: Thanks for bringing the Hitachi CB75F to my attention. I was unaware of that saw.


    Regards,
    Ryan

  7. #7
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    2" blade over 18" wheels sounds like a recipe to break blades to me, have you got any idea how hard it will be to even handle a 2" blade?
    Chris

    Everything I like is either illegal, immoral or fattening

  8. #8
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    You need to look at band thickness. A 1" Lenox has a band of .035. the 1.25" goes to .042 and I'm not sure there is an 18" saw that will tension it, let alone a 2" blade. I don't run a Lenox wider than 1" on my 36" saw but tension it to 30,000. Cut quality is good enough that hand feeding inconsistency causes the only irregularity in the cut. Resaw machines that are made to run 2" blades are way heavier machines than you are contemplating. The old hitachi ran a stellite 2" resaw but the band was very thin and had no more beam strength than the Lenox 1" Trimaster. Dave

  9. #9
    I had a Makita 2116 resaw bandsaw that I bought in the early 80s and it had 16” wheels. I think it came with a 2” blade or maybe it was 1 1/2”. Can’t remember which. I think Ryobi made one in that class in those days too.

  10. #10
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    Folks, I'm skeptical of this saw too. But the fact is that Laguna designed the Resaw Master model specifically to run the 2" Resaw King blade, so presumably they think it works. Is it primarily a marketing gimmick for people who who prefer to talk about their tools than use them, or is there a legitimate reason why these 2" blades and corresponding saws exist?

    As a person without any experience with blades larger than 1", I'm looking for feedback from those who have. If there is an advantage to a 2" blade for the applications I have described then I am prepared to make the investment in order to support my unusual workflow. If there is no significant advantage then I would prefer to save some money by purchasing instead the best used saw I can find.

    Thanks for your help.

    Regards,
    Ryan

    *Edited for formatting
    Last edited by Ryan Lloyd; 05-13-2018 at 1:04 AM.

  11. #11
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    I agree with Michael above; resawing wide stock on a bandsaw is easily as loud, if not louder, than jointing on a machine with an insert head. If noise is your primary concern you might be chasing the wrong end of the dog here. Additionally, what are you going to do about dust collection? A big bandsaw with a resaw blade makes tons of dust...

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ryan Lloyd View Post
    Thanks for your feedback, everyone.

    Michael: Interesting comment about the Felder Jointer/Planer being similarly quiet to your bandsaw. I also take your point about the virtues of the larger table. For the relatively few crosscuts I make, I’d rather rely on my 12” Ryoba than set up my bandsaw for a different blade.

    Tom: Thanks for bringing the Lenox Woodmaster CT to my attention. I am confident that my 14” Delta will not adequately handle that blade, but I will consider it carefully when I acquire a larger saw.

    Mike: By squareness I mean taking rough lumber and making all four faces flat and the corners 90 degrees. I agree with you that the bandsaw is not the ideal tool for this, but the equipment you describe is out of the question for me.

    Matt: Thanks for bringing the Hitachi CB75F to my attention. I was unaware of that saw.


    Regards,
    Ryan
    Sorry. I thought you also had an N4400.

  13. #13
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    I have a Mininax MM20, it’s a beautiful saw and I use it often and daily with a Lenox CT wood master. I’ve worn out four wood master ct blades on it in a year to give you an idea of how much time I put on it.

    Chasing an off the saw finish with big rip jobs is a fool’s errand. Wood reacts as it is sawn and tension is released, so even if the sawn face is beautiful the result will still need re-jointing and thicknessing. That said, it’s a beautifully accurate saw.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  14. #14
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    From my perspective the only thing a 2" wide blade will give you is the ability to cut faster, assuming the teeth can clear the sawdust. Cut accuracy or quality won't be any better than with a 1" or even narrower blade. Those who mentioned the 1" x 1.3 tpi Woodmaster CT above know what an amazing combination of speed and smoothness that blade can yield. I had one on my 17" Grizzly; so whoever asked if you can run that blade on a 17" saw - yes, you can if it can put adequate tension on it. That blade will cut about as smoothly as the Resaw King but a lot faster in thick wood.

    For your needs, I think the MM16 or Grizzly G0636X would meet all your needs and fit well within your budget. A step up from there would be the MM20, if it will fit under your ceiling. And, as mentioned above, with any resaw BS you need really good dust collection.

    John

  15. #15
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    As long as we're measuring/comparing um.....band size - Hitachi also made a CB100f that is about twice the size of the 7CB75

    Digital fence and a whopping 4" blade.

    I agree with the rest of the guys that band width isn't the be all end all for slicing veneers. That said, a 14" delta isn't the right tool for the job. If you're doing this on a regular basis you really need something larger and with more horsepower. Laguna's Resaw Master would fit that bill, but it's not the only or even the best choice. Laguna has simply packaged a saw and a blade together to market to the resaw crowd.

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