Looking for recommendations for, joiner,planer, bandsaw

[David Zaret]

i'm a fan of combo machines - i own a big one - but here, i agree with steve. if you have the space (which i would presume you do given the circumstances), get separate machines. for a sole worker in limited space, a combo machine is great. for a school workshop... steve's on the mark here.

Are you sure you want a combo j/p machine? I'd go with separates if you're putting together a student workshop. If someone's using the machine for planing, then they're also tying up the jointer... you'll have a lot of people waiting around for their turn. I've spent time in shared workshops and when shop time is limited you want to be as efficient as possible.

[Jason Ramey]

Good point, we are a very small shop and it would save a bit of space as i am looking at placing a Vega edge sander where our 8 inch Powermatic planer now sits as we will be getting rid of that. But... if I don’t go with the combo machine that brings me back to the 15 inch Powermatic planer and 12” jointer with shelix head which should put me under 10,000 for the pair. I’m pretty sure that the electrician won’t have issues with the ul listing. He also did mention that we would just use a buck boost transformer on each machine so that seems to be solved for now.

[Mike Kees]

I do not know how this works in the U.S. Here in Alberta/Canada we have an inspection service for machines that enter the country without a CSA sticker. All Euro equipment I have seen has one of these blue stickers from the dealers that certifies it . I would assume the U.S. would have some similar system ?

[Mike Kees]

Jason ask the Felder rep how that works.They would have to know.

[Jason Ramey]

Jason ask the Felder rep how that works.They would have to know.

Hi Mike, he doesn't seem to have a clear answer. I am getting in touch with our electrical inspector to see what he says...will hopefully know tomorrow.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, the motor will not have a UL approval, that's not a problem as the entire machine needs an approval, which if the motor meets requirements, isn't an issue.

In Canada Felder have the machines made to Canadian standards and are field inspected at the dealer, and an approval issued.

Regards, Rod.

[Jason Ramey]

Thanks Rod, I will look into that,

[Jason Ramey]

I just placed an order for the Nova voyager 58000 drill press so that’s one machine down and many more to go. Next up is the lathe but the dollar amount hinges on me excluding a few luxury items from the budget. Does anyone have input on the Laguna LT 18 bandsaw?
Looks like a nice machine and would add about 8-900 to my lathe budget. This would put me in the Robust Sweet 16 range and possibly the American beauty( which was recommended by a few folks in the turners forum) and all of the above machines are 220 so they can be plugged into existing outlets. We would still be doing an electrical upgrade but the above options would have us up and running right away, except for the jointer/planer combo .... Which is 230

[Van Huskey]

Does anyone have input on the Laguna LT 18 bandsaw? Looks like a nice machine and would add about 8-900 to my lathe budget.

The Laguna LT18HD is a good saw, it is built by ACM in Italy with Baldor motors and Laguna's guides substituted for the normal ACM spec. I prefer the SCM/Formula saws (built by Centauro in Italy) as they are built heavier but they don't make an 18" though I would be hard pressed to choose between the Formula 400 and the LT18 but I am kinda an SCM homer when it comes to new bandsaws.

[Carl Beckett]

Does anyone have input on the Laguna LT 18 bandsaw?

I have an LT18, but am not an expert (I just use it!). It has a Baldor motor (4hp?). One question I would dig into is the drive belt. It uses a single relatively small drive belt (3/8" I believe). Which has slipped on me from time to time. It is entirely possible I am asking it to do too much at those times.

Am curious myself to whether this is a typical size drive belt or if other saws use a larger belt or doubles even...

[Van Huskey]

One question I would dig into is the drive belt. It uses a single relatively small drive belt (3/8" I believe). Which has slipped on me from time to time. It is entirely possible I am asking it to do too much at those times.

The MM16/Formula400 MM20/Formula 500 have a 3VX belt which is a cogged 3/8" belt and has 4.8hp. I have never been aware of any slipping even with powerfeed cutting of ~15" veneer in domestic hardwood on a MM20.

[Jason Ramey]

Hi Carl , any chance you could tell me if you see a UL listed sticker on the motor?

[Van Huskey]

Hi Carl , any chance you could tell me if you see a UL listed sticker on the motor?

Keep in mind what Rod pointed out if you indeed have to have a UL listed appliance in order to hook it up the fact the motor is UL listed is not enough, the whole machine would need to be UL certified so that is what you need to verify.

[Jason Ramey]

Keep in mind what Rod pointed out if you indeed have to have a UL listed appliance in order to hook it up the fact the motor is UL listed is not enough, the whole machine would need to be UL certified so that is what you need to verify.

Thanks Van. I just talked to our inspector and got a bit more info. It's definitely a no go on the Felder and/or any Minimax products. I have been talking to Laguna today and got a quote for the Lt 2417 Italian made band saw. It looks like a nice machine. I am also looking at the 20 inch Laguna 4 post planer and the 12 inch parallelogram jointer. I wasn't originally thinking I'd go with Laguna but I'm getting close to making the order as they are able to CSA certify all three machines for a fee. They are the only people I have found so far who will do this. I was looking at the Powermatic 12 inch jointer with Byrd cutter and the tech guy said that machine isn't even fully certified but the 8 inch version is certified.

[Van Huskey]

I wasn't originally thinking I'd go with Laguna but I'm getting close to making the order as they are able to CSA certify all three machines for a fee.

Where are you located? If you need CSA certification that can be done by both SCM and Felder, they do it all the time for Canadian customers since Canada is much more strict about these things than the US. Rod could probably explain it, at least on the Felder side.