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Thread: Thoughts on selecting appropriate "sized" power equipment

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
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    New Hampshire
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    29
    16" Laguna on CL for $800...
    "Used little" Tag says 1999.
    Anyone familiar with these? Seems like a steal?
    https://vermont.craigslist.org/tls/d...003924396.html

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
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    Marina del Rey, Ca
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jay Champagne View Post
    16" Laguna on CL for $800...
    "Used little" Tag says 1999.
    Anyone familiar with these? Seems like a steal?
    https://vermont.craigslist.org/tls/d...003924396.html
    This should be a very capable machine at a great price. I'd go for it.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

  3. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Jay Champagne View Post
    16" Laguna on CL for $800...
    "Used little" Tag says 1999.
    Anyone familiar with these? Seems like a steal?
    https://vermont.craigslist.org/tls/d...003924396.html
    I have that same saw. It is made by an Italian company called Meber. For a while Laguna Tools imported their saws and put their branding on them. Later they dropped the line and switched to other suppliers. From what I can see, the one in the ad is the Laguna 16 SEC which is an upgrade over the base model in a few ways - 2.5hp motor, foot brake, rack/pinion guard. I see this one has the euro guides.

    I love my saw. It's the bandsaw I started out with in my cramped one stall garage shop, and now that I have a bit more space, it lives alongside a Minimax MM20. The MM20 is a whole other class of machine, but the Meber is the one I use 90% of the time. I do not think you will outgrow it, but it is possible you will augment it should you get into really demanding ripping and resawing.

    Is $800 a steal? It's a good price. New, that saw sold for about $1300 or $1400. They are hard to come by. I would recommend jumping on it, see if they seller will take $700 and you will have gotten yourself a steal. Looks to be in very good shape. The only caveat is that parts may be hard to come by should you need them. Mine has been going on pretty much all the original components for 20 years.

    A few notes - that saw does not like being over tensioned, so don't fall in for the school of thinking that says more tension is better. It handles narrow blades very well. I have mine up on a four inch platform to get the working table higher because I'm using it for artisan work, curves, intricate cuts sawing very close to a line. If you put a blade like a Lenox Tri-master on it, it will handle demanding ripping and resawing quite well, just not like a monster. Awesome saw, I would never part with mine.
    Hope this helps
    Edwin

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    New Hampshire
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    29
    That was tremendously helpful Edwin!
    Glad to hear you are happy with yours.
    I am in contact with the seller, and have every intent on paying under asking haha.

  5. #20
    In case it's helpful to you, here are a couple of photos of my saw. You'll see why I'm certain it's the same model. The only mods I can speak of, besides my cosmetics, is the booster platform and the Kreg fence, which I mounted easily to the stock angle iron rail. I sanded and polished my table because I didn't care for the rough ground finish that the Craigslist saw apparently still has.

    The only non-user error problem I have ever encountered was when the saw started losing power about 15 years in. It turned out that what was going on was the drive belt had aged to the point of becoming glazed and brittle. I went in for link belt, but if you preferred conventional v belts, any auto parts store would have the right size.

    Yes it lives in the shadow of a $4000 MM20, but the Meber does everything I ask of it from very intricate work to ripping, circle cutting with a jig. If you adjust the table so the blade is cutting parallel to the miter slot and align the fence to the miter slot, you should have zero drift. I hope you score the one you found.

    BTW, the Meber company is still active in Italy. So theoretically parts would be available, but it might be a pain to obtain them.

    saw1.jpgsaw2.jpeg

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Marina del Rey, Ca
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    The 16" machine is an extremely good choice as that size wheel will normally accept a large range of blade widths, including those more suitable for resawing.

    My own shop includes a 16" MiniMax and a 20" Agazzani.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Philadelphia, PA
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    46
    Quote Originally Posted by Jay Champagne View Post
    Thanks for the responses!
    So a few takeaways, and some thoughts I had reinforced.
    The combo jointer/planer was suggested twice, which is interesting because I had not given it much consideration.
    A jointer was a machine I was hoping to do without for the time being. I was going to try to face joint on a planer sled and edge with tracksaw or router. I also have a jointer handplane.
    A bandsaw is one tool where I'd like to buy something in a larger machine.
    So I think for now what I'm leaning toward is a keeping an eye for a deal on a small planer, and a decent bandsaw.
    I've also got a small shop area, and while I can't recommend what to buy I can tell you what I regret having bought already. The floor standing drill press is a waste of space - it's rarely used and I've never had a use for it that a benchtop model couldn't have handled. I've got the lunchbox planer and I've never had a problem with its size or abilities, but I'm frequently trying to work around the limits of my 6" jointer. If you're skilled with the jointer handplane for face jointing that may not be a concern, but the combo machines do look nice. When I was shopping they were relatively new at the retail level and everyone seemed afraid of the changeover time, that doesn't seem to be as much of an issue anymore so I'd recommend looking at one of those. A bandsaw has been on my wishlist for years, I just can't find the space.

  8. #23
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    Jan 2017
    Location
    Marina del Rey, Ca
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    In a very small shop one can actually do without a jointer as long as there is a track saw (which is so easily stored). And mobile bases become even more important so that machines can be conveniently stored against a wall, close together, and brought out only when needed.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    New Hampshire
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    I will be seeing this saw tonight.
    Suggestions for transporting it? It's a pretty long trip, 130 miles or so.
    I have a very good wood deck car trailer. He has a forklift on site (yay!).
    I have no issue drilling/screwing into the trailer deck.
    I've read a bit on methods, laying on its spine, or bolted down as if in a crate. It is on a mobile base which could be removed if needed I imagine.

  10. #25
    Maybe I'm wrong, but I can't see doing without a decent jointer. When I was learning, I did my best without one not realizing their value. Sheet goods aside, seems nothing I ever built fit together very well and it was frustrating. It's amazing how important flat and square is and how easy it is to attain, with a decent jointer. Pair that with a well adjusted planer and you're set. A 6" jointer and lunch box planer will take you a long way.
    Table saw, jointer, planer.

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,685
    Bandaws with welded (Euro style) frames are easy to transport on their spines and can be tipped up off a trailer with reasonable ease...best to have help, of course.
    ------

    Derek, I agree...I wouldn't want to be without my jointer, even though I only use it for flattening faces. It's an essential tool to me for how I work. But some folks work differently.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #27
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Alberta
    Posts
    2,162
    Jay I hauled my Centauro CO 600 home on my flat deck trailer. I took along some 2''x 4'' pieces and an impact driver. I screwed down blocks around the machine and rachet strapped it down (laying on it's spine). My drive home was 340 kms. It did not move at all.

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Austin Texas
    Posts
    1,957
    You can trailer it upright as long as overall height is not an issue, but I would cargo strap the devil out of it so that it was prevented from moving/tipping in any direction. Perhaps drive at a less-than-bat-out-of-hell pace and stop to check the tension on the straps not long after starting out. 86 the "watch this" moments during the trip .
    David

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    New Hampshire
    Posts
    29
    Yes, the more I think about it the less ok I think I am making due without the jointer.
    I can make the space for it, the more equipment I end up with the more creative I will need to be with my organization.
    I've pretty much excluded the ability to store any quantity of wood in this space, so that does change things.
    I have a 1.5 car garage available, and also a good dry basement.
    Mike, that method had crossed my mind also, box the base in with 2x4's screwed to the deck and strap as appropriate.
    I will pretty much come equipped for a variety of methods, and decide the best approach on site. It's not my first rodeo.

  15. #30
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    New Hampshire
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    So I brought that saw home. Layed on its spine, strapped and wrapped. Piece of cake, it wasn't as heavy as I was picturing.
    $600, which I was very happy with. Looks like a machine with very low hours. Clean, ran smooth and quiet. Guy was moving, and was down to the wire, I got the feeling he would have taken a lower offer haha.
    He also had piles of stuff he couldn't get rid of so I got a decent Makita router and a few sharpening tools for the low price of nothing.
    I'm really happy with this purchase and find this is definitely the perfect size for me at the moment. And if I feel the need for a big resaw machine down the line, this one will still have it's place, especially given my cost in it. Win win.

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