Hello everyone, I'm a hobbyist working out of a one car garage (12X19) shop. I have mostly been building up a Festool tool collection with some hand tools thrown into the mix. I've got a Sawstop JSS pro that I use for ripping but am looking to replace that with my first and hopefully last bandsaw. I would like a bandsaw for ripping, resawing and a bit of joinery work. I've got a nice Jet scrollsaw I use for small parts and templates. With the pandemic and supply issues it seems like just getting any saw is a challenge so I was hoping to get some advice.

I went to a local supplier last week and they had the Laguna 1412 on the floor and the sales person tried to pressure me into the 14BX they had in the back. I declined as I wanted to measure out how much space it would take up in my shop. I made a spreadsheet of all the bandsaws I thought I would like and got out the painters tape to measure footprints. For a few extra inches the Laguna 18BX and Powermatic PM 1500 looked much better to me.

My short list is the Laguna 18BX, Powermatic PM 1500, Hammer N4400 or MiniMax S440P. Looking around Canadian sites it looks like Hammer and MiniMax are out of stock everywhere. There are a few Powermatics I can get shipped (just waiting to hear back on shipping costs). I see the Laguna's in stock locally but I've read and seen some bad issues with quality control and customer service on the Laguna's.

I looked briefly at Rikon's but am not sure how they stack up. I was talking to someone who upgraded their Rikon with the DVR motor. That also sounds interesting if it helps with resawing.

I'm really not sure which direction to go. Cost isn't as important as buying a machine that just works out of the box. I don't want to have to spend weeks troubleshooting a new tool or waiting for replacement parts. I also don't want to go buy something smaller like the Laguna 14BX, get it to my shop and then wish I had bought something a little bigger and go through the hassle of trying to sell it to get a bigger saw.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks