14" bandsaw, PM or Jet?

[Randy Heinemann]

If you're now choosing between Jet and Laguna, I'd pick Jet every time. JPW makes both Jet and Powermatic. I have owned a Jet jointer for 7 years and have been satisfied with it. The Powermatic version would have been quite a bit more money and there were some advantages, but the Jet has been a very solid machine. I think I have seen more negative feedback on Laguna than Jet, but that's probably a function of where I go online compared to others.

Also, I have owned a Rikon 14" for about 7-8 years and can resaw anything I need to resaw up to 11", but I've never needed to resaw over 9". The 1.5 HP motor requires a tiny bit more patience with wider boards than a larger motor would but it still does the job and does it well. With bandsaw, setup is really the key to getting good results no matter what size you have. So, I suppose it would be nice to be able to resaw a 12" board, but I don't think I've ever needed to resaw a board that wide.

[Michael Drew]

The saw I bought is the Laguna 18bx.

[Curt Harms]

Thank you, Rod.

I'm actually reconsidering the 14" saws in general. The local Laguna dealer told me they have a 12/14 on order and I can claim it. But, it's on backorder, and they don't know when it will ship. So it seems I might as well just get a larger machine anyway, if I end up ordering one. I've almost convinced myself to just bite the bullet and place an order for the Laguna 18/BX. It's about 3K. Doesn't really look like the footprint is much more than the 14".

I'd probably just keep the 12" saw I have, and fit an 1/8" blade to it (3/8" is the max anyway). Keep a larger, 1" blade on the 18" for resaw work.

If you have the room & the budget, by all means increase your bandsaw count by one. If you use a band saw much, switching blades can get old. As far as brands, I don't think I've ever seen a complaint about a Grizzly 17" that didn't involve shipping damage. Bandsaws and table saws are machines that Grizzly seems to do a good job with.

Edit: I see you bought a machine. Congrats and use it in good health.