Member
What saw do you have? Thats a MONSTER blade unless they used to make more narrow widths, it is 2" only now. If your saw takes a 2" blade I wanna see pics (unless it is the Laguna Resaw Master since I am familiar with it).Originally Posted by David Wong
Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.
Deep thought for the day:
Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.
Contributor
The kerf king I have is a 1.25" blade. I got it in a deal direct from Laguna ($75) in 2009. I think it might have been a SMC offer. I use it on a 2004 Felder 540. I guess Laguna does not offer this width any more.
[OP]
Contributor
Well, I didn't want to do this but I feel I have to so others don't have the same problem. I especially feel bad because I posted their current special in Deals and Discounts, and talked about it here. I'm not happy about having attached my name to this, and sorry to anyone who bought based on reading about that deal here. Hopefully they treated you a little better.
I ordered my blades June 25th. After a couple weeks went by, I sent off a quick e-mail inquiring about the blades. I get a call back saying that they don't know why my blades were delayed so long. Then they upgraded me to 2nd day air shipping and said they would ship them today. Now, at this point I need blades. I can wait for the RK but I need to know what's showing up when and if need be, I can order another Woodslicer to keep me going.
That was last Friday. Weds rolls around, and no blade. Send an e-mail. They call me right back. Finally I get the truth. The machine is busted, but now it's fixed and we'll get the blades right out...sorry. Upgraded me to next day shipping, but it won't go out until Thursday because it's getting late. OK, fine.
"Tim, you're SURE I will have them Friday? I need blades....if you can't get them to me by Friday you need to let me know and I will get another Woodslicer to tide me over". I'm assured up and down that I'll get them Friday.
Friday (yesterday) afternoon I get a call...I recognize the area code and I know it's bad. Someone new calls and essentially tells me the dog ate his homework, someone left early, they got a flat tire on the way to post office, their grandmother died and bottom line, they never shipped them out. Now I'm pretty livid because I've been down for a week and I could have made other arrangements if I had known, but all I get is BS on top of BS on top of BS. Promises me he will ship it out overnight for Saturday delivery.
Get a tracking number...it's not working yet but the e-mail says they went out UPS Ground. I send them an e-mail and tell them to keep their blades. I'm done. Get a call. He ASSURES me that they went out overnight for Saturday delivery. I think, OK...calm down. They're trying. At least I can get caught up over the weekend.
Tracking number starts working. I might get my blades Monday morning.
All they would have ever had to do is send me a quick e-mail 3 weeks ago saying that the machine is busted and that there will be a long delay. OK, fine. I'll bring in some other blades in the meantime and wait to get these wonderful Resaw King blades. The blades would have shown up sometime next week, and I would have been a deliriously happy customer. Even after all this, if they had actually shown up today, as promised, I would be annoyed but I wouldn't be writing this....I was going to just let it go and chalk it up to several people having several bad days in a row.
But no...here we are. One stupid e-mail with an honest, "Hey, the machine's down...we're trying to get it fixed but there's a delay. It might be 2 or 3 weeks...maybe a month" would have been great. When you think how simple it would have been to make me happy, and then you look at how hard they had to work to piss me off, I can't help but wonder if they don't do it on purpose. It's not the delay....I don't care about that. It's the lies and the incredible incompetence.
Anyhow, I hope these blades last for a good, long...VERY LONG....time because I will never buy another Laguna product ever again. Not ever, under any circumstances. This could have been a piece of machinery that was down. I do this for a living and I can't afford to have any equipment in my shop backed up by a company that lies about product status, and then when they finally start telling the truth they drop the ball left and right. It's like doing business with the Three Stooges. Never again.
Last edited by John Coloccia; 07-14-2012 at 10:51 AM.
Guest
Wow, John! In a weak moment after reading this thread, I was almost convinced to try a RK! Apparently, Laguna has a great blade, but I've just heard too many horror stories about their customer service and competence. I guess I'll continue to struggle along with my old (resharpened twice) Trimaster, bi-metal, and the occasional carbon blades I've used sucessfully for years.
Regards
Bob
Member
John, my experience is more or less the same, except that I wasn't in dire need of a blade. At least 3 times I was told that the machine is fixed and the blades will go out tomorrow and each time after two days (and no shipping) when I called they said the same thing. Eventually it was shipped on Friday and it seems I'd get it on Thursday.
Member
I went to the Laguna facility for a David Marks seminar last year. Nice people, gracious hosts, nice machines but I have read these stories about their poor customer service for years.
Recently, on the suggestion of a friend, I ordered some Diamond Sterling blades which are steel and not bi-metal or carbide. I got them from buyfromawoodworker.com which is affiliated with Hal Taylor of rocking chair fame and who's judgement on tools I trust explicitly. I am very happy and feel it out performs the Timberwolf blades I had been using. Turns out a local supplier carries them and will make them up to order so if you are in Los Angeles check out Daily Saw in South Gate.
I know the Lennox blades are also held in high regard but haven't tried them yet.
Contributor
John, I don't know why honesty is so hard. When I consult with business I always tell them to fall on their own sword when crap happens. At least you can pick the spot of the wound. My experience is that when that stuff happens over a period of time it is a reflection of the values at the top.
Contributor
John
Wow! that's a lousy way for Laguna to conduct themselves. I've actually wanted to try a RK blade. Maybe in time
I have been using a 1" Lennox Tri-Master, 2/3 varipitch on my Rikon 10-340 since the day I got it. It is dedicated solely to resawing and believe me, it does it well. I know that the width of the blade is supposed to have little impact on resaw function, as evidenced by the amount of folks that use much smaller width blades, but I like the wider blade.
As Van stated the finished cut is reflective of technique, and in my case a somewhat unstable floor. Even with that floor problem I can keep the statistical deviation of the resawn thickness to a very small number, and I tend to resaw some fairly long material. On short lengths,< 36", It's virtually zero deviation.
Your saw is every bit the equal of mine, and probably better, It should be able to handle the 1" Tri-Master if you want to go that route.
"The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)
[OP]
Contributor
I may try the Woodmaster CT next. From some of the comparisons I've read, I believe it outlasts the RK by a large margin and is far and away a better value when you factor in original purchase price, sharpening, etc. I don't think you can sharpen the Woodmaster, but I've heard that it lasts long enough it doesn't matter. Wish I had done that in the first place.
Thinking about it, Mike, my 1" blade issues were all with Timbewolf blades, and I believe much of it had to do with bad welds. I don't know why but I've gotten a lot of Timberwolf blades with bad welds. I've also gotten Woodslicers with bad welds but only one or two.
Last edited by John Coloccia; 07-15-2012 at 6:53 AM.
Contributor
I'm using a 1" Timberwolf carbide-tipped blade on my 18" Laguna. It's well-made, leaves a smooth finish, and can be re-sharpened. I've sent it back once so far, and the re-sharpen was great. On the down side, it's slow (when cutting 14" thick maple), and requires a lot of horsepower. I'd also recommend you think about a custom fence. I re-saw wood that is 4' or so long, and have built a fence that is almost 7' long so that the workpiece is supported well on both sides of the blade.
Contributor
I am having same issue as john on rk purchase what really bothers me is they charged my card day of purchase, with no idea of when going to fill order.
Contributor
No dog in this fight except to say that when folks as me for the best finish-cut blade, I always suggest the Lenox Tri-Master and then point them to a vendor such as bandsaw-blades-direct-dot-com or any of the other blade vendors who get mentioned here. Never had one complaint from a referral in all these years. I always suggest buying tooling or accessories from a company who specializes in just that. Just my 2-cents.
Erik Loza
Minimax USA
[OP]
Contributor
What size and tooth set do you recommend?
Contributor
For what type of project?
Erik Loza
Minimax USA
[OP]
Contributor
It would go onto a Grizzly G0514X2...I'd love to have an MM16 but I haven't talked anyone into sending me one yet!I build guitars. I resaw all sorts of wood, from a couple of inches think for bookmatched headstock veneers (ebony, bocote, walnut, etc) to 8" hard maple for tops. I also use it in place of my table saw 90% of the time...I'd love it to be 100% of the time, actually, but the precision just isn't quite there for me yet, no doubt because of my saw and blade. I dimension almost all of my wood on it. The only time I use my table saw these days is when I need something absolutely precise, because it's going into a jig or something like that, or when I'm doing plywood/MDF because I don't want to kill my Woodslicer. I don't think that's as much of a concern for a carbide blade considering how little plywood I use.
So basically, I want everything. Good resawing and a table saw replacement. Honestly, I would get rid of the table saw in a heartbeat if I could really get enough precision out of a bandsaw. Ditto for a planer...I'd rather just cut to thickness than send it through that contraption.
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