All Replies on Laguna vs Rikon

http://lumberjocks.com/topics/38400

I’d type Laguna problems in the search tab on the upper right and ponder
their lack of customer service.

I have a rikon 14”deluxe it is a good bandsaw. I do not find changing the blade that difficult or time consuming.

I just purchased a Rikon 10-325, based on the great reviews of fellow LJ’s and inspecting one up close at the local Woodcraft store, but have not taken it out of the box yet.
I also looked at the new Laguna, and it has some really nice features, but I was put off by all the negative customer service issues.

-- Randy - "I dont make mistakes, I make design change opportunities" www.knotheadswoodshed.com

I have the Laguna 16HD and up until this year had no issues with it. Baldor motor failed after very little use.

It is a massive saw and I would purchase again.

-- Randy "You are judged as much by the questions you ask as the answers you give..."

My vote is for the Rikon 10-325. I keep a Timber Wolf 3/4in 3TPI blade on mine and use it for resawing roughcut lumber to thickness. The blade tension release lever is a must-have feature, IMO.

-- HorizontalMike -- "Woodpeckers understand..."

What kind of work do you want to do on a band saw?

My needs are (like everybody) a little of everything. I have a fair amount of wood available to cut down into boards, I would like to have the ability to make bookmatched boards, I find the need for making curved cuts quite a lot. So yeah, a little of everything.
It does seem like Laguna has mixed reviews on customer service. I could deal with that if its a quality product.

-- Everywhere is walking distance...if you have the time.

I have the Rikon 14” Deluxe, it’s a great saw using 110v or rewiring it for 220v. I have had it for almost 2 years, I do a lot of resawing of rosewoods, ebonies, maples, mahogany and walnut with it, and some occasional shape cutting. With a 3/4” 3TPI Olson All Pro or Woodslicer, I can resaw anything quite nicely, even 12” curly Purpleheart. with a 5/8” or 1/2”, I cut out guitar bodies in everything from white Ash to Poplar and can keep within 1/32” without any effort at all. The saw is absolutely my favorite. My poor 12” Jet has been sitting a lot since I got the Rikon. Blade changes take 90 seconds with a 5mm allen and the quick release lever on the saw. The Rikon will serve you well, and the bearing guides are wonderful for keeping the blade in place.

-- a man never fails, he just quits trying.

Laguna and ask for Benny for customer support.

-- Sam Hamory - The project is never finished until its "finished"!

John, how much do you have for a new band saw?

-- "someone has to be wounded for others to be saved, someone has to sacrifice for others to feel happiness, someone has to die so others could live"

I found an old article from Popular woodworking (2006) It’s got a lot of good info that I am after, although I would like to see the Laguna lt14 3000 in that comparison. Eitherway, Rikon is looking like a pretty good bet. Too bad I didn’t buy it back then for 750!
http://www.rikontools.com/articles/popwoodarticle.pdf
And I plan to spend in the ballpark of a grand, although if I landed on the Laguna, I realize I would have to spend more. Thanks for the input guys!

-- Everywhere is walking distance...if you have the time.

John, have you had a chance to try the saws in person?

I have used 18” Rikon, Grizzly, and Laguna bandsaws. The quality of the Laguna is head and shoulders above the others, and that’s the saw I have. The Rikon and Grizzly were both pretty good saws that give decent bang for the buck.

I have not seen the 14” Grizzly or Rikon saws. The Laguna 14” is not in the same league as Laguna’s bigger saws. But it is a pretty nice saw compared to other 14” saws I have seen.

I am one of those who has had very good experiences with Laguna’s customer service. Obviously, there are others who have not. But you can read all about that elsewhere.

-- Kelby

Hate to bust your bubble both bandsaws you are looking at made in China. Some major brands asked pictures of their woodworking machines not be shown on China web sites.
Went through ten pages of bandsaw reviews here and only found two reviews listed for Laguna LT SUV14” bandsaw. Stopped counting all the reviews for Rikon 10-235 bandsaw.

http://www.rikontools.com/productpage_10-325.htm
http://www.lagunatools.com/bandsaws/bandsaw-lt143000s

Rikon comes with five year warranty, Laguna one year.

If were buying a 14” bandsaw today would go with the Rikon. Good luck with whatever bandsaw you get.

-- Bill

Laguna has bandsaws made in China and in Italy. Their Italian saws are better. Unfortunately, Laguna CS has had a very poor reputation for a long time….enough so that I’d be cautious buying anything from them. Have you looked into Minimax at all?

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

I bought my Rikon 10-325 as soon as they came out and got it for $750. I’m sure glad I did. It’s been a great saw. Changing blades isn’t hard and it doesn’t take very long either. But changing blade sizes and repositioning the blade guides does take time… So, I found a Rigid 14” bandsaw on Craig’s List for $125 and I keep a 1/4” blade on it and a 3/4” blade on my big saw for resawing. I use one or the other of my saws, every day!

-- Hal, Tennessee http://www.first285.com

There you go Hal. One of these days I just might do the same and pick up another BS for thinner blade work. I have squeaked by once with my 16in Scrollsaw but it was NOT a pretty sight. Sometimes it seems like leaving the 3/4in blade on my 14in Rikon is limiting its use, however, when I calculate how much I am saving every time I resaw my 8/4 and 12/4 stock, I get over that feeling quickly. Seriously, it shouldn’t be that much longer before I can say that it has paid for itself.

-- HorizontalMike -- "Woodpeckers understand..."

Do a search on “Laguna Tools Customer service” and you will find a sea of incredibly unhappy customers. Add to that the fact that Laguna is mving, or has already moved, to Chinese made. My guess is that they no longer offer any product that is significantly better than others. I used to think Grizzly was junk but now suspect that, given their apparently superior CS, they would be a much better bet. If you do go with Laguna, I hope you have an extremely high tolerance for pain.

-- Dwight - "Free legal advice available - contact Dewey, Cheetam & Howe""

I have a LT16 and a Rikon 18” (and a delta 14” and a Felder FB-540). I’m going to sell the Rikon. I replaced the motor after 1 year and it has more flex in it than the other saws.

Personally, I would buy a used saw like Agazani, Italian Laguna model, Minimax, other italian made saws, or an “old iron” saw.

-- Sorry the reply is so long. I didn't have time to write a short reply.

I know its been a long time coming, but I figured that I would update you all as to what I ended up doing and thank you all for your information. I agree that some of the old iron is better as is anything not made in China/Taiwan, problem here is finding one. I have searched craigslist and the classifieds as well as most of the tool/pawn shops for the last year. The closest I could find was a Laguna 18” on CL for 2500. A little out of my price range. Seems there is not much for woodworking around here. If you want a welder or an air compressor, they are a dime a dozen. Sooo, I ended up getting a Rikon…from China. Its okay. I will admit it is not the best saw ever, but part of that is getting it dialed in. I am liking it better as I go/tune. The blade that came with it turned out to be junk, but not in a dull kind of way. The saw was making a harsh banging sound when I first fired it up that would only go away when I got the guide bearings 1/8” away. As I turned it slowly by hand, I would have a gap, and then it would jump backwards into the bearing. Luckily I ordered a couple extra blades with it and as soon as I changed it, it was quiet. I made my first bandsaw box with it this week (pics to follow) and that seemed to work really well. All of the errors were cause I didn’t think the project all the way out, but the saw worked great. I really appreciate all of your input. In the end it was a toss up between the Griz 17 and the Rikon 14. The only reason I went with the Rikon was blade selection. Anyway, thanks again for all the advice.

-- Everywhere is walking distance...if you have the time.

I had to replaced 5 (Five) motors in the first year on my Laguna———- then got cussed out by thier “Top Salesman” for telling everyone.
One motor arrived dead in the box——never even unpacked it.

Me I have a PowerMatic 14” and I can only think of one negitive, and I can live with that. That is the Mustard color other wise its a ral band saw also

-- retired GM/Delphi , Retired USN/USAFR

That totally sucks GaryMax. And yes, Davyj, I agree the powermatic is a good option, I just wanted more resaw height (without a riser block)
I also forgot to mention, that the Rikon came with a big puncture in the box that luckily had only hit a large piece of styrofoam. There was however a set screw that I cannot for the life of me find where it goes. I have looked high and low and have been monitoring it very closely, but I don’t see one missing anywhere. Whatever.

-- Everywhere is walking distance...if you have the time.

Just do a search on Laguna on Ljs that should be enough for you to consider other options.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

So I am liking the Rikon. Yeah, there are probably better pieces, but it works just fine for me. I think the light could have been placed in a more user friendly place, but it works. It does take a couple minutes to change blades. Long enough that I try not to if I don’t have to. I found out the hard way that you need a “V” block to cut rounds like tree branches. I think I have effectively wrecked 2 Timberwolf blades. Any body know how to fix a bent blade? It seams to be bent to the front. I got the twist out of it, but as it comes around, it jumps off the guide and into the stock. Makes cutting with them kinda scetchy. Also where a guy could get other blades for it would be helpful. Thanks for all the input.

-- Everywhere is walking distance...if you have the time.

I don’t understand the problem of finding blades for a particular bandsaw. I can go to any area saw shop (2 locally, in my small town—Bellingham,WA, and yes, I do shop at Grizzly, and yes, their blades are lousy) and have a blade custom made up, any length I want. Costs no more than a factory sourced blade.

I have had two Laguna table saws and two Laguna bandsaws. I sold the table saw with the sliding fence because I needed more shop space and didn’t use that option as much as I thought I would. I’ve had my second Laguna TS for 10 years and it still works like a dream. I have had a few minor problems, but Laguna was just a phone call away.
As for bandsaws, I initially had the 14” and sold that to get the 20” resaw bandsaw. Again I had a few hiccups, but a call to Laguna got me a part or any suggestions that was necessary. I can’t speak for other saws, but my saws are awesome. They are dependable power horses that are the heart of my shop. The one thing that Laguna stresses that other companies don’t is safety. If I were designing a saw, there are some minor improvements I would add, but overall these saws have never disappointed me. Every Laguna that I’ve purchased was made in Europe.
Whatever saw you purchase will either be a great partnership or end a separation. The only way you’ll know how that goes is to try it out and see what happens. Good luck….....

-- cathyb, Hawaii, www.cathyswoodworking.com