Laguna Tools - 14 Twelve (Rating: 4)

The band saw is an amazing tool, or so I am told. I must admit that with my Craftsman 12 inch saw (similar if not the same as the Rikon with 8 inch resaw) that I was not always feeling the thrill. Part of this may have been the fact that I tended to use a compromise blade to avoid changing between resawing and scrolling optimization. I don't have the patience for band saw blade changes and the subsequent tuning. The path of least resistance from my perspective was to get a saw optimized for resaw. Enter the Laguna 14-12.

The Laguna 14-12 is a value oriented saw in the 14 inch market. There certainly are saws half the price and those 2-3 times the price. FWW named it a best value and it is typically available for ~$1,000. You can add a light for $100 (probably not worth it if you ask me since it is oddly placed and pretty expensive) and a mobile kit for $150 (If you need mobility probably a good choice and I feel it works well).

Assembly of the saw was straightforward and the directions are adequate. It is heavy. Get a friend or two. The fit and finish of all the metal is top notch. It absolutely amazed me what a beautifully built saw one can get for this price. The doors, the 10-points of support for the blade with ceramic guides, and the height adjustment scream quality. The table is nicely polished and the two position (high/low) fence stupendous. Sounds like 5 stars right? Well the aluminum insert needed to be filed down to fit easily in the table. Once adjusted it is fantastic (and great dust collection). So why then when I turned it on was the vibration so horrible? The answer is related to the same factors that allow such a saw to be produced with generally excellent quality at such a low price: outsourcing. The problem turned out to be the tires (I actually did not realize it could be such a big deal when the tires basically looked fine). Laguna suggested the source of the problem and believed their supplier was having manufacturing troubles. They sent out another one. After realizing these things were poor quality and not so easy to put on I went to a third party (Sulfur Grove Tool, very helpful and highly recommended based on my single interaction with them). Problem solved…a month later.

Performance has been assessed with test cuts (3/4 inch Timber Wolf blade) of pine 2×4 with fence and some really gnarly cherry free hand. A few more cuts were made to look at curves. I finally understand why people believe the band saw is an amazing tool. For the price, and perhaps at any price, this is an amazing piece of machinery brought to us courtesy of a globalized economy.