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New Laguna 18" Bandsaw

Review by Wade Putnam posted 98 days ago 1201 views 0 times favorited 24 comments Add to Favorites
View Wade Putnam's profile

Wade Putnam

49 posts in 270 days


New Laguna 18" Bandsaw New Laguna 18" Bandsaw New Laguna 18" Bandsaw Click the pictures to enlarge them

Received my 18 ” saw and a Driftmaster Fence about three weeks ago, and the experience has been trying.
First I received my copy of the invoice on Saturday, before my saw was to be delivered on Tuesday.
When reviewing the invoice I discovered Laguna had shipped me a 16HD instead of the 18 I had ordered.
Couldn’t speak with the sales rep until Monday the day before scheduled delivery to advise him of the mistake, (this was after waiting weeks for delivery).The sales rep admitted it was an error on there part and he would stop delivery and send the 18, another 3 week wait!!!!!!
The delivery truck shows up as scheduled and promptly backs over my mail box.

Now for the DRIFTMASTER, no manual with it and the on line video and on line manual doesn’t match what I received and I am still not sure I have installed correctly.
Why the studs on the fence rail didn’t match the existing holes doesn’t makes sense, and the universal mounting brackets are a royal pain, especially if your not sure if the hardware your using is being mounted correctly since it doesn’t match any manuals or videos.

Now for the good news, after all the hassle I will say that the saw is awesome and it was worth all the trouble.
It cuts very accurately and has taken the place of my table saw for a lot of cuts. Very well constructed, just not documented very well in regards to assembly of drift master.

-- Wade, Nashville, www.casetn.com


24 comments so far

View PurpLev's profile

PurpLev

355 posts in 189 days


posted 98 days ago

thats one big Laguna…. congrats.

-- My Drinking Club has a Woodworking Problem...

View MVWOODWORKS's profile

MVWOODWORKS

156 posts in 255 days


posted 98 days ago

Thats alot of bandsaw!! I wouldnt expect that much trouble with a Laguna product. Sounds like you are happy with your purchase. Thanks for sharing!!

-- Pat, Colorado

View sIKE's profile

sIKE

605 posts in 294 days


posted 98 days ago

Man look at the size of the freakishly large blade there!

-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"

View FlWoodRat's profile

FlWoodRat

308 posts in 449 days


posted 98 days ago

Wade, that bandsaw is almost as good looking as your shop mate. Hope you have loads of time to enjoy keeping company with both of them. LOL.

-- Smile. Life can be FUN!

View Chris 's profile

Chris

1261 posts in 531 days


posted 97 days ago

I must admit to suffering from tool envy. Very nice saw; How big is that blade?

-- Chris

View motthunter's profile

motthunter

1234 posts in 339 days


posted 97 days ago

nice saw… I have to wonder how they can crew up the customer service so badly

-- making sawdust....

View SCOTSMAN's profile

SCOTSMAN

539 posts in 125 days


posted 97 days ago

I bought a big bandsaw too its a 23 inch and cuts eighteen inch height of cut they are fantastice well done I hope you have long years of life to enjoy God Bless Alistair ps your wife looks beautiful too.

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

View thetimberkid's profile

thetimberkid

1684 posts in 243 days


posted 97 days ago

Great looking saw!

Thanks for the post

Callum

-- Look great, get your TTK merchandise now! http://www.printfection.com/thetimberkid/ Check out my site http://thetimberkid.blogspot.com/

View lclashley's profile

lclashley

231 posts in 654 days


posted 97 days ago

Wow…cool saw! I’ve heard a similar story about Laguna service however. Thanks

View Doug S.'s profile

Doug S.

218 posts in 248 days


posted 97 days ago

Congratulations. That ought to keep you out of mischief for a while. I’m actually quasi-interested in the idea of stocking a Driftmaster on my Minimax BS. If it’s any consolation the documentation that comes with Minimax saws aint much better than having none at all. Great saws but their manuals suck. MM customer service is pretty good at answering questions but if the Laguna experience is similar to the MM one, your best bet for good advice is an online user group of Laguna owners.

-- Use the fence Luke

View JerryS's profile

JerryS

35 posts in 150 days


posted 95 days ago

That sure is a big Bandsaw , I’m glad to hear everything worked for you and your happy with the saw . That little dolly you move the saw around with is kool .

Thanks for the review .

View trifern's profile

trifern

5051 posts in 307 days


posted 95 days ago

Thanks for the review. Looks like a great band saw.

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

View woodworm's profile

woodworm

1224 posts in 131 days


posted 94 days ago

Thanks for the review. And the board you’re holding looks evenly and smoothly ripped by this saw.
I hope I could have one smaller BS in my workshop. But.. I am not familiar with the sizes of BS. If you don’t mind, can you roughly tell me the relation of the wheel size to the cutting hight’s capacity?

-- Regards, Woodworm

View CraftsmanCollective's profile

CraftsmanCollective

42 posts in 102 days


posted 94 days ago

mmmmm. Im suffering from bansaw envy. Yours is bigger than mine.

-- R.Myer Design|Build

View Wade Putnam's profile

Wade Putnam

49 posts in 270 days


posted 94 days ago

To answer Woodworm’s question, the wheel is 18” and the resaw is 18 3/8

-- Wade, Nashville, www.casetn.com

View Karson's profile

Karson

14328 posts in 941 days


posted 94 days ago

I have a driftmaster installed on my Taiwanese 18” bandsaw and I love it. When I got mine it didn’t have the universal mounts. I had to wait for it to be shipped. The resaw blade does a great job. I resawed some yellow birch today for the kitchen cabinets I’m building for my wife.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

View Scott Bryan's profile

Scott Bryan

9953 posts in 362 days


posted 93 days ago

This is a nice review. Thanks for the info on the saw.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

View Douglas Krueger's profile

Douglas Krueger

234 posts in 264 days


posted 91 days ago

Yup, tool envy to the max, nice addition to the family.

-- I can so I wood but why are my learning curves always circles

View thewoodwhisperer's profile

thewoodwhisperer

182 posts in 724 days


posted 89 days ago

Ahhh….the Resaw King…....I bow before you…... :)

-- For free video tutorials and other cool woodworking stuff, check out http://www.TheWoodWhisperer.com

View roman's profile

roman

477 posts in 434 days


posted 89 days ago

I am always curious as to why almost every review gets a “5 STAR”.......despite the grumblings of said reviewer.

At the risk of repeating myself. I occasionally get well paid to help sell tools at woodworking trade shows, selling what the owner hasnt a clue as to how a “tool” works. At one particular show the booth was located right next to Laguna’s booth. A young gentleman came up and asked if the re-saw band saw would cut his small piece of Jatoba that he held and I replied…..”No” and explained that depite the fact that its an 18” re-saw band saw and came with a carbide blade that it was still a single phase motor, small amperage and small voltage….........it was never made to re-saw heavy timber and he replied that Laguna said they would

We both strolled over to the Laguna booth where the teckie put on a somewhat fancy demonstration of how perfectly his 18” Re-Saw band saw was going to slice the piece of Jatoba into lunch meat thick wafers.

Within seconds his rather smug disposition was turning into desperation because the saw was screaming very loudlly, the beads of sweat dripped from his forhead as he saw his carbide blade bending and twisting when the entire Booth went BOOM as all the circuit breakers tripped.

They eventually removed the entire blade from the wheels with jatoba wood firmly wedged into it.

I still think that it’s a nice toy but remain cautious in the 5 out of five rating on just about every tool ever made.

Cheers

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

View Wade Putnam's profile

Wade Putnam

49 posts in 270 days


posted 87 days ago

I agree, and if the stars were for the documentation and customer service, they would be minus stars, but the machine so far has performed as advertised. I don’t know about the saw at the show, but mine has a 5hp 220 volt motor and so far nothing I have put through it has had any effect. I plan to do some sawing of some walnut logs soon and that should give it a test. I will post the results.

-- Wade, Nashville, www.casetn.com

View alanealane's profile

alanealane

153 posts in 430 days


posted 86 days ago

If all it took was a piece of Jatoba to kill a Laguna machine w/ carbide blade, I have no doubt that it was NOT properly adjusted for drift. I have a 40+ year old 20” bandsaw w/ Highland WoodSlicer that I got from a high school woodshop. I chose to replace the puny 1HP 3-Phase motor with a 3HP 1-Phase motor. I bought a motor that ran at 3450 full load RPM, and I used the pulley system to reduce to the proper speed. Because of the MASSIVE torque produced from the motor turning at high speed and driving a low-speed drive wheel, I haven’t noticed the saw so much as blink an eye when resawing anything.

Maybe bandsaw companies should use high RPM motors to drive their saws…
Most importantly, the saw MUST be properly adjusted for drift. Otherwise, even a big saw like mine or Wade’s WILL bog down, tripping the breakers and possibly breaking an expensive blade.

Just my 3-1/2 cents worth ;-D

-- Lane Custom Guitars and Basses

View Doug S.'s profile

Doug S.

218 posts in 248 days


posted 82 days ago

From what I’ve read the Resaw King isnt carbide at all but stellite. I’m under the impression that they dont specifically say it’s carbide but dont try to dissuade you from thinking that it is. Though I’m sure HP had a lot to do with the saw jamming, I’d be curious to know how the same saw, setup, and Jatoba would have done with a Lenox TriMaster. I haven’t found anything the TM cant munch easily including DevilWood (Ipe).

-- Use the fence Luke

View GaryK's profile

GaryK

8567 posts in 528 days


posted 82 days ago

Very nice!

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

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