Recommendations on a Band Saw

[deeno]

I am in the market for a new band saw and have a budget of around 1K. I am lookinga the Laguna 14-12 or the Jet 14" Deluxe Pro. Both are in the pricerange and performance I am looking for. I understand that I will probably have to add a couple hundred more in upgrades such as guides and rollers. Can you guys advise pro's and cons if you have some experience with either saws. thanks!

[Mike77]

I don't have either saw, but it seems like a no brainier to me. Laguna has a bigger motor, resaw fence comes with it, and has excellent reviews.

[Doug_H]

Deeno,

I went for the 14-12 and I am very happy with it. I had a Craftsman 14" similar to the very popular Rikon 14" and when I needed a second saw (for a second location) I considered getting the Rikon. I'm glad I bought the 14-12. Tensioning a 3/4" blade on the Craftsman (Rikon) was possible but a stretch, IMO. The 14-12 is actually made to take a 3/4" blade. The 14-12 is my go-to saw since I no longer have a table saw. It has had a lot of use in the 18 mo. I have had it.

It is a bear to assemble by yourself but if you have a strong and willing neighbor assembly is not too difficult otherwise. I bought the package -- saw, mobile base and work lamp. The mobile base is probably worth buying. The saw is a bit top-heavy so you need to be a bit careful when moving it. The lamp is OK but you could get an aftermarket gooseneck that might be a bit more useful.

The wheels were not coplanar as shipped. The blade could not be set to 90 deg front to back. (Also, the blade was defective. )The saw would not cut straight. Tech support was useful to help me sort this out and sent me 2 replacement blades for my trouble. It was not too hard to change the planarity of the lower wheel, though as I recall the manual did not provide instructions on how to do that.

Now the saw cuts very straight, no drift over 24" or so with a 3/4" blade if you take your time and don't horse the work. The manual suggests that drift is normal and tells you how to adjust the fence to compensate. I feel that this is misleading because I was able to adjust the saw to cut with negligible drift. I like the fence that shipped with the saw. I bought an aftermarket miter gauge for crosscuts.

I have a low opinion of Laguna band saw blades but, as I said, I like the saw. I'd be happy to answer any additional questions.

Doug

[Bill Schneider]

I bought the Laguna 14-12 back in July after going back and forth between it and the Rikon.

In the end, I waited until Woodwerks in Columbus OH had it on sale and took advantage of their reasonable-cost tail-gate residential delivery. The driver was kind enough to wheel the box into my garage where I removed parts from the top bin, then stood-up the box to walk the unit out.



From there, I used my hand truck to take it around to the back of the house, and "threaded" it through doorways into the shop.

I didn't have any trouble setting it up myself after reading how to lay it out prone onto some 2x4s first, and then attach the base per their instructions. After that, I just lifted it back upright.

I decided to purchase it after seeing the substantial table trunnions compared to other units. However the machining left some sharp edges on them, so I used small files to chamfer the sharp edges so that they wouldn't dig into the mating part.



It's been very good so far, but I must admit that I haven't really had a chance to put it through the usual paces because of work-related commitments. I will say that it appears very well built.

BTW, it was sold without any blades, so I went straight to Highland for their Wood Slicer blades to begin with.

[BaileyNo5]

I've got the big brother to the Laguna you are considering. Overall, I've been pretty happy with it, it's done everything I ask of it. It's not without a few fit and finish issues (the made in China kind of stuff). But the design is good. I have also been happy with the customer service from Laguna. They will call me back, reply to emails, sent me a replacement part once at no charge, etc.

[deeno]

Thanks for the recommendations. It makes my decision a lot easier to go with the Laguna. I will wait to see if there are any sales for Thanksgiving and will pull the trigger around that time.

[TGW]

I am well on my way rebuilding and modernising a 100 years old 24" industrial grade band saw to full industrial safety standards for a total budget that would equal something like 1000 dollars.
Just to put your purchase in a perspective......


Have you looked at the secondhand marker around where you live? Maybe you could find a slightly better saw for slightly less money?

[jteneyck]

What TGW said. New is nice, but used gets you a lot more for your money. Less than 50% of new is a powerful motivator for me to keep my eyes open for a good deal when I think about a "new" machine.

John

[jestrada]

deeno said:

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Thanks for the recommendations. It makes my decision a lot easier to go with the Laguna. I will wait to see if there are any sales for Thanksgiving and will pull the trigger around that time.

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Rockler has it on sale now. 10% off . I've noticed with the Laguna machines either Rockler or Woodcraft will alternately have them on sale. 10% being the usual discount and sometimes 15% on select items. The 10% will pretty much cover shipping.