09-04-2016, 01:41 PM
My son and I set up his new Laguna LT14 bx bandsaw this past week and I wanted to pass on some of what I learned about this saw.
First, this is a relatively new saw for Laguna, but looks like to me it should be a class leader. My son has the 2.25 hp 220 volt saw. A 1.75 hp 120 volt saw is also available.
We picked his up from Klingspor Woodworking in Raleigh, NC using his pickup truck. There are basically three parts in the box: the saw, the table, and the fence system. We were able to take all the parts but the saw out of the box, then slide the box out of his truck, work the saw out of its foam shroud, and with a little help get it right into his garage shop. There we installed the optional mobility kit (for which there are no directions, only some poor photos). The mobility kit seemed to have an extra part we didn't need for his saw (it's made to fit more than one saw). It also has some sort of adjustment we never figured out but didn't seem to need. The saw is easy to move with this kit installed.
Installing the table came next. It's quite heavy and two people really are needed so one person can line up the bolts that secure it to the trunion. It was a bit hesitant when attempting to lift it to 45 degrees, seeming to hang up a bit on the way. Some lubricant helped that. If I did it again, I'd add some lube to the trunion fittings before installing the table.
We had a bit more trouble installing a blade. Got Timber Wolf blades from Suffolk Machinery. They were the correct size, but sure wouldn't fit. Called Laguna and got help right away. The upper wheel was not dropping down when the tension lever was placed in the tension-released position. We had to slightly loosen two bolts and add a little oil. It still doesn't fall on its own (as my Griz does), but it can be hand-assisted to drop down without much trouble.
The blade guides are fairly easy to set up. The upper ones are a breeze. the lower ones were easier than my Griz. They are ceramic and following the directions got us where we needed to be.
We then squared the table to the blade. The directions on adjusting the front-to-back tilt are confusing as they have duplicated the directions for tilting the table back under the section for tilting it forward. A little thinking, and we knew what we needed to do. It is easy to adjust the table to 90 degrees left and right of the blade, but harder to adjust the front to back tilt, as the table had to be raised for each adjustment. It took a few cycles of raising the table, loosing bolts, adjusting a set screw, lowering and locking the table, and measuring the angle before we were done. It's a bit of work but one that only should need to be done once.
Once that was set we turned to installing and squaring the fence to the blade. We tried to adjust the blade position to reduce the drift of the blade from 90 degrees to the front of the table as much as possible. I found the blade position adjusting screw to be a bit more touchy than on my Griz. As a result, we did a bit of back and forth before we got it close enough. We then adjusted the fence to the drift and were ready to go.
We used a 3/8 inch blade and my son cut some toy cars out of some 2x4s. The saw worked perfectly and was smooth throughout. This saw has an actual blade brake (foot operated) which can stop the blade on a dime. It needs it, as the blade otherwise would take some time to stop. My Griz has a foot-actuated switch that operates a motor brake that stops the saw fairly quickly. The Laguna can stop almost immediately, a good safety feature when children may be in the shop learning from Dad.
I didn't have time to get into trying out the resaw capability but it is designed to allow 12 inch resawing. I think it will have plenty of power to resaw 12 inch hardwoods.
The saw does not come with a miter gauge (the slot is there) or a blade. A light kit is optional, but my son will probably go with something less expensive.
Overall I was impressed. The saw has plenty of weight. The table is good sized and heavy. Blade changes should be fairly easy. There is plenty of power. The saw operates very smoothly. If you are looking for a 14 inch saw with 12 inch resaw capability, put the Laguna LT14bx on your list of saws to consider.
First, this is a relatively new saw for Laguna, but looks like to me it should be a class leader. My son has the 2.25 hp 220 volt saw. A 1.75 hp 120 volt saw is also available.
We picked his up from Klingspor Woodworking in Raleigh, NC using his pickup truck. There are basically three parts in the box: the saw, the table, and the fence system. We were able to take all the parts but the saw out of the box, then slide the box out of his truck, work the saw out of its foam shroud, and with a little help get it right into his garage shop. There we installed the optional mobility kit (for which there are no directions, only some poor photos). The mobility kit seemed to have an extra part we didn't need for his saw (it's made to fit more than one saw). It also has some sort of adjustment we never figured out but didn't seem to need. The saw is easy to move with this kit installed.
Installing the table came next. It's quite heavy and two people really are needed so one person can line up the bolts that secure it to the trunion. It was a bit hesitant when attempting to lift it to 45 degrees, seeming to hang up a bit on the way. Some lubricant helped that. If I did it again, I'd add some lube to the trunion fittings before installing the table.
We had a bit more trouble installing a blade. Got Timber Wolf blades from Suffolk Machinery. They were the correct size, but sure wouldn't fit. Called Laguna and got help right away. The upper wheel was not dropping down when the tension lever was placed in the tension-released position. We had to slightly loosen two bolts and add a little oil. It still doesn't fall on its own (as my Griz does), but it can be hand-assisted to drop down without much trouble.
The blade guides are fairly easy to set up. The upper ones are a breeze. the lower ones were easier than my Griz. They are ceramic and following the directions got us where we needed to be.
We then squared the table to the blade. The directions on adjusting the front-to-back tilt are confusing as they have duplicated the directions for tilting the table back under the section for tilting it forward. A little thinking, and we knew what we needed to do. It is easy to adjust the table to 90 degrees left and right of the blade, but harder to adjust the front to back tilt, as the table had to be raised for each adjustment. It took a few cycles of raising the table, loosing bolts, adjusting a set screw, lowering and locking the table, and measuring the angle before we were done. It's a bit of work but one that only should need to be done once.
Once that was set we turned to installing and squaring the fence to the blade. We tried to adjust the blade position to reduce the drift of the blade from 90 degrees to the front of the table as much as possible. I found the blade position adjusting screw to be a bit more touchy than on my Griz. As a result, we did a bit of back and forth before we got it close enough. We then adjusted the fence to the drift and were ready to go.
We used a 3/8 inch blade and my son cut some toy cars out of some 2x4s. The saw worked perfectly and was smooth throughout. This saw has an actual blade brake (foot operated) which can stop the blade on a dime. It needs it, as the blade otherwise would take some time to stop. My Griz has a foot-actuated switch that operates a motor brake that stops the saw fairly quickly. The Laguna can stop almost immediately, a good safety feature when children may be in the shop learning from Dad.
I didn't have time to get into trying out the resaw capability but it is designed to allow 12 inch resawing. I think it will have plenty of power to resaw 12 inch hardwoods.
The saw does not come with a miter gauge (the slot is there) or a blade. A light kit is optional, but my son will probably go with something less expensive.
Overall I was impressed. The saw has plenty of weight. The table is good sized and heavy. Blade changes should be fairly easy. There is plenty of power. The saw operates very smoothly. If you are looking for a 14 inch saw with 12 inch resaw capability, put the Laguna LT14bx on your list of saws to consider.
