Bandsaw Choice

[Ron Solfest]

I'm planning on replacing my Delta 14" w/ riser bandsaw with a Laguna LT 3000 series and am looking for input on what others would recommend. It will either be a Laguna 14 SUV (14" with 14" resaw capability, 3hp), a Laguna 16 (16" with 12" resaw capability, 3hp) or a Laguna 18 (18" with ~17" resaw, 4hp).

My shop isn't huge, and there is a dollar difference. If they made the 16 with at least 14" resaw instead of 12" I'd buy that. I think I want more than 14" horizontal capacity, not because I'd use it all the time but I've wanted for more throat on occasion with my current 14" which leads me to choosing between the 16 and 18. Pro's for the 16 are $300 less, plus inclusion of a Driftmaster fence right now, plus smaller size (my shops not small, but not large either). I'm sure I'd be very happy with the 18, but how often will I want for more resaw than 12"?

My lathe is a PM3520, the reason I'm not sure if 12" resaw is enough is not for resawing but for cutting logs. Look forward to others feedback and recommendations.

Thanks,
Ron

 

[Ed Jarvis]

band saw

I bought a Laguna LT 24 with 17 1/2" under the guide. I would go with the 4 hp version or you might do a search and find a good used one like I did for a lot less. Paid 1400

Ed Jarvis

 

[allen jay]

bandsaw

i upgraded like you did from a 14 incher
now i have a grizzly 17 extreme model and love it
if you want some good info on bandsaws contact a guy in florida all he does is work on bandsaws
iturra design
and if i had it to do over again i would have bought a 19 inch grizzly extreme

 

[TJ Hamilton]

Ron, I bought a Griz 513, 2 HP a few years ago and have never regretted it. 12 inches under the guides and power to spare. At the time it was packaged with a resaw fence and upgraded guides.

Have fun in your search,

Tom, in Douglasville, happily sawing blanks with is Griz 513.

 

[ebrannon]

I have the Laguna you are considering and find it works fine. I have never needed any larger height. However, I do not use my saw to cut logs in half. I do that with a chain saw.

2 items that helped: 1) the right blade. I was having problems with the blades the saw came with so I purchased one with 4tpi and more kerf and it now cuts like butter. 3 hp is a plenty of juice. 2) I purchased a bandsaw table from Carter at a tool show (sale as I recall) and it has been a help. Especially if I am wrestling with a heavy large half log.

Ideally, assuming I had the space and clearance (which I do not in my basement shop), I would have waited for an old professional shop saw with a big table. I have seen some old tanks in friend's shops that are fantastic - but huge. I use my saw for shaping blanks before I mount them on the lathe. Not something that requires much accuracy.

Good luck.

 

[robo hippy]

I have a Laguna 16HD, with the 4.5 hp motor. It cuts 16 high. For production purposes, it is worth every penny. Most of the bowls I sell are up to about 14 inch diameter. Anything above 16 inches is more of a specialty market and harder to move. If you are cutting above 12 inches, 2 hp will get the job done, but not if you are doing a lot of cutting. Kind of like trying to turn 14 inch bowls on a 12 inch lathe. It can be done, but a more specialized tool does the job with a lot less work. My resaw blade is 1 1/4 by tooth space of about 3/4 inch. Not for cutting curves, but the bowl blank slabs are within 1/8 inch of being parallel. Makes circle cutting much easier, and you have less waste to turn off before you can crank it up. Huge time saver, no matter how good you are with a chainsaw.

robo hippy

 

[Ron Solfest]

Thanks for the advice. As a hobbyist that does flatwork and turning for fun, family and friends - my take-away's after reading through replies here and on WoodCentral:
- Laguna HD series would be nice (as would other Italian brands) but for the price I'm pretty sure I'll be happy with LT3000 series
- I managed to eliminate Grizzly tools from my shop years ago and can't bring myself to seriously consider them again even though I'm sure quality has vastly improved
- LT 16 with 12" resaw capability and 3hp will suffice for my needs
- LT 18 with 15.5" resaw capability and 4hp would be nice so that I'm not tempted to 'upgrade' again in a few years

Decision between the last two will depend on 'deal' that can be had, we'll see 🙂

Now I need to finish a few projects before I get my focus on moving the Delta out and bringing a new saw in...

 

[robo hippy]

You may want to keep the Delta. I have 2 saws, one for resawing, and the other for cutting circles. A 1/2 inch blade works great for most of the circles you want to cut, but isn't as good for resawing any real height (over 6 inches). They will do the job, but a bigger blade with fewer teeth works better. Depends on your needs and time considerations.

robo hippy

 

[Richard Coers]

- I managed to eliminate Grizzly tools from my shop years ago and can't bring myself to seriously consider them again even though I'm sure quality has vastly improved
...

As far as I'm concerned, the quality is dropping. I have several machines here at my day job, and they are all fine. I ordered a 19" bandsaw last year that was horrible. Wheels were grossly out of balance, and the base was really thin steel. After two orders for parts, and hours of labor to rebuild it, I sent it back. Won't order another Grizzly machine, ever!

 

[Wayne Spence]

I would second the recommendation of Iturra Design by Allen Jay. Allen mentioned Iturra to me a few years ago and some significant improvements were made to my Taiwan 14 inch Jet clone.

 

[Ron Solfest]

robo - I don't really have room in my shop for two bandsaws, but now you have me thinking. We'll see 🙂

Richard - You're quote sounds almost exactly what I swore to myself about 10yrs ago about never buying from Grizzly again...might mean I'm missing out as they improve but I dealt with enough junk from them that I'm not willing to look any more.

Wayne - Wholeheartedly agree on the Iturra recommendation. I got their 'catalog' about 4yrs ago when I was contemplating buying a new bandsaw then. After reading through this tome I ended up upgrading a number of things on my Delta and putting off the larger purchase for a number of years. At this point though I had some experiences turning oak logs into ~50 bowl blanks last summer and some veneer in December that have convinced me it's time for a new saw not just improvements.

Thanks again for all the comments and advice.

 

[Bart Leetch]

I think it matters more what you buy than whom you buy it from. I've seen some real problems mentioned with equipment from Laguna too. It also depends on whom your dealing with when trying to correct the situation. A big part of getting results is your deportment during the effort to resolve the problem. If you have a bad attitude the person on the other end of the line trying to help you can be as nice as pie but leave all the strings you need pulled hanging loose.