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Just wondering if anyone had one or could compare it (18/47) to the Jet 16/42... Laguna looks better to me but the name isnt as well known to me.
I met Recon's friend at the Richmond Symposium and several of us had dinner together. His problem might be an isolated case on the initial production run, but the way it was handled made me want to hear more favorable records first.
http://www.woodturnersresource.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1193174775;start=all
Laguna put out a demo/ad where the demonstrator was turning a bowl with a spindle ruffing gouge, a major "no no" for the last 30 or so years in wood turning. http://www.lagunatools.com/videos/lathe.platinum1.htm
If they took that much effort in producing a machine without knowing how it is to be properly used makes me suspect. It might be unfair to judge a machine based on shotty advertising, but it should make you wonder.
Aaron
I met Recon's friend at the Richmond Symposium and several of us had dinner together. His problem might be an isolated case on the initial production run, but the way it was handled made me want to hear more favorable records first.
http://www.woodturnersresource.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1193174775;start=all
Watching him try and stuff the tool into the wood is really sobering. I'm a regular user of the rougher on convex surfaces, but that's just plain scary. Nosing up into the rotation as they show is not only questionable from a safety standpoint, it's going to make a nasty rough surface, and a very tired arm. I hog wide, not deep. That way I get a lot of bevel to steady things.
To say something substantive, I see two things I don't like about the lathe:
1) The toolpost is centered in the banjo. I guess I'm spoiled by the 3000 with the side mount.
2) The tailstock extends forward at the base. It may travel 4.5 inches, but it looks like the first couple will just about break even. Tougher to swing a gouge or hook while using tailstock stabilization.
Where he uses the roughing gouge is perfectly acceptable. On the outside for roughing. I suppose it is like any method, just because they do it doesn't mean it is right for you.
I have had Laguna bandsaws for a number of years and like thier products. Thier customer service can be iffy though.
Your picture points up my other objection as well. With the banjo being a couple of inches wide, and the base of the tailstock forward of the quill, you can eat up all the room between a bowl that won't clear the banjo and the tail pretty quick.
You can get some back by using a long live center as I do, but is the extra 2" length capacity brag really worth it?
As I've posted in the past, slicing with a big gouge is a piece of cake. Ripping is bad for the tool, the piece, and the operator. Look at the hack job in the still that precedes the video compared to a peel in stages.
http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n28/MichaelMouse/?action=view¤t=PicturesfromGregs022.flv
Way he does it has to hurt!
One interesting thing about that thread is hooj1 is the service rep for Laguna, his real name is Roman
I posted the following in This Woodcentral Thread and still think it is valid advice:
I have a Laguna band saw and a Powermatic 3520a. You are not just selecting a lathe, but a company and an "installed base." Laguna and WMH (parent company of Powermatic and Jet) have both provided me fine after sales service over the years. Laguna is new with the consumer lathe business and is a relatively small company. They are best known for their combination machines, and band saws. New lines come an go with Laguna. I am pretty sure they mostly sell re-labled equipment made and designed by others, with some spec adjustment on their part. It is a guess what their staying power will be in the tough lathe business. They don't work thru a dealer network, it is all direct sales with some pressure cooker sales persons who in general will know nothing about lathes. I believe they are trying to expand their business into the consumer turning phenomenon. Jet and Powermatic lathes are long proven designs with a huge installed base that have only gotten better over time, and WMH continues to invest in their improvement. Look at the nice upgrade to the 3520b which reflects on the input from respected tuner Nick Cook.
With the Jet or Powermatic you will have a huge number of turners as a resource. You will find lots of turners locally with the same lathe. The internet has enormous amounts of hints and tips for either machine. See link as an example. You will also have an improved assurance that over the years to come you will have parts and service, which is not to say Laguna won't do their best, but they have yet to prove this product as a part of their sales plan and tech support skill set. I applaud Laguna for adding to our choices, but buying a lathe should be a conservative decision, with as few unknowns as possible. There is plenty to learn in turning without being one of the lonely few who own the lathe. From what you say it doesn't sound as though you are in a position to be taking a chance with a new product from a small company just getting started in the lathe business.
This is my 99 cents which is 97 cents more than I have given this forum before. Good luck.
Jerry
Steve,
The blank appears to be in sidegrain orientation. At the very start, he is using the gouge with the handle parallel to the lathe bed. My understanding is this can be done....
However, later in the clip, he positions the tool perpendicular to the bed and goes into the side of the blank. Isn't this problematic?
If a company puts out an advertisement, I think that they are trying to put their best foot foreword, rather than in their mouth. Laguna put out a demo/ad where the demonstrator was turning a bowl with a spindle ruffing gouge, a major "no no" for the last 30 or so years in wood turning. http://www.lagunatools.com/videos/lathe.platinum1.htm
If they took that much effort in producing a machine without knowing how it is to be properly used makes me suspect. It might be unfair to judge a machine based on shotty advertising, but it should make you wonder.
Aaron
Where he uses the roughing gouge is perfectly acceptable. On the outside for roughing. I suppose it is like any method, just because they do it doesn't mean it is right for you.
I have had Laguna bandsaws for a number of years and like their products. Their customer service can be iffy though.