Laguna Platinum 18/47 Lathe

Keith Palmer

Member
Messages
84
Location
Tacoma, WA
Does anyone know anything about this Laguna lathe?

I was reading through Frank's Jet vs. Grizzly post and it got me dreaming, so I started looking online and found this Laguna lathe. For the same price as the Jet you get an additional 2" in swing. But I am unfamiliar with the Laguna tools.

Any advice or opinions greatly appreciated, especially if anyone has this lathe.

Thanks,
Keith
 
Keith, I've heard good and bad things about this lathe. A member here, earl timmons, has one but I noticed he hasn't been on the site in a few months....others will chime in soon.
 
It sure bears a lot of resemblance to the Grizzly G0632 and Jet 1642. Except it is 18" swing and longer bed. And is 2 hp 220V compared to the 1 1/2hp on Griz and optional motors with Jet. It has a better switch set-up than my Griz.
Very interesting that several companies are selling essentially the same piece of equipment.
Of course, the big question is, what are the differences the companies won't talk about?
And now.....Laguna is Chinese? :eek:
 
Thanks Ron! I was looking at it closer and it also appears that the shaft does not extend out the back of the headstock, to no hand wheel and maybe no vacuum chucking?

I have been trying to view WR in the recent past, whats going on with that do you know?
 
Laguna would only take the lathe back if we deleted a few posts.
We did and Wizzy got his money back, but he had a hard time of it.
He has a Jet 1220

(Actually the posts are just hidden from public view, Don't tell Laguna;))
 
Ron, I did not know that you had to retract posts, that sucks, but, on a personal note, nice to see that Wizzy got his hard earned cash back.

Not an auspicious start for the Laguna lathe :rolleyes:
 
Yep Stu they made it sound like he took back some of the bad mouthing. He got a royal shafting but did get his cash back.

Keith I wouldn't buy that lathe with someone elses money.
 
I suspect Laguna lost a lot more money due to bad PR than they would have if they'd simply taken care of Wizzy right from the get-go. :rolleyes:
 
We even had a service tech from them join WR & his first post saying basically that our member was stupid & did he even know how to turn a lathe on. He never admitted where he worked but we have some pretty smart people on WR & they found out.:D They may make some great machines but I'll never own one due solely to their comments to him & total lack of customer service.
 
We even had a service tech from them join WR & his first post saying basically that our member was stupid & did he even know how to turn a lathe on. He never admitted where he worked but we have some pretty smart people on WR & they found out.:D They may make some great machines but I'll never own one due solely to their comments to him & total lack of customer service.

This is absolutely true
 
I considered a Laguna lathe when I was shopping for my new one. I got their DVDs and my first impression was that the owner with the difficult to pronounce name was completely full of himself. That was a stronger message than what he was trying to deliver about his tools. Then the calls from their sales department started. Hard sell all the way. Lots of phone calls. That put me off completely, the lathe became secondary and completely out of consideration. Some of their tools might be OK but they sure are not customer orientated.
 
I've been following, but resisting contributing, to this thread from the start. First, because I don't do spinny stuff so I felt I should not be offering an opinion on a lathe. Second because I was a bit timid having seen where conversations about this company have gone on other forums. Now that the thread has opened up to include more than the lathe (i.e.: customer service) I'm going to put in my 2 cents. All that follows is simply my opinion based on observation. I have not personally experienced any contact with the folks at Laguna.

A while ago I frequented the Fine Woodworking Knots forum. One of the members there was having a hard time with Laguna customer service as well. There was a virtual firestorm of comments posted, both for and against, though the ‘fors’ were greatly outnumbered, up to and including several posts by the wife of the owner of Laguna. She was not pleasant, considerate, or polite in her assessment of the persons having issues with her customer service/sales people and inferred (IMHO) that those complaining were not worthy of owning her machines or lacked the skills to operate them correctly.

Lots of nasty things were said. As for me, I was turned off by the comments (from both sides) and made a personal decision to leave the Knots forum and to avoid ever buying a tool from Laguna regardless of the often gleaming reviews given them in the various WW magazines.

Again, all this is opinion based on observation rather than experience. However, as the stories of poor customer service and high pressure sales come up with such frequency, one has to assume there is something behind it. The little I spend on my hobby is still a lot and my cash does not come easy to me. I usually research a purchase to death long before I plop down my cash. I would not buy what is considered a premium machine, at an equally premium price, if I had any inkling that I would be treated poorly after the purchase.

Mods: If I’ve stepped over any lines here I have no problem with my post being edited or removed.
 
Rennie, in my opinion, your post was completely acceptable. I believe as long as one sticks with facts and/or states something is the writers opinion (e.g. "....my first impression was.....") that is OK.
To outright state that someone is an 'expletive deleted' type of person is a No-No.
We are here to share. Sometimes facts and impressions ain't so pretty but can be helpful to others.
 
Thank you all for your responses. Boy, am I glad I asked!

Like Rennie, I research purchases to death before spending the money.

Glad to see WR is back up and running.
 
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