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Laguna table saw

Chris Mire

Chris Mire

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945
Location
Southern Louisiana
what is the consensus on laguna brand tools. i was looking at their table saws. it looks like i could get one of their saws for a little more than the tai/chi models that are the common choice. i have never laid hands on one of these tools. anyone have any experience with their stuff. i like the fact that they have baldor motors, a riving knife, a possible 12" blade, stuff like that. can i expect better quality from them than the delta/powermatic types. I think the new PM 2000 lists in the 2300 range and it has most of the options i am looking for. the laguna list for 2695 on their website, with a 3hp baldor and the other options i listed. so what say ye??

ps. i'm talking about regular table saws (cabinet saws) not their slider models of course.


thanks in advance
chris
 
jay,

i have considered the sawstop and i guess i still am considering it. basically i am still considering all my options. i would like to see a sawstop in person as well as some of the others. i have used a unisaw and a jet cabinetsaw. so i know basically what to expect from them.

thanks for mentioning SS though, cause sometimes i have a memory lapse and totally forget to include certain things in my reasearch.

i did do some searching on woodweb and found alot of bad talk about laguna, there were a few good comments from people who said their saws were flawless. but it kinda makes me wonder a little after reading some of the comments there.

thanks
chris
 
chris, i`d rate laguna above the tai/chi offerings as far as build quality, but well below the italian or german offerings......in that same price and quality range is rojek.......i actually stopped at their office in littlerock last year and talked to the folks at techmark and they get a thumbs-up, normal type of folks rating from me........for what it`s worth.....tod
 
The Laguna forum that Jay linked to is a good way to get info on what you're thinking of purchasing in the way of Laguna tools. You will see the good, the bad and the ugly there.

There is a lot of negative things said about Laguna and a lot of it is right on.

That being said I have a Laguna LT-16HD BS. Couldn't be happier with it. I never had a BS, so I don't have anything to compare it with. Customer Service from Laguna on this purchase, and subsiquent dealings, have been positive.

I also bought a Robland X-31 combo machine from Laguna. This is it's one year anniversary in my shop. It's been down for a change of cutter head on the Jointer/Planer of my own accord. I am installing a Byrd Shelix Head. The tech support in helping remove the old head and installing the new head has been basically zero help from Laguna. With some help from a friend and just trying different things I finally managed to get the old head out and the new head in. I'm just waiting on new springs for the infeed and outfeed rollers before completing the installation. This has been a real challenge that I would not do again, even though I think I could do it in a matter of a couple of days now [for various reasons it's been 3 months].

I find the machine to be very well constructed and, I feel, well worth the money. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase more equipment from Laguna if and when the opportunity arises.

That's my $1.398 worth.

Karl
 
thanks jay, i'll give that forum a look.


i checked out rojek's website tod, they actually had a video that let me see a slider in action for the first time. man i really gotta save my money for one of those babies.


thanks karl, i'm glad you have had good experiences with your tools. well except for the recent problem of course. i hope the change works out well and it makes combo machine even better.

thanks
chris
 
Good morning...

I'm going to second Todd's suggestion of having a look at Rojek. I stopped by the Rojek booth at the International Woodworking Show in Atlanta last fall. They gave me a cup of coffee and the breif visit turned into an hour stay. One of the owners of Techmark (family run business) and the head tech crawled over, under and through their machines beside me.

These guys are customer oriented. When an owner hands you his business card with his cell phone number printed on it and tells you to call 24/7 if you have a question or concern about any equipement you have purchased or considering.... that kind of speaks volumes in itself!

Regards...

JT.. sarge
 
I have an older model Laguna TSS with the scoring blade, so I'm familiar with all of the options available for the TS. The new saw has some cosmetic upgrades and a few new features, but is fundamentally the same saw as mine. My general impression is that it's a great saw. Here are my thoughts regarding the saw as configured as a TS:

Likes: Very robustly built in all respects... I think it weighs in at close to 1000 lbs. The new version of the saw currently being sold has a new style rip fence... I have the old style fence on my saw... so I can't help you there. Throat plate is huge and there is an arbor lock, so blade changes are easy. Blade has a dust shroud, so dust collection is very good. True riving knife, so kickback is a very unlikely event. Plently of power from 3 HP Baldor motor. Fit and finish is pretty basic, but good enough.

Dislikes: The extension table is not especially flat. I can't remember exactly how much of a crown mine has (1/16" maybe?), but it is annoying. From what I've heard from other owners, this is par for the course. Fortunatley the cast iron main table is flat, though. The plastic blade guard is a little junky. I replaced mine with an overhead guard. The 4" flex hose that connects the blade dust shroud to the port on the cabinet is terrible. Looks like it was stolen from grandma's 30 year-old clothes drier (and mine was liberally soaked in the shipping grease.) This was, of course, easily replaced with a proper piece of flex hose.

Options: The scoring blade is nice to have when cutting sheet goods. Works as advertised. The 50" sliding table is also a really nice option. It's well built and slides smoothly. My only complaint with this is that the crosscut fence design has some weaknesses. Resetting it back to precisely square with the blade is a bit of a pain... although I see that they now sell an optional crosscut fence miter table with positive stops... so this might fix the problem. Mobility kit is well worth the $$, too. It's the only way to move that beast!

Well anyway, I'm satisfied with the purchase. It's not perfect, but it is darn nice. If you have any specific questions, let me know.

Regarding customer service... I have experience with both Laguna and Rojek (Techmark). I own a Rojek jointer/planer. I have no complaints with either company. The main difference I noticed in dealing with these 2 companies is that Techmark is a much smaller operation, so they have more of a personal approach to things. Todd, the sales & CS guy, is helpful and will take a little extra time to talk & get to know you. The Laguna CS folks (don't know anyone by name since I talk with someone new each time I call) are just as able to answer questions, though.

Dan
 
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