Laguna products - Driftmaster and Ceramic Guides

Mike Heidrick

Member
Messages
127
Location
Bloomington, IL
Have you guys read the deals on Woodnet in their "for sale" section on the Laguna products?? Great deals IMO ($295 for a driftmaster and $40 off the ceramic guides). I am interested in the ceramic guides and the driftmaster both. Who is using these two products???

Do you like them?

What saw are you using them with?

With respect to the guides:

What blades are you using?

What size blades?

Do you like them?

Would you buy them again?

With respect to the driftmaster I have had some feedback saying it is awesome. Anyone here using it? Like it?

I am going to pull the trigger - the $295 deal is only good for today and tomorrow. I have been talking to Tim (Laguna extension 9617) and he seems awesome and ready to deal.

Sure would like some forum feedback on these!!

Mikie
 
Mike,
I have the ceramic guides on my LT16, and I like them. They can only be used for blades of either 3/8 or 1/2 inch (forget which) and wider though. For thinner/narrower blades, you'll need to get the cool block accessory - for about another $80 or so.

As for the fence, I have no experience with it, so can't comment.
 
Tod, bandsaw feeders that are nice are VERY EXPENSIVE. Much more than the $295 of the fence. The fence will also work with a lot of different cuts besides resawing. Maybe someday ;)

I am working on a package deal with Tim at Laguna to save on shipping. That is why I choose the ceramic guides. Plus they funtionally seem awesome and so far have been getting great reviews.
 
mike,
i`ve not found any fence for a bandsaw worth more than a hundred bucks to me.
if you`re using it to rip instead of resaw then any ol' scrap off the floor will work as well..
i know feeders are expensive but 300$ is a good chunk and i`ve gotta stick by my advice that i believe it would be wiser to put it away and save for a feeder than spend it on fancy fence.
as far as guides go i prefer ball bearings to guide moving parts to any type of friction guide no matter the material.
then if you throw in laguna's infamous customer service(satire) i honestly wish you the best:eek:....
 
With all I read about laguna's infamous customer service I wouldn't touch them with a 10' pole. First of all I wouldn't let them get that close to me.:rofl:
Plus I agree with the cost of those guides I'd go with roller bearing type guides too. But regular old cool blocks & a woodslicer blade make for real nice re-sawing. That is unless you just like spending money. Statistics show its real easy to spend money by going on the internet or phone & pull out the plastic but if we were to stand in front of a cashier & pull out cash & have to count it out we wouldn't be so fast to spend our money. Sorry I'm going through a financial course now & it one of the facts they brought out that I thought was interesting. Did you know that even the change from sliding your credit card or debit card to just waving it over the sensor will make the American public spend more money that they probably don't have. I'm telling you they have this separating your money from you down to a fine science. Another thought what about the banker saying we're willing to give you a loan hmmm give me a loan oh goody that will be the day!!!!!
 
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As to the customer service - At IWF last year I bought a V-way horizontal slot mortiser (Cash again if you care). Anyway, I called Laguna a week or so before hand and asked how many they had. They told me three, told me the IWF deal on the mortiser, and offered it to me right then and there, said they would show it to me at IWF, and if I did not like it they would not process the payment. I showed up at Atlanta, got a personal walkthrough the machine, gave me drinks and a backpack, and let me decide if the mortiser was going to be mine or not. I said I wanted it and by the next Friday I was assembling my new mortiser. I was given cost on whatever mortiser chisels I wanted and I also got free shipping - those were not IWF deals. I got a call two weeks later asking me how the assbembly went and if I was happy. I was also told they would keep in touch.

Now I love Delta, love my Sawstop, and love my Kreg items - all companies I have spent WAY more money with than Laguna. No one has ever called me and asked how my tools were working out.

Laguna has been REALLY good to me. Their folks are really sincere. Only other company to pay this much attention to me was an awesome Felder rep who wants to sell tools and Sam Blasco - the infamous Sam Blasco. You know - thinking about it - seems all the companies that sell big money Euro tools sure are good people. (This is not to say other companies have not been awesome when I called them - but none have initiated the conversation).

Sorry some people have had bad experiences. I personally have had nothing but GOOD experiences with them.
 
I've looked at the Driftmaster hard a couple of times for use on my MM16. The only thing that puts me off on it is the ability to move the fence to the opposite blade side for tilted table cuts or being able to just lift it off and out of the way. It's a great looking setup for resawing but I sure wish you could move (or remove) the thing without disassembly for other bandsaw applications.
 
You know Doug - what are the chances you could mount the stock fence bracket on the other side????????? Hmmm. Then you could have the best of both worlds. I will have to investigate that.

That or use the new MagSwitch or Carter Magnetic fence on the other side. Lots of $ though for all that.
 
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