Laguna video

Frank Fusco

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12,782
Location
Mountain Home, Arkansas
Y'all might recall, I called Laguna recently to inquire about their new lathe that's near my price range. Talked to the sales rep boss and he filled me in on all the details. Then he sent me a packet of info about the company and their products. Included is a DVD. The presenter is the owner of the company. He has an unpronounceable last name, probably Swedish or Finnish, I dunno, and an accent. Probably a very nice guy and smart. But, I'm here to tell you, the owner of a company is not always the best demonstrator or presenter for the products. That video is a real yawner. Very hard to stay with his pitch. While he is enamored with the details of the quality, I believe most potential customers want to get to the meat of what the machine will do. If you are interested in Laguna products do get the DVD, it's free. But drink a lot of coffee and put half a day aside to watch.
BTW, their lathe is off my list of possibles. It's probably a fine machine but it is at the top of my price range and shipping pushes it (way) over. Plus buying their proprietary accessories isn't appealing to me. And, they are in California and I'm in Arkansas. If service were needed, it would be slow and costly.
 
Frank, I guess it must be different strokes for different folks. I have seen a couple of Torben’s videos and I appreciate his down to earth approach and I like hearing from a professional woodworker rather than from a professional presenter. Yes, the two do show up in one person from time to time and that’s great, but I did enjoy watching Torben and I learned from him.

The presidents name is Torben Helshoj and I believe that he is originally from Norway (someone please correct me if they know that I am wrong about Torben’s country of origin). His name is certainly pronounceable if you just try a little. :)
 
Gee Frank, for 8500 dollars, and 1700 pounds, it should never break.:eek:

Frank, did you hear about the two 'good ole boys' talking during lunch. One was complaining about being busy. The other stopped him and ask just how busy are you? The first says to him, man,I am busier than a set of jumper cables at a hill billy funeral. :rofl:
 
The family is Danish, and the two brothers (Ben & Torvin) pronounce their last name is if it were spelled 'Helshoy'. The headquarters is in Laguna Beach California. Though they are Robland dealers they found niches where customers' needs weren't being met by available brands. So they manufactured designs of their own in Europe.

Their Laguna brand sliding tablesaws are one item offered. Don't know about their lathes. The bandsaws are quite popular. Until just recently, they were the No. American distributor for Knapp combination machines. But they dropped that franchise.

Gary Curtis
 
Talking about videos, two years ago I viewed a slew of promotional DVDs showing combination machines. Torvin was the narrator of the Knapp combo video. His explanation of the equipment told me more than videos from 3 other manufacturers.

I ended up buying another brand, primarily because of budget. But he showed shop procedures that grasped the essence of the tool's capabilities. Without the thumping, cheesy bassline soundtrack that often accompanies demos of these tools.

Gary Curtis
 
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