Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm looking to decide between these two bandsaws.

Laguna
http://www.lagunatools.com/bandsaws/bandsaw-lt14suv

Grizzly
http://www.grizzly.com/products/17-2-HP ... -/G0513X2B

They are, obviously, different in nature. The Laguna being a 14" and the Grizzly being a 17". The motor in the Laguna is presumably better.

The Laguna is likely to fit the shop better since it's a bit smaller but I'm concerned about Laguna's reputation in the customer service department. The Grizzly will be cheaper by a about $200 only since I'm in Canada and I'd have to drive down to the States to pick it up myself.

Can anyone offer opinions on which one would be better? I know the Grizzly gets very positive reviews.

Thanks,
Charlton

I have finally gotten approval for a saw(from you know who), and after much research, the grizzly seems to be a saw almost everyone is pleased with. I don't remember all the specs for the two models you listed, but $ for $, my money is on grizzly.

_________________
It is better to try and fail, than never try at all

I'll go to bat for the Laguna customer service. I have the 16" 3000 and like it a lot. It's very similar to the 14 you're looking at. I, like you, live in Canada and they had a free shipping deal but only to a shipper just this side of the border, near Vancouver. It's a full day travel for me starting at 5AM, so you could imagine my disappointment to get it home, unpack it and put it together only to find the top end was twisted about 3 degrees. Pretty strange because there was no crate damage and the whole thing was just.... really bent. Fortunately it showed up really well in photos. To make a long story short, with a minimum of whining a new saw showed up, not 5 hours away in Vancouver but to my doorstep. The bent one? They said they would let me know what to do with it. That was about a year ago. So yah, those Laguna guys did me well. I also have one of there table saws and wouldn't trade it for any other saw in that category. I can't speak for the Griz, but it looks like a clone of a lot of the saws I looked at before buying the 16" 3000 which I'm very happy with.

All The Best,
Danny

Thanks. That sounds reassuring. I know Laguna is now being sold here in Canada through a few retailers so presumably support would be more local.

I have one minor concern, perhaps you'd be willing to address. I watched the setup video for the LT14 SE and I have to say, adjusting the guides for a blade change looks like a royal pain. Do you find that this is the case or is adjusting the guide pretty much a non-issue?

Thanks,
Charlton

Hey Charlton,

I didn't know they sold Laguna through retailers. There's none on this side of Canada. Probably a good thing because it would only lead to temptation.

The setup at blade changes is no different than any other guides. Same amount of parts to move. If you're fast you can do it in 15 minutes or so.

Welcome to OLF BTW. This place is a wealth of info. Maybe some other Laguna owners will chime in. There's a few guys that are pretty happy with them.

Cheers,
Danny

Danny, a place in Toronto just signed on as a distributor for them. I pulled the trigger on an LT16 last week with them, should be here around new years.

Yeah, they've got a few distributors here in Canada now. This is a good thing.

I was watching the video for the LT14 SE found here (account required):

http://www.lagunasupport.com/manuals/ba ... video.aspx

and it just seemed as though the guides were a fuss to set up with certain parts rotating while being tightened down. It probably is nothing big since so many people espouse the virtues of the Laguna saws. I wish blade changes on these saws were as simple as they are on machines such as the Hammer N4400 (which is out of my budget) with the blade slot in the front as opposed to off to the side.

I'm still in debate as to whether a 17" would be better than a 14". My understanding is that the footprint required for the 17" isn't all that much bigger than the 14".

Thanks for the welcome!

Cheers,
Charlton