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Fair enough Filippo. I can go with that. And repsect that.

I love this stuff, much better than watching TV

Yes, I'm

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Noted

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Jim Hansen

Yes, I apologize for any confusion. I think I posted in the wrong thread.

As a bandsaw owner and relative newbie, I love threads about bandsaws and bandsaw blades, and really enjoyed Fillipos rant. It's just information I can add to the pile.

What I despise, and tends to keep me out of otherwise perfectly good threads (and sometimes off the board entirely), is when people get their panties in a bunch and start taking things personally.

Let's leave personal feelings and board politics out of these otherwise perfectly good threads. If you have a problem with someone take it to PM or email, or take it up privately with The Management(tm).

/rant off

Now lets get back on topic!

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Jim Hansen

Nevermind

Tim has asked me to ask ANY of you that have a complaint about a Laguna bandsaw blade to please call him. He's a good guy, no run arround, and he will help you get to the bottom of this. Please, no more crazy stuff. I am just trying to help.

(800) 234-1976 ext. 9665 (Tim Lory)

Mike

I've been using Resaw King blades for close to a decade. They have had carbide-tipped teeth as long as I have used them (I spoke to the Laguna rep about that when I bought my first one).

My experiences with the blades have been uniformly good. So have my experiences with their other products. I use an LT 18 bandsaw, a driftmaster fence, and I also have one of their X-31 combination machines. I have had great experiences with all of them.

I generally use the blades to cut very hard woods -- a lot of cocobolo, ebony, and some padauk, purpleheart, and a bit of bubinga. I have also cut a lot of mahogany. I had equally good experiences with all of them. Years ago, I did have a blade go dull faster than it should have. Laguna sharpened it and it worked well after that.

I don't discount the bad experiences others on this thread have had with the blade. It's impossible to say how many of the problems were quality control issues and how many were user-based. Perhaps it's some of each.

As for the customer service issues, I have always had great experience with their customer service. They have always bent over backwards to resolve whatever issues I have had, even though most of my issues turned out to be user error. I'm not looking to argue with people who have had different experiences. But it does make me curious when I have dealt with a company many times over almost a decade and have always had good experiences with their customer service, and then someone else reports something that sounds like a completely different company. Either it's a coincidence or there's more to the story. I have my suspicions, but nothing more than that.

I do believe it's helpful to share all experiences we have had, as that helps other people make informed decisions

Todd, dream up a test that you think might display the issues you are speaking of. Maybe get a block of ebony 2" thick and slice it into slabs? How many? What would be a good objective test?

Kelby, I was beginning to think I was all alone in a big vast cave.

Mike

Maybe I have been lucky, I have not seen the problem. And I've cut ebony. Guess I worded my question wrong.

I have a 1" and a 1 1/4" RK that need resharpening. To dang expensive to send back to Laguna from Windsor, so I am going to Hit each tooth with a diamond wheel and see how they work. Won't buy them again as I can get a Woodmaster CT for 1/3 of the price.

I understand Filippo. I still think its worth putting Tim and Laguna to task.

Mike

Not much else to add. I still use them exclusively for all straight line cutting. The 3-4 tooth config helps them run smoother - less "harmonic vibration" or some such. I can get up to 3 re-sharpenings out of them before the loose too much set. Bang for the buck out strips a CT easily. Plus, as the have less kerf than a CT they don't work so hard.
Hastings is far and away the best welder of bands. Most of the NORCAL heavyweight luthiers use them.
-C

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Todd,

I must admit you sort of slammed me with Ur comment. Least ways that is how it felt. I did not have time to process what u said as I was in the middle of work. I have used my Laguna blades to cut hard maple, bubinga, ebony, hog, and even hardened osage, and so on. I was asking for your input on a standardized test any of us could do. That we could replicate. Perhaps all I really did was invite u to provide Ur usual biting commentary. I did what u asked. I googled all the combinations u suggested. I visited those sites u mentioned. I am a member at many of them. I searched them. And I found examples of what u said. But I also found plenty of praise for the blades. So nothing is proved yet, except we tend to find what we want to find. I am not discounting anyone's experience. And I don't expect anyone to discount mine.

Laguna blades are excellent blades, my experience proves that to me. Right, goody for me.

Mike

Btw, one thing I seem to be picking up on in negative posts is that a number of folks are using 3/4" blades on 14" saws. That's a lot of blade for many 14" saws. If a Laguna rep pushes that, perhaps not a good idea. Tension matters, so does horse power. No person complaining about their blades has yet described their setup.

Mike

My bandsaw isn't good enough for any of these bada$$ blades. I have a jet 14 inch bandsaw with the riser block. I just get my blades from Woodcraft since there isn't anywhere else local that keeps bandsaw blades. I used to use their timberwolf line, but it seems lately they've changed to "Something by Timberwolf" I can't remember the name, but they don't seem as good as they used to be, so I switched to their other brand, Olson Commercial grade, which is cheaper and seems to last longer. I bought a 3/4 inch blade which my Jet is supposed to be able to handle, but now I get the impression I shouldn't put it on there. Is it gonna break my bandsaw or something?

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Filippo,

Your customer experience is important information to share and I'm certain that most here are glad of it. Not just because it gives OLF members a heads-up on this issue, but from what I can gather Laguna appear to have had considerable feedback from customers to indicate they may have problems with many of their RK bands. It does appear from the response to complaints shared in this topic, that this company may have made a commercial decision to not acknowledge there is a broad base to the problem.

Maybe like so many these days, their bean counters were hoping to avoid the cost of the more appropriate customer service measures when dealing with faulty merchandise of recall and replacement and have advised that an 'insulate and isolate' approach be taken were each individual complaint is to be managed to salvage what ever can be from that particular sale....On the face of it I guess a, 'you return at your cost, and we repair our problem FOC' seems a much cheaper option than just giving away free bands with shipping.

If faced with this response it is easy to see how an open thread like this is completely justified. It does much to strip away the insulation and isolation putting the responsibility for any short comings right back where it belongs. It can also underline what the 'real' cost can be for the bean counters of this world when they instruct a company's sales department to take a 'first approach' strategy of insert their heads into well worn holes in the hope that those nasty obligations will be chased away by the ugly picture of frustration they have painted on their backsides. If Laguna now seem keen to compile and investigate, then this thread has had good effect and they are certain to be full of regret now for not having done just that when they first seen 'responsible' writing on their wall.

This issue may all seem small fish to some who feel that if a company has a problem and is prepared to fix it should their customers be willing to jump thought the required series of hoops, then its all good, no harm done. But it does not work at all well should a disaffected customer who has born the cost of international shipping paying for 3, possibly 4 items to receive 2 discover that a trusted brand name product, the quality of which they had relied upon to offer them some economy in the long term turns out to be no better than cheap locally supplied rubbish their investment was trying to avoid....a 'you return it at your cost and we will fix 'our' problem' policy under that circumstance is much more than unfair.

This is why I think this kind of thread offers exceptional valuable to a forum, and ultimately, to any sponsors of a forum. Forums only exist because those people lacking experience come in search of it. Those people stay at a forum simply because they develop trust and see value in the opinions of other forum members who share both good and 'bad' experiences, and that in itself is a refreshing attraction in a world so full of commercialism that the outright bullshite used everywhere to 'supplement' the actual benefit of a product is so easily disarmed and becomes acceptable simply by labelling it as 'Advertisement Material'.

If ever a forum is restricted to displaying only the 'nice' bit about a product, it immediately ceases to become a forum transforming instead into yet another pointless billboard that you can't trust, that you can't believe and with that goes the attraction for all the members and sponsors alike.

'Big' value here Filippo, every forum needs good honest opinions and real information, its the only negotiable currency they will ever have.

Cheers

Kim

Good summary Kim.

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Mike to me a good subjective test would be how uniform the thickness is. Is the cut straight or wandering all over the place. How about if I send you a block of bloodwood or maybe purpleheart to test. Maybe you could take a video so we can see how your set-up may be different than ours. PM me your mailing address if your interested.

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double post

Well thats a good offer (put up or shut up ). No need to send me anything. I have a very dense block of wood, cannot remember the name of it... seems it is a relative to teak. I don't think it is mineral laden. But if it is, I will go get some bloodwood on Saturday. Or something hard from the wood store. I'm not cutting anything with rocks in it. I have several new RK blades. I will set up, and video the results. If I am wrong, I will admit it. I was wrong one time before.

I do not have a special setup. I do have a driftmaster fences. I will do all cuts on the outside edge.

Is there a speed of cut requirement? Please explain the cut (like back and sides?)

Mike

If you like a challenge, get Fillipo's blade and film it cutting like a champ (with no resharpening).

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Brilliant!

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

I do not doubt that something is amiss here. Something is wrong. And it could be me. Or it could be a systemic problem as you say. I am not afraid to do the test. I will also be buying the blade you all spoke of, so someone give me a source for a quick turn-around order. Woodmaster CT? was that it? Is that a Lenox? I need this info today so I can order the blade.

Bob, where do you get your Woodmaster CT? This is not a variable pitch blade, right?

Mike

Mike I don't think it matters much what speed or what cut as long as it's not agonizingly slow. Of course the taller the cut aka backs the tougher it is. I probably have at least 1/2 doz RK blades hanging on the wall. Just can't get myself to toss a $225 blade. I probably started using them when I bought my 16" Laguna HD saw about 9 or so years ago. It has the 4.5 HP Baldor motor. I have had 3/4", 1" for the 16" saw and, 2" for my Laguna horizontal re-saw with 28" wheels. They all cut softer woods like butter. None of them ever made a complete cut on a really dense wood. Some made it about 2" and then nothing but burnt chips. So I'm hoping that I may learn something from your video.

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498