Watched both of your videos on Laguna 14/12. I am soon heading to woodcraft to purchase one. Thank You for taking the time to do the review and share with us
Bryan Collette You are welcome. I am glad that some viewers still buy the saw in spite of the warts I identified. All tools have their issues and once this saw is tuned to your liking it is an excellent performer.
Thanks Randy for the two excellent videos. Wish I would have seen them before ordering my saw. I went about a week looks at videos and reviews trying to decide between the Rikon 10-326 and the Laguna 14bx 220. I have a 10” Rikon and happy with it. Went with the Laguna and 3/4 resawking which will be here in a week to use for just resawking. Looks like I made the right choice. We will see. Appreciate the tips. I especially like the fence tip.
Thanks for both videos. This makes me feel more certain about the magazine reviews I've read giving this saw top honors over other top 14" saws. I get mine this month!
Randy, Thanks for the great review and solutions to issues you had. I have been looking for reviews on this saw. Looks like I will pick one up next month.
Randy, thanks a million for your reviews. I especially appreciate your clever work-arounds for those "minor annoyances". I think you sold me on this bandsaw. My current one is severely underpowered.
Thumbs up! Thanks for the honest review and all the tinkering required. It's now 2017; if possible can you provide an update on the ceramic guides? I have a '99 Delta 14" that I really like and am trying to decide if I should get a second saw (i.e. wait till I get the $$), sell the Delta, or just build a specific re-saw bandsaw. There are not a lot of Laguna dealers or options in Ontario to see the saw in person unfortunately. I'm not impressed by the Busy Bee or King offerings. Agree on the blade opinion too, I'm only 45mins from R&D blades - great for parts and accessories, but their blades aren't sometimes welded together straight! Will try All Blades Canada. Cheers ehh!
I watched several videos that commented on the table split not lining up. I checked mine and sure enough, there was a bump in the bad direction. I noticed there was some roughness on the casting where the nut seats. I cleaned this up and it helped. The other thing I realized even later was that without the bolt in place my table was perfectly aligned and tightening the bolt against the uneven bumps was actually pulling it out of alignment. This small issue is the only only problem I have noticed with the saw. I love it.
I went with the 14BX over a Rikon. I should have gone with the Rikon because I dont need so much saw anyway, but I ran into the same problems you did and Laguna ignored my emails about the vibration...gonna use some of your fixes for mine. |Love the blade insert part and the magnet ideas
Good fix on the nut. Tires look better too. Might give this saw a shot. I was thinking that a metal shim below one side of the nut would work when I saw the first review. Your way solves it as well. Good to know the flex is there to correct the problem. Must be the milling of the groove, i bet that is where the unlevel comes from.
Great review Randy. I am torn between this and the Jet 14". I have seen both in person. The build quality on the Laguna is very nice! I am just a bit concerned about QC and the ceramic blocks. I really may have to take a gamble and get the 1412!
Thanks for a great review and your "fixes." I bought a Laguna for a number or reasons, one of which was your review and I am in the process of incorporating a number of your suggestions. I noticed your saw is elevated within your mobile base. I felt the table was a few inches low and I have opted to replace the Laguna stand with a slightly higher mobile storage base. As to the fence, I have been giving some thought to a shop-made fence using Magswitches and taking the Laguna bar completely off. Thanks again.
+Bill Giersberg Which mobile base did you go with, Bill? I want the mobility too, but the topple aspect of the saw is at the forefront of my mind. Honestly, avoiding the cost on the laguna base wouldn't be bad thing either :)
+eRob Lawrence I built my own from 3/4 birch ply. It is 20" wide, 24" deep and 24" high with the Woodcraft casters I attached. It is very stable. I tried to exceed the footprint of Laguna's base so I would add stability, not lessen it. The casters add another 2.5 inches to the width so when I move it or push a piece of wood into it, it does not give me any suggestion it might tip. Let me see if I can post some photobucket links for a couple of pics. i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab108/Hgiersbe/B772E36E-AAA4-4BBC-AB31-CAE7BA532A8F_zps5za0anhf.jpg i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab108/Hgiersbe/2FA765DA-2DB1-4D88-8410-DBE08033AEB9_zpsj9r93ftc.jpg
+Bill Giersberg Many thanks for that. Very nice job. I also notice that the original 1412 base is completely different from the base that allows the 1412 and the 14bx series. Seems the newer universal version is lower to the ground and doesn't 'hug' the body of the saw. I imagine this is to allow the bx full cabinet design to open.
what is the thread count for the M6 cap screw for blade guide. BTW my saw did not have but one lock screw on the plate that holds the lower blade guides. I called Laguna and they check the saws in their show room .Their band saws only had one lock screw. Check page 35 in the manual and it shows 2 lock screws. These screws have an odd thread count .My local Ace hardware does't have that thread count. I think it is a M6 .75 where the usual screw is M6 1.0 . My lower blade guides have come lose due to saw vibration. They are a pain to adjust. Also the sawdust deflector got cut and I tried to order a replacement. Laguna customer service guy said most people don't use it. I don't believe it. There is a lot of sloppiness here.
How unlevel was your table? I just got one this week and the back side is about .003” lower than the front side. I’m not sure if I should be worried about that or not.
my table didn't have any issue ,perfectly flat/flush . my door doesnt hit the nut or washer or fence knob either. you must have got a bad unit or something. or perhaps they saw this video and changed there product !!! mine has been flawless. *** correction, I guess mine does hit the fence knob, weird I didn't notice that....I dont change my blade much I guess. now its gonna bug me. but my lower door is notched/beveled off on the lower right corner to clear the nut/washer where I see yours is square, so they must have changed that in later models.
Thanks for the videos Randy. I too am deciding between the Rikon 10-326 and the Laguna 1412. The only bad thing I have heard about the Laguna is the ceramic pads wearing out. New sets cost $100. Have you had the need to replace them yet? the new Rikon has quick setting bearings. Pretty nice. I feel like the Laguna has the best accuracy on cuts. Thanks!
I went with the 10-326. When the barrings go bad they are real cheap to replace. I love it so far. I am totally new to using a band saw and am blown away how it cuts threw thick stock. It's too bad because the Laguna is a beautiful saw.
Randy, you probably know this by now (Your review was made in 2014) but your table is probably not the issue. Take a close look at your trunions and compare both. One may be milled deeper than the other and this is what is causing the table to be uneven. I came across another individual that had this issue and it turned out to be the trunions (which Laguna replaced and solved the problem).
Hi Randy great review. I one RU-vid video that says don’t get the 14BX or this saw or any Laguna bandsaw because you can’t cut out Bowl blanks for wood turning because the blade bends to the left and binds. Then in the remarks there were 3 or four people that totally agreed with him. I am a wood turner and use the band saw for cutting bowl blanks 90% of the time. Have you heard anything about this? Was just about to buy the 14BX when I saw his review. Now not sure what to get
blumax413 I don’t know. I’ve never cut out a bowl blank but I can’t imagine how any well tuned bandsaw would perform much different than any other with similar capacity.
A few sparks now and again. It's normal. Some people freak out when they see this, plus they see the metal residue on the guides and think the ceramic has worn off. The guides are solid ceramic and some metal deposits onto the white ceramic surface from the blade is to be expected.
Randy G thanks for the quick reply. I appreciate it. Yes I know it's solid ceramic... ;). I really liked this machine when I "saw" it. I think I am pulling the trigger. Also found out carter is making bearings for it if I wanted. Thanks again. BTW, great review. It's rare to see someone be straight forward and accurate. Best! Ken
i have the 14/12 and im having a problem with sparks when i cut a radius but i have adjusted the guides as per the manual and the saw is brand new im stumped help plz
Wow. Cant believe there are this many issues and design problems with the saw. I was originally considering this one, but after seeing it in person, I went with the Jet-14SF-3 (excellent saw btw). The 14/12 isn't even in the same class. I haven't seen one in person, but I think the 14BX is a much better saw than the 14/12.
Hey Randy, What's the saw like if you resaw without a dust collector hooked up? Is it a dust storm or does most of the dust just fall to the floor? or would it build up inside the lower case and cause a problem.
+Stephan P in BC Like any bandsaw, it creates loads of dust and it is indeed a storm if you do not employ some type of dust collection. It will be in the air, fall on the floow, collect in the wheel housings, gather atop the lower guides, etc. etc. But once again, that's true for any bandsaw.
+Randy Woodworker This is true. I'm not going to bring the cyclone dust collector to the new shop and I've read that the 1412 has a fairly well sealed lower wheel cabinet. My concern is that the lower cover would contain the dust and the bottom wheel would start dragging in it. I've never been without a DC system before so it'll be a learning experience.
Hi Randy, that was a wonderfully thorough review. Thanks taking the time to do that and for posting it. I am contemplating buying the Rikon 10-326 over this one. Do you have any thoughts on that? Or would you still go with the Laguna 14-12?
Will Carpenter I still think the Laguna is the best machine. Rikon is a fine choice as well. My review was done right after this model was introduced so some of the QA issues may be resolved by now. I still love my saw and wouldn't trade it for any other 14" machine. Good luck.
Hi Randy, If you don't mind I have just a few more quick questions. (if you don't care to answer them thats fine) but I am in interested in knowing: 1) Have you had to replace your ceramic guides in the 3~ years since you bought it (how many times)? 2) Did you purchase the wheel-base? 3) Are there any reasons you think the Laguna is better than Rikon? (Thanks!)
Will Carpenter The ceramic guides work as well as new. They are not as white due to metal deposit from the blades but they are holding up well. I did not get the mobility kit because I already had a mobile base for it. There are two things I like on the Laguna better than the Rikon. The ceramic guides and the tension adjustment. The Rikons is on top and not as convenient as the location on the Laguna. I don't think you can go wrong with either saw.
Was debating whether to go with the BX over the 1412 I ultimately bought. I didn't really feel for that brake thing and the fact that it has 2 4' dust ports was a bit overwhelming for my little hobby garage type shop. I did very much love the all metal solid frame construction. It was about $300 more which I could put towards a jointer.
Great review. I am going to order one tonight, finally - Can you tell me the blades you bought? I looked up All Blades Canada, but they didn't sell over the web. Maybe I have the wrong site. Thanks -
Randy, have you had any issues with the tension release? On mine, it's not clear whether throwing the lever actually releases the tension. If I want to change a blade, for example, I must throw the tension release lever and then also pull the top wheel down to get enough slack to remove the blade. I've been meaning to ask Laguna about this. I have the exact same little blade waggle that you mentioned. It cuts fine, but I want to see if it can be made smoother by changing the tires. Did you need to put a camber on the Carter blue tires in some way? The final thing that bugs me about this saw is the little bit of movement in the fence as you tighten it down so that you need to monkey a bit to get the setting you want. You can't just read the scale and then tighten up. There's just a little bit of play. Thanks for your reviews.
The Carter tires just go on as is and fit pretty nicely. I haven’t noticed any issues with my fence like you have. Yes the wheel stays up sometimes when the tension lever is released, but only a slight tug pulls it down. That makes me believe that the tension has released. I don’t worry about it. Hope this helps. I am still very happy with this bandsaw.
@@randyg5884 Thanks for the reply. I'm quite happy with mine, too, and feel like I'm just making final tunings. With the stock, crowned tires, I don't need to adjust my fence for drift. I can make small tracking changes via the tracking knob and that corrects for drift. (Snodgrass describes this). So, my fence is always square to the table edge. Do you know if this method still works with the Carter tires, which I don't think are crowned?
Hi Randy. An interesting product review. Nevertheless I will still be buying one of these puppies shortly. LOL Yes, I did find your review useful and lots of points to look at when I finally get it. So what's this "chinching" and "chooching" all about? There's another Canadian guy on RU-vid that says that all the time. AvE I think. Must be a Canadian thing! Anyway, great review. Cheers
Hey Randy, trying to decide between a Rikon 10-326 and a Laguna 1412, and couldn't help but notice the accent. You here in Newfoundland, or am I mistaken?
Tough question. For used equipment I usually employ the 50% of new rule, but it depends on condition. At only 4 years old and if it is in pristine condition I would go as high as 75%. But that's just me talking.
My 14/12 had the table problem, so I ground off a relief on one side of the nut and then tightened the bolt until it seemed tight, but did not get the two sides perfectly even. However knowing cast Iron; I knew the two sides would stress relieve over the next few days and they did. Gave the bolt another turn until the two sides were even and again in a couple days I noticed the bolt wasn't really all that tight, but the tables were still even. After a couple months I made micro adjustments to true the tables and now all is well. Hope this helps.
