I am going to upgrade my bandsaw and wanted opinions on which bandsaw to buy.
I am leaning toward the Agazzani 20″ or 24″. But did not want to rule out Minimax and Laguna. Who has what saw what do you think?
I don’t want to hear from those who read about such bandsaws but those who own them or have used them!
I hear that Agazzani is the best. Does not advertise that much so the cost is less than the other two. But I do like the motor size on the Laguna and the new resaw capacity.
Replies
I own and use bandsaws and am happy with the Laguna LT16 I just bought. But you'd be way ahead of the game if you read the American Woodworker review of bandsaws in the last several issues. Unlike most tool reviews, this one really was excellent.
I have the MM 24 and love it. I used to own a LT16 and upgraded. I looked at the Laguna saws and others in this category and decided on the MM as the best bet for me. I liked the weight, tire arrangement, dual drive belts, and cast iron guide post mechanism. Some of the European saws have table that only tilt to 20 degrees instead of 45....I don't tilt the table often, but I didn't want to limit myself to only 20 degrees. MM also have a great reputation for customer service, but I have never needed anything from them. All the saws in this range are probably great tools, and some just meet individual needs better than others. Do your homework on what each has to offer, compare it to what you need and make your decision. When dealing with a purchase of this size, I wouldn't make a final decision just on price. A few hundred dollars difference in a multi K tool won't matter in the long run when you work happily with the tool that meets your requirements the best. Just my 2 cents, good luck!
The 20 degrees is a UE maximum inclination by regulation, usually on export machines all companies have a 45 degree tilt. Most also put a foot break on export rather than the automatic motor break that is UE standard .
Philip
If you can afford it, go with the MiniMax.
I have a MM 16, and the more I use it, the more impressed I am with it. Customer service from MiniMax is legendary, and is one of the things that separate them from the other high end brands.
Tom
Mini-max saws are made by Centauro. Not too many bells and whistles but here they are considered to be the best by almost all professionals. The 60cm (24in) is what they consider the smallest professional saw. They call it the "compact" bandsaw. I got one to replace my 1981 Framar about 6 months ago, still can't believe the difference.
Philip
Agazzani is third here ACM who I think produces for Felder is second in quality.
Phillp,
Why though did you choose MM, is there any vibration?
Also sound like you don't live in the US?
anyone use the Agazzani?
I live In the furniture industry area of northern Italy. Centauro you find in every professional shop. You will have a hard time finding an Agazzani. Vibration just doesn't exist in my saw I got the CO model that has a heavier frame cost 200 Euro more but I figured this saw will be around for the next 20 years so what's 200 euro more.
Philip
After shelling out that much for the saw, shipping is probably insignificant. Still... I've gotta believe it's cheaper from Austin TX (MiniMax) than LA (Agazzani). Can I come play with it when it's in?
It seems with these three machines you can't go wrong either way.
Thanks for your advice.
3fingers,
I have had an Agazzani 18" for just over a year and am very pleased with it. I researched steel frame bandsaws for several months before my purchase and was trying to decide between MiniMax & Laguna. I 'm about 2 hours away from Eagle Tools in L.A. so decided to check them out before deciding for sure. I just really liked the way I was treated there (Eagle) so that's mainly what sold me. I got the 18" model for what I had expected to pay for a 16", plus they threw in extra blades, installed an extra long power cord, and helped me load it in my truck so I didn't have to pay shipping. Also the salesman, John Wee, was very knowledgable, not a "salesman" type, just more of woodworking enthusiast who knows his product thoroughly.
The saw does everything I expected it to, with one exception: I had intended to use it as my only bandsaw, mainly just general shop bandsawing, resawing and occassional scroll work using a narrow blade. I found it does not want to track narrow blades (1/4" and less) well, without a whole lot of finicky, time consuming adjustments. I decided to just leave a wider blade on it, and hang on to my old 14" saw with narrow blade for scroll work.
Also, I decided to set the base of the saw up on a couple of 6" high skids to bring the table up to a more comfortable level. Besides the blade issue I described, I have not had the slightest problem with the saw. Hope this info helps.
Gary
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