Best re-saw bandsaw? Laguna vs Jet vs Grizzly vs others
Never a 5 star average on any of them.
By best i mean in a budget of $800 to $1200. And has a resaw capability of 12″
At first I was going to by a smaller one with a riser kit for a small 12″ re-saw job and then I would have a bandsaw for other jobs.
I’ve never done any veneering but Im intrigued by bookmatch furniture and I may be changing my mind about the size of bandsaw. I know nothing about all of that for now, but my dilemma comes from my research of these popular brands in this price range.
This seems like a Ford vs Chevy vs Dodge argument from a bunch of fan boys observing from the outside. I’ve worked in a cabinet factory and used a bandsaw thousands of times but that’s my extent. Blade changes and tension adjustments, but never knew much about the guts of what I was running.
My current project I would like to resaw some 12″ material. Im burning through planer blades trying to plane some thick barnwood and at this point resawing past the junk would save a lot of time and money concerning the planer.
On to my issue. People have problems with all 3 of the brands I was looking at. Grizzly, Jet, and Laguna. I think Powermatic may have been in there as well.
I am sure some of this may come from user error in setting up blades and whatnot, but I am interested in some arguments for or against all of these and whatever other brands are unmentioned.
I would save some money by buying a used one but I have a hard time spending $800 for a used bandsaw when $1200 buys new with a warranty
Thanks for the advice
Replies
jaybee76 have you checked out the Rikon 14" #10-326. I think its worth a look if you haven't already.
I have seen it but have seen it mentioned less when doing random searches. Why do you think this is better than others in this range?
looks like it comes with a large fence and has some novice user friendly setups. Also has a bigger horse motor than I see with some in this range. 1200 is my limit for justification and I think a couple in this range dont come with the nice big fence.
Not sure about quality of resaw on this brand though.
Maybe I didnt look too far into Rikon because Menards carries it. Im not a big fan of any brand they carry usually and not knowing this name probably is why I did not look further.
Would be nice to get this there during the 11% and save some cash.
ANy experience with Rikon?
I bought my Rikon 10-326 at Woodcraft, during the 15% off sale earlier this month.
I love it. I've used it for all kinds of stuff sine I bought it. Probably turned it on at least once a day, and usually three or four times.
I needed some thinnish stock for inlaying in some bowties... Grabbed a chunk of walnut, cut off about what I needed and went to town with the Rikon. It sliced through the walnut like butter.
I did buy a couple of extra blades when I picked it up, a little nicer 1/2" blade and a 1/4" blade for tighter curves and such. The stock blade's weld leaves a little to be desired and clicks as it spins. I began polishing it off, but got impatient and threw one of my better blades on... and I was off to the races.
I could not be happier with my saw. It has a lot of features that make it a bargain and a really quality piece of equipment. Ball bearing guides, cast iron wheels, cast iron table, the tall fence (or short fence, if you simply swap it's position), the adjustment for the fence to be square to the table couldn't really be much simpler, and it has a nice resaw bar included as well.
In other words, consider picking up a Rikon, but, if you can., wait till it's on sale!
I have the Laguna 14-12 And love it. I resaw 10 to 12 inch cherry in 1/16th inch all the time, using 1/2" blades from Woodslicer or Starrett. As far as I'm concerned, it's a perfect saw, right out of the box.
The stock fence is great, but check out the Bow Products Guidepro featherboard. There was a recent review on FineWoodworking.
I second what John said. I own the same Laguna model and have been very satisfied. I looked at the Jet, Rikon and Laguna 14" models that were in the same price range. The casting looked cleaner on the Laguna than the other two. I've also used my Dads 14" grizzly, which is a nice saw, but only has a 10" resaw. I also felt adjusting the fence was much smoother and quicker on the Laguna than the others. As a bonus, I also like the window on the side for tracking the blade.
I do always like saving big money at menards, but woodcraft and rockler often run 10% off on Jet, Rikon and Laguna.
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Ditto on Laguna. I spoiled myself with the 3HP 14SUV, but the saw is the same design with a 14 3/4 resaw cap. The tall fence Laguna sells as an add-on is great. I bought an extra fence casting so I can pop it on and off. My saw runs true, no drift at all. Also ditto on the woodslicer blades.
I have the Rikon 10-326 best investment I've made in a long time.
I've used it to resaw everything from Oak to Wange worked great. Plenty of power I have had know trouble with this Bandsaw at all.
I've read the same thing about Jet recently and even some for Grizzly, Thanks for the info about the 15 percent off sales at Woodcraft. I'd rather save the money then wait for a rebate at Menards, and it is more off. Woodcraft has the Rikon at the same low price Menards does but Rockler starts out $100 higher. Hope they run this sale soon.
What makes the 10-326 $300 better than the 10-324 that is on sale right now? I see 1/4 horse motor and the bottom cabinet are different but the re-saw is still 13"
nevermind on this question. their customer service helped me out on this comparison.
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