Laguna tablesaw and unisaw comparison
I am considering purchasing a cabinet table saw, looked at the Unisaw, Powermatic, and Jet. leaning towards the Unisaw due to all the accolades from readers and articles. However, I am intrigued by the Laguna tool TS table saw??? I am only going to do this once and I ge the feeling that this is a “top of the line tool” It is only a few hundred dollars more than the Powermatic and I cannot seem to determine what you get for the money. I am going to build the cabinets for my new home and will use it for weekend work for the forseeable future. It will not get any production work but I don’t mind paying a little more for the best… Does anyone have an opinion on this tools and or another suggestion. I am really trying to stay under $2500.
Thanks
Replies
Before you seriously consider Laguna, I suggest you read the following thread.
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages?msg=9374.1&mode=simple
I think FWW did a review of the Laguna TS a year or two ago, but I'm not sure of the issue. I do remember that they were dissatisfied with the fit and finish, and that the machine was made in eastern Europe (Bulgaria, I think).
Why not go with a Powermatic or General? Both are top notch machines, and both are made in North America. With Powermatic you also have the advantage of a local dealer, should any problems arise.
Jeff
Note on editing: Forgot to paste the link! Guess it's time for bed.
Edited 2/11/2003 1:05:24 AM ET by Jeff K
If the laguna saw is the one with the sliding table you better look the unisaw you will like it much better.
My partner purchased the laguna sliding table model and he has completely re-engineered the saw and has replaced the sliding table once because it had a warp in the aluminum extrusion. plus the ribbing in the top catches narrow board so its hard to get a good cut because the board drops into it.
while using the sliding feature it sure needs a out board support like on the larger saws. its dangerous.
The machining is poor, lt's got a lot of sharp edges and it was just was placed on the market too soon. The bugs were just not taken out of this saw before hand.
For a 4K saw you should not have to fiddle with the darn thing.
This saw also had a scoring blade which was time consuming to aline with the main blade.
How do you rip a long board on a sliding table saw?
The sliding table portion is for crosscuts. You rip the same as any other saw. The sliding table is to the left of the saw blade.
John
I admire the european brands of tools and machines, but in this case I would have to go with the consensus that you would do better with something other than the Laguna. I saw one at a woodworking show last year and was disappointed in the fit/finish, although surprisingly enough, their bandsaws were really top-shelf, perhaps a different factory?
You can't go wrong with any of the cabinet saws for what you have in mind. My father and I both have Unisaws and have had good results, along with good service from Delta. The Powermatics and Generals are also impressive, I also would consider Jet. Bottom line is that for cabinets and other weekend projects, any of these saws is more than enough.
I purchased a Laguna bandsaw and since I'm local, went to their headquarters to pick it up. While there, I was shown the Laguna TS. As they explained it to me, it's a saw that was designed by Laguna for the American market but a saw which has some of the European features.
Since the saw is a "new design", and since there are obviously some issues (see the other posts), I'd stay away from this saw. But, contrary to the other thread where Laguna was absolutely creamed in terms of customer service, I've had absolutely no bad experiences with either Laguna or my bandsaw. It's absolutely world class.
My cabinet saw is a Jet, and it's more than enough for your purposes. If you want the Unisaw, IMO, it's a better saw that will serve you extremely well for a number of years. I bought the Jet purely on price ... it was on sale several years ago for $1100, and it was hard, even then, to convince the wife that it was an appropriate purchase. The Powermatic is also an extremely good choice. As is the General (not General International). Good luck in your purchase.
John
I purchased a Unisaw not quite a year ago and like you, I don't do production work. For my use, I'm generally quite satisfied with it. It takes a while to assemble the wings and fence (I got the Biesmeyer) and get that all well tuned but the saw itself was pretty well tuned out of the box. Arbor runout was practically unmeasurable with an Aline-It dial indicator system. Miter gauge slots were impressively parallel to the blade (Forrest WWII) installed.
In your shoes, I'd buy the lesser expensive Unisaw (less than General or Powermatic) and with the difference in cost between it and the Laguna, buy a quality compound miter saw for crosscutting. Once tuned, I get better results more consistently with the CMS than with the table saw plus I can leave each machine set up for specific cuts.
No, I'm not as organized as I should be (grin).
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
I looked at a General this am and think it would be mistake to overlook it. It's fit, finish and construction seem better than the new Unisaw, imho. Worth a look. All three (Powermatic, Unisaw, and General) are good saws and I think you'd be pleased with any of them.
Just to complicate matters a little more, you might want to look at the Grizzly saws. They're cheaper and have gotten some good reviews here in Knots. You could use the savings for a SCMS and perhaps some left over for a dedicated router table or some other useful piece of machinery.
John
I just spent many hours looking into table saws and was all set to purchase the Powermatic 66. The day I was going to order I happened to be talking to the gentleman who designed the Laguna saw. I had just purchsed a band saw from them and he asked if I was interested in any other tools. The conversation turned to the table saw. I do not like buying anything unseen and buying a product that isn't really field tested yet but he was very sure that if I saw the machine I would by it over the Powermatic. He sent a vidio tape out overnight for me to view the saw. I, as well as some of my employees were impressed by what we saw. I asked for some references and he was able to give me two contacts. Both gentlemen said they were very happy with the machine and would purchase it again. Both said the main feature that made them select this machine was the sliding table. What I liked about one of the two people was that the reason the Laguna rep had his name was because he had a problem with the throat plate. He said he was pleased at how Laguna handled it and did so in a timley manner. He also commented the the machine arrived in great condition and needed very little done to it to get it up and running. The other thing that impressed me was that Laguna gave me the name of a client that had a problem. I decided to roll the dice and purchase the Laguna.
If a tenth of what I have read about the way some customers get treated by Laguna is true, and I believe it is, I would never consider buying any thing from them. Roulette ain't for me!
Don
Don,
I am not sure how many different folks here on Knots have had "problems" with Laguna in terms of customer service. The one thread I remember was started by one gentleman who bought a Knapp machine, which is supposedly one of the world's best. I don't remember that he ever posted the result. My guess is that Laguna took the machine back and he was made whole.
I think there's been lots of Laguna bashing here, and I'm not sure it was all warranted.
I, for one, have a Laguna 18 inch bandsaw and I've been treated extremely well by Laguna. I have since purchased a Robland router mortiser, and love it as well.
And I've been around long enough to know that all companies have some problems with customers and customer service. Let's keep things in perspective here.
John
PS - Note that I recommended against the Laguna saw for a variety of legitimate reasons ... none of which dealt with customer service.
John,
I've read about many different problems and on a few more places then Knots here. The biggest annoyance I heard about is from asking for one of the free demo videos and then getting 6 months of telemarketing calls. We're all entitled to our opinions, and with this company mine is they are too agressive with sales and to uppity about their machines and then lack the resources to deal with problems when they occur. At least Grizz has an east coast, west coast thing going, but still too far for me to consider buying from them. If you agree or not, I think these are very legitimate reasons to look elsewhere and I think my opinion is in perspective.
Don
Hello
I have a Bandsaw from laguna and I'm really not sure that thread everyone tries to bring up is really valid. I don't know why he insisted on a salesmen take care of his tech asistance... ALSO In fine woodworking they reviewed all the muti tool eurostations. from the review it sounded like most of them could not be tuned up to there own specs and the fit and finsh of half of them was terrible (especially the robland) . If you really want a good saw get a POWERMATIC 72. I'm going to get one someday.
Just my two cents
john
I'm kicking myself -- the last issue (I got it in the mail yesterday) of one of the journals reviewed the large cabinet saws, including the Laguna, Jet, Delta, Powermatic, Hammer, Rojek, Grizzly, Bridgewood, and General. The reviewer liked the European-style safety features (riving knife and blade guard) and the sliding table. He concluded that his first choice, funds permitting, would be the Rojek. He had nice things to say about the Delta, Jet, Laguna, and Powermatic.
I know that it wasn't Fine Woodworking or Woodwork. I'm certain that it's on the shelves by now.
As far as Laguna goes, I own one of their 18" bandsaws and have had nothing but positive experiences with their sales and support systems. I would certainly buy from them again.
Erik
The cabinet saw review was done in Woodworker's Journal...
How do they rate the Pm66 compared to the Unisaw?
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