Thread: Re-saw Band Saw

John, you will regret buying a 14" saw. It is not only the vertical depth that you need to consider but the distance between the spine and the blade. Buy at least an 18" for maximum use as I bet you find that ripping on a BS is something you do a lot of when you get used to it. It is faster and easier to rip on a BS than a TS. Our benevolent dictator woke me up to that.

You'll also want a strong motor, at least 1.5 h.p. I have a 2.5 h.p. 18" saw using a Lenox Trimaster carbide tipped blade and I have to be careful to feed slowly when planking harder wood.

I'd go the Laguna 14 SUV - its top of my list too....

It was recently reviewed in a group of larger saws, and found to be more than up to the task for resawing. It has a 3hp motor. I saw the machine demonstrated at the WWW show last year, and was very impressed.

The only concern I had was that the table height is unusually low - not an issue for resawing, but might be tough on the back if you have to bend down for other cutting operations.

John,
IMHO the Laguna's most important accessory is the Drift master fence.
I could not afford a new saw (refer SWMBO) as I had two already so I retro fitted the fence to my Jet 18" saw and was able to produce some beautiful veneers with little further effort on my part. Test veneers as thin as .7MM and consistent across width and height were easy. I will normally be using it for thicker veneers but its nice to know I can produce whatever I need.

I had already been using a woodslicer blade (from Highland woodworking) and this was also a contributing factor to the veneer quality. Adding the fence was the final piece of the puzzle. The fence is as solid as a rock and finely adjustable in all ways. I could not speak more highly of it.
Now one happy camper.

Cheers, Ian

John, have a look at this...MINIMAX S45N BANDSAW Bandsaw, Band Saw | GABBETT MACHINERY - Woodworking Machinery Sales Australia & New Zealand

I bought it for under $2000 but haven't taken delivery yet, Gabbett were doing deals a few months ago so still might be. As to the driftmaster fence, if the saw is set up right it is unnecessary, see Snodgrass's video on how to do that.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

John, you will regret buying a 14" saw. It is not only the vertical depth that you need to consider but the distance between the spine and the blade. Buy at least an 18" for maximum use as I bet you find that ripping on a BS is something you do a lot of when you get used to it. It is faster and easier to rip on a BS than a TS. Our benevolent dictator woke me up to that.

Chris,

Ever since I put a thin kerf blade and an outfeed table on my TS, ripping has become quite easy.

I am having difficulty (probably due to inexperience) imagining how a wider throat on the BS will help a lot when ripping, given that the maximum width I can put over my jointer is 260 mm. My current Trade Tools 14 " BS is the only BS I have ever used. Can you help me understand? Under what circumstances do you find a wider throat an advantage?

Am considering the Laguna 18" model as well, as well as a couple of other machines, if only to better future proof the purchase. It is another $500, but it is a resawing monster.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback.

Cheerio!

John

Looked at the Minimax. The 18" model is $2,200 for a machine with 300 mm resaw capacity. Minimax makes an industrial series with deeper cut capacity, but these are way too expensive for me.

Also looked over the Laguna's. Both the 14/14 SUV ($1,895) and the 18" model ($2,367) come with a 3 HP 15A motor. (According to the Laguna video the overseas version of the 18" machine comes with a 4 HP motor, which would make it a monster.)

The only advantage the 18" laguna seems to offer is a wider throat. Nice ... but is it worth $500? Other than that it has the same HP and resaw capacity as the 14" SUV. If the 14" SUV is as good as it looks, it just might be a game changer.

I reckon the Minimax was a good deal when it was on special given those prices. I must make an effort to get over there and pick it up and see exactly what needs doing to it before it can be used.

I'll throw the Hammer N4400 with the 20Amp 4 HP and 315mm depth of cut into the ring.

The thickest I have resawed is about 290mm Rosewood, with the stock fence and got consistent 3mm boards.

I have throw thru a 250mm eucalypt log and it just burped and said MORE!

One thing I have noticed, if you are going to resaw, you need an auxiliary table behind the blade or a helper. Makes it so much safer.

Originally Posted by Pat

I'll throw the Hammer N4400 with the 20Amp 4 HP and 315mm depth of cut into the ring.

The thickest I have resawed is about 290mm Rosewood, with the stock fence and got consistent 3mm boards.

I have throw thru a 250mm eucalypt log and it just burped and said MORE!

One thing I have noticed, if you are going to resaw, you need an auxiliary table behind the blade or a helper. Makes it so much safer.

If I am going to spend an additional $500 for an 18" machine then getting a 4 HP motor (Hammer) seems like a better idea than spending the same money to get a 3 HP 18" machine (Laguna) ... makes me wonder why the 18" Laguna is fitted with a 3 HP motor in Oz. It gets a 4 HP motor in the US.

The Hammer 18" has a 306 mm capacity, compared to the Laguna 14" SUV which has a 355 mm capacity.

Decisions ... decisions ...

The only thing that concerns me about the Hammer machine is the number of comments on here from people who have had issues setting them up, or other problems. I'm sure it is a great bandsaw when it is working properly, but people have had to perform all sorts of minor mods to get there. Plus it has a the non-standard mitre track.

For the money, I'd expect it to work well out of the box.

The same issues may well apply to the Laguna, but the small number of people who have bought them so far don't seem to have experienced the same teething problems.

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

The only thing that concerns me about the Hammer machine is the number of comments on here from people who have had issues setting them up, or other problems. I'm sure it is a great bandsaw when it is working properly, but people have had to perform all sorts of minor mods to get there. Plus it has a the non-standard mitre track.

For the money, I'd expect it to work well out of the box.

The same issues may well apply to the Laguna, but the small number of people who have bought them so far don't seem to have experienced the same teething problems.

Given that I get extra cutting depth and goodies like ceramic guides, foot brake and quick release on the blade with the laguna 14 SUV, I am certainly leaning that way. Still a bit miffed that the 4 HP motor is not made available on the 18" laguna, but it is what it is.

Gregory Machinery reckon they can deliver a Laguna late this month, and it seems likely this will be the decision.

"For the money, I'd expect it to work well out of the box."

Mine did

Decision made.

I'll have a Laguna 14/14 SUV by the end of the week, along with a resaw blade and a mobility kit.

Oh joy and happiness ... a new toy!

There were too many goodies on the Laguna to make me decide on one of the other machines, and it was $300-$700 cheaper than anything that came even close (including the Minimax or Hammer 18" machines).

All I need to do now is convince my niece's other half to provide my shed with another 15 Amp circuit.