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7th February 2024, 05:39 PM #1Boucher de Bois
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Hafco ST-254 or Laguna Fusion F1…
Hi all. After a couple of years hiatus from doing proper woodworking, I have a few projects to do and have decided to finally get a table saw. I’ve been getting by with a bandsaw, mitre saw and a track saw, but I’m sick of working around their limitations.
My workshop isn’t huge, around 3x5m with a chunk of that taken up by my workbench, so I need something reasonably compact and easy to move about. My selection is very limited here in NZ, and there is no retailer in my city (or even close to it) to have a look before purchasing. I have narrowed the choice down to the Hafco ST-254 from Machinery House or the Laguna Fusion F1 from Carbatec.
Does anyone have experience with both or either? From what I’ve seen, the Laguna is quite a bit lighter (which may actually be a big plus), less powerful and seems to have been designed quite thoughtfully. They Hafco is heavier and more powerful, and a little more “generic” in its design. Are there any big advantages of one over the other?
A big constraint I’m working with is the physical access to my workshop. It’s in a basement down some narrow stairs with a tight 90 degree turn at the bottom. There is no way anyone is getting an assembled table saw down there, so whatever I get needs for the biggest component/subassembly to be small enough and light enough for two people to carry down the stairs. I suspect the Laguna might have more of a chance of meeting that requirement, and if the Hafco doesn’t it’ll be a dealbreaker.
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8th February 2024, 11:17 AM #2GOLD MEMBER
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There's pluses and minuses for both. I'm assuming the Laguna is a hybrid (mechanical bits hanging off the table the same as the ST254) so no difference there? 3hp is very handy for heavy ripping, but you'll need a 15 amp outlet. Depending on the type of work you're intending to do dado capability might be a consideration.
Considering your restricted shed space don't forget to take account of the greater depth of the ST254 table (800mm), the Laguna table will be under 700mm.
I have an ST254 equivalent and am generally very happy with it. Happy to answer any specific questions.
Cheers,
David
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10th February 2024, 04:43 PM #3Boucher de Bois
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I’m leaning firmly towards the Laguna now. There are a few nice features on it, like the arbor lock, quick release blade guard/riving knife, and on board accessory storage that would be useful to me. Carbatec also confirmed that it’s light enough to carry down the stairs, so that’s a big plus.
The extra power of the Hafco would be nice, but by all accounts the Laguna works just fine with what it has.
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23rd March 2024, 03:46 PM #4Boucher de Bois
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Just thought I would provide an update in case anyone was wondering. I ended up getting the Laguna, and am very pleased with it so far. It’s very smooth and well balanced, everything is nice and accurate and the dust collection seems to work well. I put a Leuco 24T full-kerf ripping blade on it, and it quite happily goes through 55mm white oak at a respectable feed rate, so 1.5hp will indeed do the job for me!
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