Thread: Laguna JX8 - Any experiences?

Hi Matt712, I'm new on the forum also and looking to buy the same jointer. They seem to be a good 'entry' level jointer. Keen to hear some thoughts from the more experienced guys!

Hey Dimo welcome. There are some really knowledgeable people on here so hopefully someone might have some experience with it. I had a look at the machine at Carbatec on the weekend, looked like a nice solid piece of kit, only thing I noticed was some slight movement at the ends of the fence when pressed moderately hard, however the display model might not have been locked in properly.

Carbatec have their own version which is approx $1k cheaper, the only notable difference on the spec sheet being a 1.5HP motor vs the 3HP on the Laguna, however with light passes 1.5HP is probably ok. The harder thing to assess without actually using it is the overall build quality. $1k extra is worth it if the money is spent on QA rather than simply being a brand margin.

Majority of searches show results from North American Grizzy, Jet, Powermatic etc which I cannot see an Aus distributor for? Hafco are one other company I missed from my original post, I think they are about on par with Sherwood & Carbatec?

Thanks Matt712! I ended up buying the Laguna 8" jointer. Have used it a few times on American Oak, Walnut and a few Aussie Harwood's. It performed quite well. I briefly considered the Hammer A341A and A341, but couldn't justify the extra cost. I think the helical cutting blades are great it's within budget, but other blades are fine too if you ajust your work a little. How are you going with your jointer purchase?

That's awesome, how did you find the setup, everything easy to get coplanar and square? How much were the Hammer models out of interest?

Totally agree that the helical heads are the way to go, the finish, extra life of the carbide and ability to rotate blades if you hit a nail are all major pros which in my opinion warrant the additional cost.

I have held off for the time being as we have tightened the household expenses until inflation & rate increases come back under control. Will be interested to hear how you get on after some more experience. I still think I would go for the Leguna, it seems to be one of the only models in the mid range price point before you go to "pro" machines. Just seems odd that there is so little info on them out there. If you search for their bandsaws you get loads of hits?

If I were you I will buy second hand.
If power is issue, swap out the 3 phase motor to single phase.

bought my Delta RJ42 at $1200 NZD/$1000 AUD. the jointer table is 2.6m long, 400mm wide. weighs 640kg from memory

byrd1.jpgDelta.jpg

Came with Shelix cutter head.

I replaced the main bearing, also previous owner used incorrect counter sunk screws which resulted in unsatisfactory planing/jointing.

easy job. the jointer is now as good as a $15k SCM unit.

I can’t comment on the JX8 as I know nothing about them, however I can comment on Laguna quality control having just unboxed a BX18 Bandsaw. It’s fair to say I am less than impressed and honestly if it wasn’t such a hassle I would consider sending it back.

I have already sorted a number of issues such as some bolts that couldn’t tighten due to needing a washer whilst the next bolt along was only holding by 1 thread due to having 4 washers fitted. Lots of deburring needed on the table and pivots.

The biggest issue that is not easily fixed is the huge amount of porosity in a number of the welds. As an experienced welder fabricator I am confident it will be plenty strong, but I would have expected much better on a 4K bandsaw, I certainly would never send out an item with welds that poor.

Cheers Andrew

Thanks AJ and Albert for the additional comments, sorry for the delayed response I must have missed the "new message notification.

AJ - agree your bandsaw does not sound good enough from a QA perspective. Its really annoying because I would rather pay another 10-15% for something with proper checks. The problem with going for the next model up is that you are often into pro level gear that is +50 to 100%, the hobbiest grade is fine for me as long as it is well built / reliable.

Albert - sounds like you had a good find, where did you spot it? I have been browsing here, gumtree and facebook for about 3-4 months but nothing in the 8" size with a helical head. For whatever reason they don't appear to come up that much. Or maybe I am not good at spotting them.

Dimo - How are you finding it now a couple of months in?

Thanks all, appreciate the thoughts / advice

Hi Dimo. Could you give us a follow up on your jointer purchase please. Ease of set-up. Table coplanarity, fence alignment, cutterhead finish, straightness. Thanks Shane.