Thread: Artisan 400B - opinions?

I to am looking at a new bandsaw and came across this one that you speak of. It appears it is 10% off rrp $19xx. I still think for me that the Laguna BX is the best value/ quality. I come to this conclusion by the quality of construction, solid fence, superior blade guidance and good power.

I have seen quite a few customer service and machine quality threads in this place alone that would make me wary of buying a Laguna and far far more in the US. As for the Artisan it looks nice and should work as well as any other generic Asian band saw and these saws being made now are really getting up there in quality and good performance. I bought a Minimax only because the Asian saws being made back then were not the best and it was a smoking good deal that was never repeated. It is a good saw and only has one problem, the blade tension is on top of the cabinet and I have duck's disease so it is a stretch to reach.

Chris, I'm hearing you, I have "permission " to get the mid range Laguna but somewhat concerned about mixed reviews. As a premium and longtime manufacturer of equipment (e ven though some are manufactured in Taiwan) is no excuse for precision engineering.
I saw on an older facebook post thecolder model Artisen 400B was on sale for aroynd $1300 last Christmas (2018).
I'm in Bne so freight would be 300 odd dollars I suspect.

Here is my Short List

Harecand Fobes BP480, on special for just over 2k
Laguns 2.3k
Artison 400B 1.9k minus 10% plus shipping.

I have been reading through the threads yesterday and one fella said that proper setup and a good quality blade will m aske an entry level machine perform well...

I’ve also looked at the bandsaw before, and had a look in store and looks the goods.
I do have the combo planer/thicky from I wood like, and love it. Good solid machine and have had good customer service from them.

After I posted to this thread I sent an email to Iwouldlike (AKA Gabbetts/SMC/Minimax) for a product inquiry via their website and have yet to receive a reply. It annoys me when companies don't reply or acknowledge an email and they wonder why their sales suffer.

I just purchased an Artisian 400B, ex Bne with a wheel kit. I spoke to Peter in Head Office and I was very impressed with his knowledge and willingness to assist. In the end it came to 3 contenders, the Hafco BP480, the second hand Jet at Gregory and the Artisian 400B. In the end, I went with the Artisian, they look better finished than the Hafco and not much more than the Jet which was second Hand. I paid a substantial deposit and awaiting an appropriate time for collection.
Thanks everyone for your assistance and advice, I rarely purchase new machinery and when I do it is a sifgnificant exercise in getting a quality product at a good price point.

End of business today and they haven't contacted me so I think they just lost a sale.

It's a fair call, I contacted them last week and I didn't get a call back. If you are willing to call them and speak to Peter he might do a fair price and include an extra as well.
I found him helpful, I am led to believe t hgat they are snowed under from Easter holidays last week being disruptive to their correspondence.

Only 2 more sleeps till I pick up the new bandsaw! Very excited, annoying my wife though as I keep her up at night thinking about it.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

I have seen quite a few customer service and machine quality threads in this place alone that would make me wary of buying a Laguna and far far more in the US.

A lot more Lagunas out there so you'd expect more negative feedback. At least there are reviews, try finding anything on the Artisan, positive or negative.

Most machinery companies have decided it's better to let the customer do the testing - that saves them paying a test team, then let the customer do the repair - that saves them labour again, in the best case the customer just puts up with the fault and it cost them nothing. I bought a $700 Dell laptop, it comes with next day *on site* repair for 1 year. If I buy a $2000 bandsaw it will come with a heap of phone calls, an argument about something not working right, eventually a part will be shipped to me, then I will have to work out how to fit it. Wonder why Michael Dell is ludicrously rich?

The Artisan 400B is on special again, says pickup only, but I still don't know if it's worth it. It's claimed to be both 1.5kW and 2.2kW, I doubt it comes in 2 variants.

I have found shopping for a bandsaw to be extremely frustrating.

Yes, there are certainly a lot more Laguna machines sold in Oz that the Artisan but both are generic Asian bandsaws when it is all said and done and these days the Asian bandsaw is not such a bad thing, certainly way better than what it was and the features like quick release tension and brake are not found on lower end European saws which are the only alternative.

I wouldn't call Laguna generic Asian, there is nothing else quite like them from frame size to fittings. Anyway, they certainly are a step up on price compared to the other generic Asians like Leda, Woodfast, Hafco.

I had a look at an Artisan 500, the 400b's were in boxes and nobody around to unbox one. The 500 was very solid construction but to be honest not a lot better than a Leda, the fence was quite poor but the blade guides were rollers and looked decent. The wheels are really solid/meaty but I do wonder why they put smaller motors on considering that weight, and I do wonder how well balanced they will be. There was a lot not to like, and a some good stuff, but hard to argue with the discount price.

I'd appreciate feedback from 400b owners on how well these rip very hard timbers - e.g. I want to use for Gidgee or similar and worried the (confirmed) 1.5kW motor is going to struggle even with a decent blade.

I don't think I would buy a BS with roller bearings again as they just create heaps of noise and need a lot of servicing, ceramic guides are much better on both fronts.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

I don't think I would buy a BS with roller bearings again as they just create heaps of noise and need a lot of servicing, ceramic guides are much better on both fronts.

I'm ignorant here, the Carter roller guides seem to get very good reviews and that's from Laguna owners who replaced their ceramic guides because those don't like cutting curves apparently. I figure they have to be better than the steel disc guides on our club's Leda? Did you buy an Artisan in the end Chris?
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