Laguna Tools MBAND185400 Italian 18 HD Bandsaw

After looking a number of saws from a number of manufacturers and continents I settled on this Italian ACM manufactured Laguna and I'm happy I did. Out of the box it's a fantastic machine, very high quality and I very happy. The paperwork says they ship with the 4.5hp Baldor but mine came with a 5hp Leeson which is fantastic, the ceramic guides are fantastic and easy to set up. I considered a MiniMax but for less money on sale I got more capacity and hp, and having used those in the past I don't feel I am missing anything with the Laguna. I also bought their Driftmaster fence and have been sawing consistent .040 veneers with it a day after moving it in to the shop.Dust collection is adequate though I'll work at improving it under the insert to keep the table cleaner. I thought about fabricating a mobility kit for it but found a great deal on one and it's a lot more convenient to just bolt it up and get rolling, but making your own would be trivial so long as you remember to not interfere with the lower door opening.I looked at the less expensive models they and competitors offer but I'm happy I spent the money and bought the Italian model. I see it as the last band saw I'll ever need to buy.

Here is a summary because we are all busy:Worst customer service in my entire life, this is enough to steer you away from this saw and the entire company.I have received two sets of ceramic guides that had one or more parts where the ceramic was not glued on well enough and came loose during use. Switched to carter guides.Electrical problems and accessories that don’t fit right or don’t workCurrently out of commission again waiting for a response from laguna with a 24hr wait as the first step.Where to begin, I own my own business and have had this machine for two years and now tell everyone I meet that does woodworking or is thinking about it to never ever buy anything from Laguna. I am a walking anti-advert for this company. I meet and work with a lot of woodworkers so I am doing my part.The saw as received had electrical problems and needed a replacement magnetic switch, the problem was there from the beginning but only as a louder than usual humming. I didn’t realize that wasn’t normal for an Italian bandsaw until it stopped working 6 months in and the replacement part was dead quiet. It was a tremendous fight and hours on the phone to different people to get the part. One person would tell me that it wasn’t under warranty (it was ) and then the next person would say the last guy had been fired. But I still would have to pay some portion and on and on with big gaps in communication. This was the worst experience with customer service I have ever had with any company anywhere in my now getting long in the tooth life. After several purple faced near cardiac events they finally agreed to replace the part. Then it started eating guides and destroying blades because the glue would let go and a piece of ceramic would catch on the blade with a grand show of sparks. This led to more conversations and the same run around, I ended up buying another set and had the same problem and decided for the sake of my business to eat the cost of a set of Carter roller guides. It was also to stop spending money on poor quality consumables and working towards not ever giving anymore money to this terrible company.The poor quality control extends to the add one. I bought the resaw fence from Rockler and had to send one back because it looked like it had been used and all the parts were loose in the box banging around in shipping. Nope the second one came the same way. Then when you put it on the saw it the door no longer opens all the way making blade changes difficult. Customer service assured me that I hadn’t done anything wrong installing it (feature I guess The mobility cart handle hits the table before it can be slipped under the tongue to use it. “Bend the handle to get it in there” was the reply. I had and was afraid of going past the kink point on the tube steel it was made from. “We will send you another” and nothing shows up.So what prompts me to write this is a year and a half in, at the beginning of an important job I go to turn the bandsaw on and nothing. It has a hum but not overly loud so it has power but still nothing. With a sense of dread I call customer service to see if there is an electrical troubleshooting guide or anything and all that I get is that a technician will call within 24 hours. I am trying to run a business and that is the best they can do? And after all my other experiences this could be weeks before it is resolved.So, if you want a $5000 paperweight that weighs 800 lbs and sometimes makes really nice cuts, this is the saw for you. If you would like the run around with the worst customer service you can imagine, this is the saw for you. If you would like a machine that single handedly takes away your money, business, customers and patience, this is the saw for you.For me I am past talking to every woodworker I know and will start to work online to get the word out. If you search you can already find people with bad experiences. I am going to add my voice to the chorus

Well built but lacks adequate dust collection, had to add a 2nd collector port just under the table. Also the single belt drive is inadequate for the HP of the motor and mass of the wheels as it squeals for several seconds on start up and gets worse as the belt glazes over from slippage, adjusting the tension and replacing the belt with different types doesn't help.

Table height at 33.5 in is too low for a tall person (6'2"). The guides are nice but break very easily with blade widths less than 3/8 inches. Very unsteady when turning, I have more than a few times come close to a rollover when turning a tight radius with a fast pulling of the bandsaw. I paid $3100 new about 10 years ago when I had a lot of extra cash or I would not have bought it. That is a lot of negative. This saw has plenty of power to cut a 1/16 inch slice off a 17 inch wide plank of jatoba without a hint of trouble. Very easy to get everything lined up for that paper thin veneer cut of any species of wood.

This is an extremely well made bandsaw that cuts beautifully especially for resewing where the 5HP and 18" resaw capacity really shines. Mine is a 2015 model and it works perfectly once it was properly set up as the previous owner apparently had little knowledge of how to tune a bandsaw. I installed a brand-new Driftmaster fence that came with the saw, which was still in the box and never installed, go figure. What a delight that fence is, super accurate and beefy. I have also installed a mobile base and a 1 1/4 resaw king blade from Laguna and customer service has been excellent.They responded quickly to my email questions and orders. I think they are getting a bad rap on customer service from years ago when they were a much smaller start up company. Today they are as good as anyone else in the business and much better than most.The welds and seams on this saw are perfect, seriously great fit and finish and the saw weighs over 500lbs, very stable. 18" of resaw capacity is amazing, but like most I may not need it very often but it is nice to have. Powerful, smooth and beautifully built by ACM in Italy, what's not to like. ACM builds some of the best bandsaws in the world and in this case Laguna has rebranded their Italian made saw, like several other suppliers.You can't go wrong with these Italian made saws, they will last a life time and longer.

This is a very expensive saw but wow does it cut. I've mainly resawed with this and it cuts through 10 inch oak like butter without a hint of stress. Softer woods is like sawing nothing. It is lower than most saws but that's why I wanted it being a paralyzed vet in a chair. This saw is all the power you'll ever need