I've got a friend that I'm making a table for. They are offering me a steep discount on a NIB Laguna Band Saw in exchange for payment.

I was looking at a Grizzly 14", but I really like the Laguna 14/12. It's way more band saw that I can imagine needing, but it's really nice.


Anyone have experience with the Grizzly or Laguna?

I have the G0513X2 from grizzly, my brother has the Laguna LT18. Both serve a purpose at a vastly different price point. I certainly couldn't get my 513x2 to resaw as efficiently and smoothly as his saw does, but 90% of my bandsaw work is roughing out bowl blanks or making templates for furniture projects. I often to resaw 3/16" thick slats for bent laminate projects, but I run those through a drum sander to get uniform thickness and remove any saw marks. My brother could get a consistent 3/32 cut up to 12" tall with his, not something I would venture to try on my saw, but he also can use a 1.5" band, whereas I am maxed out at 1" realistically. If I had a taller max cut of around 14-16" I would be happier, but I often find myself pushing the 12" resaw height limit on bowl blanks.

If they are offering you an LT14 for under 800-900 I would take it over the grizzly. The extra 2" height it nice, but the 13.5" throat would be limiting to me sometimes. I like the 17" throat on mine. I've heard hit and miss stories on laguna customer service (all hearsay/woodworking forum from other people) but I have been happy with Grizzly's customer service each time I've called them with a problem.

Edit/Afterthought: What kind of table are you building? Pics/Plans?

Looking at the Grizzly G0513P vs the Laguna 14/12.

Grizzly would run me about $8-900, Laguna would be about $200, but that would mean me eating about $400 in materials and my time (still a heck of a deal, of course).

My other concern with either of these is the fact that my new shop is pretty small. I mean, 20x20 small. Do I truly "need" a bandsaw capable of 12" resaw capacity? Most of what I currently (and most likely future) plan to make is small to medium sized furniture (beds, tables, dressers, etc...)


Table is just a basic farmhouse, planed & distressed top. Nothing really nice, but apparently very popular. Also making a vintage/industrial kitchen table for the new house. I'll post up a few pics when I get a chance.

bandsaws are situational, no doubting that. my shop is a 2 car garage, so I make space for it. Get an HTC2000/3000 mobile base and you can push the saw out of the way while not in use. the HTC 3000 cost a little more and may be overrated for the weight of the saw, but the lifting/moving mechanism is far superior to the 2000, especially for a topheavy tool like a bandsaw.