shaneymack Posted March 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 I'd call customer support and have the saw replaced. I have had nothing but problems with this saw since the day it arrived. I would give it back in a heartbeat. Not sure what my options are simce i have had it a minth. Laguna has no service only parts for a year. I am definitely not replacing major pieces on a brand new saw. Not sure legally what my options are but i would love to rid my shop of the only piece of laguna that is in it. A little frustrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 ==>I'd call customer support and have the saw replaced. Well, let's just take a step back for a minute... Lt18 3000 right? I’m not up on Group SCM saws, so someone with one will have to chime in… Some upper-wheel trunnion assembly designs exhibit play while de-tensioned if the various tracking, canting, etc are improperly backed-off… I think someone on this thread has the same saw, so I’d ask them to detention the saw and see the amount of play… This story seems to be expanding… I've noticed that they usually do... You got the saw new? From Laguna? And this is the first time you’ve set it up? OR you’ve been using it for a while and you’ve just noticed the issue? Have you gone through the basic setup procedure and adjusted the upper wheel assembly? Are there other upper wheel adjustments (co-planer, canting, etc)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted March 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 ==>I'd call customer support and have the saw replaced. Well, let's just take a step back for a minute... Lt18 3000 right? I’m not up on Group SCM saws, so someone with one will have to chime in… Some upper-wheel trunnion assembly designs exhibit play while de-tensioned if the various tracking, canting, etc are improperly backed-off… I think someone on this thread has the same saw, so I’d ask them to detention the saw and see the amount of play… This story seems to be expanding… I've noticed that they usually do... You got the saw new? From Laguna? And this is the first time you’ve set it up? OR you’ve been using it for a while and you’ve just noticed the issue? Have you gone through the basic setup procedure and adjusted the upper wheel assembly? Are there other upper wheel adjustments (co-planer, canting, etc)? Yes the saw is new. I bought it from a dealer in quebec city which is about 2 hours from me in montreal. When i received it, it looked like someone beat it with a baseball bat. I dealt with the director of sales for Laguna canada. He saw the pictures and they sent me a free driftmaster fence due to how much damage was on the saw. He told me damage was only cosmetic. They also sent me new motor covers due to the two on the motor were smashed in. They sent me a new throatplaet because the one on the saw was gouged and bent. The new throat plate arrived too bent to be usable. So im sticking to the old one. The driftmaster fence they sent me was missing a washer and nut and was quite scratched out of the box. That gets us caught up to now.... Due to re equipping a shop from top to bottom i have been busy and didn't have time to set up the bandsaw. I got around to it the other day. Thats when i noticed the wheel wobble and vibration. I am not sure there are other upper wheel adjustments. I am trying to remain calm. I am not going to work on it tonight. Dont want to work on it while frustrated. I spent 35k on tools in the last 4 weeks and not one other tool (festool, powermatic, sawstop, oneida, general, supermax, fuji) has given me problems or were damaged like this. I was super skeptical of buying laguna. Price was right for a big saw. Should have went with my gut. You get what you pay for. Not sure its normal to be able to bend the bottom of the wheel untill it is actually out of the upper cabinet.....something tells me not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 You mean you can pivot the upper wheel by pulling its bottom (when there is no tension)? That IS normal. My saw does the same thing (not a Laguna). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted March 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 You mean you can pivot the upper wheel by pulling its bottom (when there is no tension)? That IS normal. My saw does the same thing (not a Laguna). This is the only thing i can see that would be causing wobble. I could be wrong. Like i said, just frustrated at this point. Had no problems with my old general 14" which was less than half the price. Not sure what to do. If anyone has any pointers or has this saw, help please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 ==>Not sure its normal to be able to bend the bottom of the wheel untill it is actually out of the upper cabinet.....something tells me not. Depends on the saw... On mine, you can't... You can actually apply quite a bit of torque and it won't move at all... However, several years ago, I had a saw where you could... If I get the chance, I'll pull the manual from l's site -- but it's been a long week and I've got a bottle of red waiting for me... Lot of tool dealers along 20E... I seem to remember a place with monster strucks and dianasours, but don't think they sold bandsaws You said something about 30 days... If you paid by CC, most are 60days... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted March 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 ==>Not sure its normal to be able to bend the bottom of the wheel untill it is actually out of the upper cabinet.....something tells me not. Depends on the saw... On mine, you can't... You can actually apply quite a bit of torque and it won't move at all... However, several years ago, I had a saw where you could... If I get the change, I'll pull the manual from l's site -- but it's been a long week and I've got a bottle of red waiting for me... Lot of tool dealers along 20E... I seem to remember a place with monster strucks and dianasours, but don't think they sold bandsaws You said something about 30 days... If you paid by CC, most are 60days... Thanks. I appreciate any help you can give. No rush, enjoy the wine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 BTW: you read the saw setup manual -- right? There's not some adjustment set screw that's loose, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted March 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 BTW: you read the saw setup manual -- right? There's not some adjustment set screw that's loose, right? I did read the manual. Pretty basic. Didn't see anything in there regarding upper wheel adjustments beyond tracking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janello Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Both blades from same manufacturer? It's entirely possible you have 2 wonky blades from the same miscalibrated welding machine. I would try one more 1/2" blade from another manufacturer. I had the same problem with a woodslicer. Put a Starret blade on my saw and it runs like a timex. Worste thing that can happen is you have a spare 1/2" blade, but totally omitted the blade from being the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted March 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Both blades from same manufacturer? It's entirely possible you have 2 wonky blades from the same miscalibrated welding machine. I would try one more 1/2" blade from another manufacturer. I had the same problem with a woodslicer. Put a Starret blade on my saw and it runs like a timex. Possibly. But if you read post #24 im not sure that would have anything to do with the blade. I am really not sure what to do with this thing. If i can get my money back, which i doubt, i would get the pm1500. Really like the powermatic quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janello Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 So i took the blade of and spun the upper wheel. It makes a clear "tuck a tuck a tuck" sound as it spins. I can grab the top and bottom of the wheel and move it in and out almost 1/8th". I ran the machine with no blade on it and it runs well. That sound would likely be magnafied under tension so bad it would be a clear sign you have a bad bearing or bent wheel. If you tension a blade and don't hear that (get louder) then its normal. You made no mention of noise when blade was on...just wobble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Go out to your saw and look at the upper wheel camber adjustment. The upper wheel pivots obviously so that it can be adjusted. Smaller saws don't have a locking mechanism The wheel should move easily without a lock so if you don't have a lock the wheel should move. You will know you have a lock if you have two knobs or two bolts in separate locations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted March 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Go out to your saw and look at the upper wheel camber adjustment. The upper wheel pivots obviously so that it can be adjusted. Smaller saws don't have a locking mechanism The wheel should move easily without a lock so if you don't have a lock the wheel should move. You will know you have a lock if you have two knobs or two bolts in separate locations. Thanks Pb. That is very helpful. I will go check it out this am. So the wobble has nothing to do with the wheel being able to pivot....one less thing to worry about. I guess i will have to buy another blade and test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 I would call Laguna and play authority chain until you speak to the highest ranking representative you can reach...then demand a full refund and removal of this machine from your shop at their expense. It's been nothing but trouble since you got it. Kiss the Driftmaster goodbye but IMO it would be worth it to start over. DEMAND a refund. Talk to the right person and you'll get it...mention that you've been asking questions about your problems on every woodworking forum on the internet...higher-ups are smarter and they know the bad press is more costly than losing one sale. Demand it. Don't be a prick...only the facts are needed. These companies are reluctant to hand out returns willy-nilly...returns absolutely crush profitability in a market with such already razor-thin margins. One return wipes out the profit on a handful of other sales of the same machine...sell ten and get one return...break even. So it's not like they're gonna offer it up to you on a silver platter...you have to work for it and push hard. You also have to understand the number of return requests they get from people who don't understand bandsaws...if a guy doesn't know how to tune a saw and can't get good results, what's he do? Calls and asks for a return. The reps have to weed out the morons from those with legitimate complaints. I think under the circumstances you should fairly obviously fall into the latter category. I spent 35k on tools in the last 4 weeks and not one other tool (festool, powermatic, sawstop, oneida, general, supermax, fuji) has given me problems or were damaged like this. I was super skeptical of buying laguna. Price was right for a big saw. Should have went with my gut. You get what you pay for. My previous comments aside, you're off-base here. If you polled every Laguna bandsaw owner about their satisfaction with the quality of their saws, you're going to get a totally lopsided result in the affirmative. You got a lemon, and you can't write off an entire company...especially one that is fairly universally recognized as a maker of good bandsaws...because of one lemon. You got unlucky. My least favorite and most disappointing tool in my shop is a Powermatic. I have a problem with one of my Festools as I type this. Does that make them terrible companies who I should never buy from again? Of course not...that would be ridiculous. Your frustration is totally understandable but your blanket deduction in finality is irrational. Even Ferrari has pooped out a lemon or two, I'm sure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 I'm with Eric on a calm but firm demand to return it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 ==>if you don't have a lock the wheel should move That's certainly true, but the converse isn't always true... Note: seeing you shop always kills me… My shop probably qualifies for some sort of FEMA disaster relief… I've had several saws that behave exactly as shown in PB’s video… No problems there… However, I’ve also had saws that don’t deflect a millimeter even without tension and without locks engaged… It depends on the trunnion and adjustment mechanism design… I believe this is more common in Euro-sourced hobby saws because of the myriad of safety interlocks in the setup… As a side note: these are great, until a simple $3 switch goes and you can't use the saw for two or three weeks (unless you're good with jumper-wires)... I‘m hoping someone with the exact same model saw and/or the SCM base model will chime in… The LT18-3K seems like a popular saw, so someone’s got to have one… You might update the thread title with the model number to attract a wider audience… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 I'm confused. You need to understand the machine. First adjust the saw keeping to the basics. Be sure to check the blade with a flat surface. If you still have wobble open both doors. Look at the blade blade position on the tires. It should be real close to the same on both. If not your lower wheel is off. This and blades are the most common problem when dealing with blade wobble. If your using a 1" timberwolf those are horribl. Go back to the 1/2" for your setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted March 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 I would call Laguna and play authority chain until you speak to the highest ranking representative you can reach...then demand a full refund and removal of this machine from your shop at their expense. It's been nothing but trouble since you got it. Kiss the Driftmaster goodbye but IMO it would be worth it to start over. DEMAND a refund. Talk to the right person and you'll get it...mention that you've been asking questions about your problems on every woodworking forum on the internet...higher-ups are smarter and they know the bad press is more costly than losing one sale. Demand it. Don't be a prick...only the facts are needed. These companies are reluctant to hand out returns willy-nilly...returns absolutely crush profitability in a market with such already razor-thin margins. One return wipes out the profit on a handful of other sales of the same machine...sell ten and get one return...break even. So it's not like they're gonna offer it up to you on a silver platter...you have to work for it and push hard. You also have to understand the number of return requests they get from people who don't understand bandsaws...if a guy doesn't know how to tune a saw and can't get good results, what's he do? Calls and asks for a return. The reps have to weed out the morons from those with legitimate complaints. I think under the circumstances you should fairly obviously fall into the latter category. My previous comments aside, you're off-base here. If you polled every Laguna bandsaw owner about their satisfaction with the quality of their saws, you're going to get a totally lopsided result in the affirmative. You got a lemon, and you can't write off an entire company...especially one that is fairly universally recognized as a maker of good bandsaws...because of one lemon. You got unlucky. My least favorite and most disappointing tool in my shop is a Powermatic. I have a problem with one of my Festools as I type this. Does that make them terrible companies who I should never buy from again? Of course not...that would be ridiculous. Your frustration is totally understandable but your blanket deduction in finality is irrational. Even Ferrari has pooped out a lemon or two, I'm sure. Grrat reply Eric. Lots of good points, and yes, i am just frustrated. I heard so many bad things about Laguna but was drawn to this bandsaw (over the pm1500) due to low price tag and people do seem to like this model online. I just got a email from the canadian director of sales, here is his reply; Hi Shane, It could be just a minor adjustment and your bandsaw will be running fine. It's normal to have some play in your upper wheel sideways, but it's just a matter of how much. I have about the same play in my LT14 SUV and I have no vibration. Since there's no language issue, I would recommend you to call Laguna Tools tech department directly at 1-800-234-1976 on Monday and they will walk you through a few steps to resolve the issue. Just make sure you have your serial number and model number ready when you call them. And if that can make you feel better, there's no such thing as "lemons" in our industry. Woodworking machines are not like cars with 50000+ parts and full of electronic. They are very simple machines with a motor and a few parts. When a problem happens, it's often just a matter of replacing the faulty part, and you're done. If you decide to return the bandsaw, you will not find anything equivalent on the market in that price range. You'll have to go with an European made bandsaw, and we sell those as well, but you will spend at least 4.5K$. The closest machine to what you have right now is the LT16 HD in our line up of Italian bandsaws. You can keep me in the loop if anything doesn't go as expected." Dont think he wants to deal with me anymore...lol I guess i will give them a call on Monday and see what they say. Not sure im willing to piss everyone off and be the exception to the rule and fight to get the saw replaced. If its true what he is saying, hopefuly it is just a small adjustment. IF they offered me to take it back and give me a refund i would take in a heartbeat. Its just kinda tainted in my eyes now. Im probably being dramatic but i tend to obsess about things..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 ==>If your using a 1" timberwolf those are horribl. Go back to the 1/2" for your setup. Agree with that, the initial setup should be with a 1/2" blade... Note: I'm rather positive on TW blades for a value option -- I've got several and they work OK... But I've only used about ten of them, so that's hardly a large sample... @OP -- could you shoot a short video? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted March 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 ==>if you don't have a lock the wheel should move That's certainly true, but the converse isn't always true... Note: seeing you shop always kills me… My shop probably qualifies for some sort of FEMA disaster relief… I've had several saws that behave exactly as shown in PB’s video… No problems there… However, I’ve also had saws that don’t deflect a millimeter even without tension and without locks engaged… It depends on the trunnion and adjustment mechanism design… I believe this is more common in Euro-sourced hobby saws because of the myriad of safety interlocks in the setup… As a side note: these are great, until a simple $3 switch goes and you can't use the saw for two or three weeks (unless you're good with jumper-wires)... I‘m hoping someone with the exact same model saw and/or the SCM base model will chime in… The LT18-3K seems like a popular saw, so someone’s got to have one… You might update the thread title with the model number to attract a wider audience… How do i update the thread title? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 ==>there's no such thing as "lemons" in our industry Ohhhhh, don't know about that... I think he's found Eric's solvent lacquer stash... I mean supply... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted March 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 ==>If your using a 1" timberwolf those are horribl. Go back to the 1/2" for your setup. Agree with that, the initial setup should be with a 1/2" blade... Note: I'm rather positive on TW blades for a value option -- I've got several and they work OK... But I've only used about ten of them, so that's hardly a large sample... @OP -- could you shoot a short video? Ya i could do a video for sure. Not sure how to upload it. What is the max size of video i can upload? The blades are made in house at the dealer i bought the saw from. They sent me both for free with the saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 ==>blades are made in house at the dealer i bought the saw from. They sent me both for free with the saw Something about Greeks and gifts comes to mind… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.