Felder vs. Laguna 18" bandsaw

[derudog]

I was planning on buying a Felder FB510 bandsaw. This month the Lagunas are on sale, so the price is a little lower for the Laguna 18 Italian saw. I don't have specific plans to resaw at 18", but that seems to be the major advantage of the Laguna. The Felder is 16". On paper, they have the same power and throat depth. The Felder has a 170 inch blade which will be a custom length, but not a big deal. Felder also has two dust-collection ports, though I'm not sure how much of a difference that will make. The Laguna has a broader range of blades it can use (1/8" to 1-1/4")

Felder was a first choice because they are high quality and the US Headquarters is about 30 minutes away if I have any issues. Some other little things about the Felder: it has a sanding unit as an option, though I don't plan to use it. Also, I have a Hammer miter guide for my sliding table-saw that should work with the bandsaw.

Are there any woodworkers out there with experience with these two saws? Are there advantages and disadvantages I may not be thinking of? Most reviews I see of the Lagunas are from many years ago. Do they have the same build quality in 2019?

[wtnhighlander]

First, a disclaimer - I have no experience with either saw. But for me, blade availability, coupled with the reduced blade stress provided by larger diameter wheels, would steer me toward the Laguna.

[Mick S]

I recently went down a similar decision path. I looked hard at the Felder 510, Laguna 18LT and the SCM S500P (Centauro). I wound up with the S500P, but the Laguna would have been my second choice. 

My highest priority for the new saw was resaw capability, not simply capacity, but rigidity. The SCM was very highly rated for rigidity and coupled with the 20" capacity, it was my choice. I realize that it's currently selling for substantially more than the other two, but we're coming up on the sales season. It also looks like SCM is about to introduce a new S440P, S540P, S640P, etc series so they may blast the older models out. Felder has open houses next month (sale pricing) and, as you said, Laguna is currently on sale.

3 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

But for me, blade availability, coupled with the reduced blade stress provided by larger diameter wheels, would steer me toward the Laguna.

The Felder has larger wheels at 500mm. 

One spec on the Laguna that I didn't want was the 33 1/2" table height. 

I would shy away from doing sanding on a bandsaw. I'm honestly not sure why Felder continues to offer it as an option. You can get a 1" stand alone belt sander for less than their option.

The broader blade range of the Laguna is a big consideration if this is to be your only bandsaw, but I believe Felder is now offering ceramic guides at no additional charge on the 510, so they should have similar capacities.

Just something I've noticed recently is that the 18LT does not show up in the list of current models on Laguna's website. EDIT: I just didn't scroll down far enough. They moved the heavier machines to a different page on their site.

Both of the saws you're looking at are top notch machines. The Laguna 18LT is made by ACM in Italy, which has a very good reputation. Same build quality as ever.

[wtnhighlander]

8 hours ago, Mick S said:

The Felder has larger wheels at 500mm. 

Hhhmmm...not being familiar with the saw, I assumed the 16" mentioned above was wheel diameter....

[Mick S]

6 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

Hhhmmm...not being familiar with the saw, I assumed the 16" mentioned above was wheel diameter....

Must have been an oversight or typo on the OP's part. Felder's machine numbers correspond to the capacities of the machines. Didn't mean to be rude, just skimmed over his 16" comment.