Laguna 3hp Cyclone Dust collector

[Jim Stewart]

I am looking at cyclone dust collectors and it seems that the Laguna is a nice package. I like the fact that it will fit easily in my shop with an 8 ft. ceiling, 60 gallons of waste capacity, quick detach for the container, 60 gal. container is on wheels, has a view window to detect near full, has a shaker for the air filter, and it is quite. The cons would seem to be price and a motor made in Taiwan.
I have looked at many others and none seem to offer most of these features. Any user opinions? I have one other Laguna tool, the HD16 bandsaw and I love that thing.

[Brian Cosgrove]

Jim, You also might want to check out JDS cyclones. To me, they appear to be the same exact thing as Laguna (I think they make them for Laguna) and they are a little cheaper.

[Jim Stewart]

Good call they do appear to be the same. Thank you! The Laguna gives you the remote which makes them $100 higher. Jds also offers free shipping and Laguna only offers that twice a year.

[Peter Quinn]

And the folks at JDS are very friendly, the CS is quite good IME. I lost a screw on my miter gauge and they sent it out quick at no charge. Got a real person on the phone quickly.

[Robert Maloney]

I got the JDS 3 HP cyclone for the same reasons, low ceiling height. JDS also offers the remote for theirs. It's a great accessory. I've had mine for about 2 months now and have no complaints. CS and free shipping made it a no brainer.

[Eric DeSilva]

+1 on JDS--I've had one for almost four years and it has treated me well. Very well built. The only issue I've had is that vibration has loosened up a number of the nuts that hold the cyclone to the rest of the assembly. As I lose nuts, I've been replacing them with nylon threaded nuts. But if I was rebuilding it from day 1, I would have just used nylocks from the start. I also put my cyclone on that 1/2" hard rubber drain mat stuff you can find at the borgs, seems to have made it a bit quieter...

[Mike Wilkins]

One of the recent woodworking mags had an article comparing different portable cyclone systems. It may have been American Woodworker. Laguna, Oneida, Penn State, and several others were compared. The Oneida came out as the editor's pick (no surprise there).

[Jim Stewart]

Mike, I will look for the article, but I don't take American woodworker. I was leaning toward the Oneida, but I don't like the 35 gallon drum. I could get a 55 gallon from Oneida if I would make a build-out in the ceiling to allow room. I hesitate to do that, but it would not be a great big deal. Hey, that quick release drum on JDS and Laguna also looks nice.

I did not like the response that mentioned vibration in the JDS.

[Paul McGaha]

It was American Woodworker that tested the portable cyclones like the JDS and Laguna you're looking at.

The winner was the Oneida but it wasnt an apples to apples comparison because Onedia sent their Smart Cyclone and I guess it has some features the others didnt have.

I have an Oneida Dust Gorilla and very happy with it. I think that JDS Cyclone is very well liked and highly regarded. My system is less than a year old. You never know, In a few years I may be changing or tightning my hardware also. A lot of hardware to a cyclone.

Good luck with it.

PHM

[Eric DeSilva]

Since I mentioned vibration, I'd note I'm also a happy owner. There is going to be vibration with anything that spins. It isn't something that is concerning, other than that it is slowing working some bolts loose. But they are on the outside, easy to spot. The only reason I mentioned it is to urge that you use nylock nuts to start with, if they haven't already switched over to them. The JDS is really well built and solid--lifting it up once the legs are installed is definitely a two person job. The materials are substantial and the welds are really well done, as is the rest of the fit and finish.

[Leo Graywacz]

If bolts are loosening because of vibration it is too much. You tighten everything down, run the machine for a month and then retorque. If they come loose again there is too much vibration. I have the 2 1/2 HP Oneida and there is no real vibrations present. I am happy with the DC.

[Jim Becker]

Jim, I have an 8' ceiling in my shop and used the old "put the motor between the joists" trick to get the height I needed with my Oneida cyclone to easily accommodate a 55 gallon bin. There's no way I'd use a smaller one...and I've managed to fill even the 55 gallon bin in 15-20 minutes when doing a batch of face jointing and thickness planing of wide material.

[Jim Stewart]

Thanks guys, these replies are quite helpful. I did watch the Laguna video and it appeared to run very smooth and quite. decisions, expensive decisions.

[Eric DeSilva]

To clarify. I will state categorically that everything that has either a motor or a fan will be subject to some vibration. The JDS I have--which is older--involved attaching the cyclone to the base assembly using about 20+ nut/bolts spaced around a circular flange. I did not run it for a month and retorque. Over the course of four years, I have found some of those bolts, which I believe are metric, but probably comparable to 8-32 or 10-24, something in that range, have managed to work themselves loose. When that happens, I replace the nut with a nylock. I do not think there is an undue amount of vibration. Nor do I consider it odd that a nut and bolt, subjected to four years of vibration, might work itself loose. My only point is that, if you do buy one, and they still have normal nuts and bolts, you might save yourself a teeny, tiny bit of headache by just using nylock nuts to start with. I like my JDS and would unhesitatingly recommend the JDS cyclones to anyone. I've never owned an Oneida, so I can't compare, but that company has a lot of fans as well. I bought a JDS because I was impressed by the build quality and it was less expensive.

[Jim Stewart]

Thanks Eric, I might also use locktite to assemble. I just viewed the Laguna video again and that machine appears very smooth.