Just completed the install of a new Drift Master Fence and Ceramic Guides from Laguna on my 24" Centauro bandsaw.
I wanted to post about this for a couple of reasons. First, the install did not go quite as smoothly as I had hoped. The guides did not fit the posts that were on my machine. Second, Laguna sometimes gets criticized for poor customer service and I had a good experience that I wanted to share.
First, the Drift Master fence went on as advertised. It took me longer than it should have because I did not follow the instructions very well (was feeling kinda fuzzy that day) so I wound up having to do more than I should have. It was my fault completely and when I went back and read the instructions again it was one of those "Duh" moments.
The Ceramic guides were different. When I talked with the Laguna rep he said he had the guides to fit my Centauro. When I received them and tried to do the install they did not fit the post on my machine. My post is 3/4" for the upper and 7/16" for the lower. They sent me guides that required 20mm posts for both upper and lower. After several different conversations with Laguna they finally decided they did not have any that fit my machine. This was after talking with three different people at Laguna and their follow-up with two different calls. So, while I was somewhat disappointed I also appreciated the prompt and thorough follow-up. During one of those calls Tim Lory mentioned that unless I modified the brackets or got new posts I could not use them. Since I was going to my shop later anyway I looked around and found a piece of 1" aluminum rod. About 2 hours later I had my new posts. I just used my Jet lathe and high speed steel Bedan and turned the aluminum to size. It works. I also gained about an inch of resaw height.
So, as woodworkers we are used to improvising, and I am the proud owner of a new Driftmaster and Ceramic guides on my 1984 24" Centauro. Thanks for the help and advice Tim.
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Originally Posted by Mike Heidrick
