Laguna tablesaws?

[Brent Grooms]

Does anyone have one of the Laguna Platinum series tablesaws? How do you like it?

Did a little looking and based on the msrp, it could be a good contender.

[Brent Grooms]

back to the top just one time...

[Jim Becker]

Brent, this is a relatively new product and not too many folks likely have it at present. This is true of the entire "Platinum" line...Laguna only recently started importing them.

[Tom Cowie]

Brent
I saw one at the woodworking show this year. I'm a big fan of my Laguna bandsaw but I would pass on the new Laguna saws if a uni saw or PM 66 was in the race. It was very nice but I think the others are better as far as looks. I don't know how they preform yet, that may be their golden egg.

Tom

[Peter Quinn]

Go back a few days, over the weekend a guy posted on an old laguna post that he had just taken posession of a Laguna Platinum 3HP saw and semed quite happy with it, had a brief review in his OP. Here's a copy of his review. Search 'Laguna' to see the whole post.

Originally Posted by Bill Rehbock
After finding very little in terms of reviews or user opinions on the Laguna Platinum Series table saws, I spoke with Ken at Laguna and got as much detail as possible on the construction of their Platinum Series Table Saws. After several calls and collecting more and more details, and comparing it myself to Jet, Grizzly, Steel City, Powermatic and Delta, I decided to buy the Platinum Saw with the dovetail ways and 50" capacity. Their current special pricing of $1875 and very reasonable shipping (partly because I'm not too far from Irvine) added to my willingness to give it a try. A few things that I really like so far that are not clear on their website:
The drive system is a wide poly-rib belt, not a 3 V-Belt system. I upgraded my old Craftsman Contractor saw some time ago to a poly-rib drive system and swear by it. I find that I can always feel the natual vibration cause by the "bumps" in V-belts that form around the pulleys if the saw isn't used for a while, whether there's one or three V-Belts. The poly-rib belt is truely vibration-free.
The trunnions and dovetail ways are huge. The machining is really clean and the operation is amazingly smooth.
I really like the the combination riving knife/bladeguard. There is no behind the saw overhang and obstruction, so you can have a completely smooth, gap and hole-free outfeed table.
The faces of the fence are solid HDPE (high-density polyethylene) rather than melamine or other laminated material.
The HTC HRS-10-EX mobile base (not from Laguna) is easily adapted to the saw and provides great mobility and is very stable in use.
The saw shipped well-aligned and assembled easily without having to look at the manual (see note below). Airflow for dust collection through the cabinet is really good; there's a sloped chute leading to the collection port.
Overall, I'm very happy with only a few small negatives: It arrived without any manual and it had to ship separately. I also wish that the motor cover door on the right side had a soft rubber gasket to guarantee no rattle if you don't cinch the closure screw completely tight. The deluxe miter gauge is nice, but requires a wrench to adjust the miter-fence. Also, generally, their website, espeically with respect to the Platinum Series tablesaws is horrible, with dead links and wrong videos, which is what compelled me to write this posting in the first place.

[Bill Rehbock]

I wrote the post below a few years back and have done a few upgrades to my Platinum saw with dovetail ways, so I thought I'd also upgrade my posting in case it might help other with their purchase decision or others that have the saw.

The saw continues to perform well after quite a bit of use over the years. Around 2011 or so, Laguna began shipping the saw with a riving knife and I ordered a second splitter (component of the blade guard) and modified it to be a great riving knife. The proper riving knife is now available and I just ordered it from Laguna. Note that the newer saws have an easy "quick-change" capability to switch between splitter/blade guard and riving knife that is not well marketed.
I was never a fan of the plastic/vinyl scale for the fence rail and I replaced mine with the steel scales ordered as a replacement part for a SawStop saw (12" left and 52" right). I also ordered the left scale-indicator from Laguna for the fence, so it's a perfect left/right reading fence now. The newer saws supposedly come with a better tape. All of the little upgrades were easy and very inexpensive (about $125), so the saw is still way less expensive than others that are comparable.

One last side note: After a lot of research, I determined that the Platinum Saw will not fit in a SawStop Industrial Mobile Base, with or without the Professional Conversion. The depth of the SawStop base will only accommodate a saw up to 19-3/4" deep and the Platinum is 21-1/2 x 21-1/2. The SawStop base is really slick, with the hydraulic jack and the fact that when it's lowered, it adds less than 1/8" to the height of the saw. Only negative comment is that I wish it had 4" wheels. I'm currently building my own base/cabinet from steel and wood, inspired by the SawStop base. I'll post photos when I eventually get it finished.

Go back a few days, over the weekend a guy posted on an old laguna post that he had just taken posession of a Laguna Platinum 3HP saw and semed quite happy with it, had a brief review in his OP. Here's a copy of his review. Search 'Laguna' to see the whole post.

Originally Posted by Bill Rehbock
After finding very little in terms of reviews or user opinions on the Laguna Platinum Series table saws, I spoke with Ken at Laguna and got as much detail as possible on the construction of their Platinum Series Table Saws. After several calls and collecting more and more details, and comparing it myself to Jet, Grizzly, Steel City, Powermatic and Delta, I decided to buy the Platinum Saw with the dovetail ways and 50" capacity. Their current special pricing of $1875 and very reasonable shipping (partly because I'm not too far from Irvine) added to my willingness to give it a try. A few things that I really like so far that are not clear on their website:
The drive system is a wide poly-rib belt, not a 3 V-Belt system. I upgraded my old Craftsman Contractor saw some time ago to a poly-rib drive system and swear by it. I find that I can always feel the natual vibration cause by the "bumps" in V-belts that form around the pulleys if the saw isn't used for a while, whether there's one or three V-Belts. The poly-rib belt is truely vibration-free.
The trunnions and dovetail ways are huge. The machining is really clean and the operation is amazingly smooth.
I really like the the combination riving knife/bladeguard. There is no behind the saw overhang and obstruction, so you can have a completely smooth, gap and hole-free outfeed table.
The faces of the fence are solid HDPE (high-density polyethylene) rather than melamine or other laminated material.
The HTC HRS-10-EX mobile base (not from Laguna) is easily adapted to the saw and provides great mobility and is very stable in use.
The saw shipped well-aligned and assembled easily without having to look at the manual (see note below). Airflow for dust collection through the cabinet is really good; there's a sloped chute leading to the collection port.
Overall, I'm very happy with only a few small negatives: It arrived without any manual and it had to ship separately. I also wish that the motor cover door on the right side had a soft rubber gasket to guarantee no rattle if you don't cinch the closure screw completely tight. The deluxe miter gauge is nice, but requires a wrench to adjust the miter-fence. Also, generally, their website, espeically with respect to the Platinum Series tablesaws is horrible, with dead links and wrong videos, which is what compelled me to write this posting in the first place.

[Les Lyons]

[QUOTE=Bill Rehbock;2312597]I wrote the post below a few years back and have done a few upgrades to my Platinum saw with dovetail ways, so I thought I'd also upgrade my posting in case it might help other with their purchase decision or others that have the saw.

Bill or anyone else ... I've read that this saw is "identical" to the Grizzly G0690 - made in the same factory in Taiwan. Does anyone KNOW if this is true? I have a Laguna band saw and LOVE it. I've had GREAT interactions with Laguna's customer service, other than it took a LONG time to get some replacement parts.

I'm just wondering if the Grizzly is worth consideration, if it is indeed the same saw.

LES

[Patrick Curry]

I'd be curious to know that as well. My Laguna LT3000 has been a joy and wouldn't hesitate to consider the brand again for other purchases, like a better TS this year.

Nothing's really caught my eye besides Grizzly due to the huge jump in prices most other brands ask for
their 3hp cabinets.


[QUOTE=Les Lyons;2359296]

I wrote the post below a few years back and have done a few upgrades to my Platinum saw with dovetail ways, so I thought I'd also upgrade my posting in case it might help other with their purchase decision or others that have the saw.

Bill or anyone else ... I've read that this saw is "identical" to the Grizzly G0690 - made in the same factory in Taiwan. Does anyone KNOW if this is true? I have a Laguna band saw and LOVE it. I've had GREAT interactions with Laguna's customer service, other than it took a LONG time to get some replacement parts.

I'm just wondering if the Grizzly is worth consideration, if it is indeed the same saw.

LES