I am considering the purchase of a new band saw when the woodworking show comes around in Houston next month. I am looking at the Minimax MM16 and the Laguna 16HD. Both have cast iron wheels however Laguna glues the tires to the wheels. Mr."Laguna" indicates of course that the tires should be glued to the wheels. Minimax on the other hand advertises that their tires fit on groves and do use an adhesive to hold them in place.
Which is better? Is it personal preference or is one better than the other?
I am also still looking at bandsaws. Thanks fir the heads up on the wood shows. I am probably gonna hit the Chantilly show and take a serious look at the LT16.
Are the tires usually a problem? How often do they need replacing? Would it be possible to replace the laguna tires?
I just finished watching the Laguna DVD. If you have not requested it, I highly recommend it!
I am considering the LT 16 and 14 also however these 3 smaller saws are built differently than the 16HD and up band saws. In particular, the guides under the table are situated differently. With the 3 smaller saws the turnions are located at the back and front of the table. The lower guide is located behind the front trunion and in front of the back trunion. Although the table incert allows adjustments through the top I fear that the right hand will have to reach under to do some adjustments that are hidden by the front trunion. The larger saws have the lower guides in front of the trunion in plain view and they will adjust up and down. I do not want another saw that is a PIA to adjust. I too hope to see if this is an actual problem when at the show.
Typically the tires are not a problem and the ones on my 23 year old Craftasman were still soft and plyable when I sold it a few weeks ago. I have read that in general tires may need to be replaced as often as every 2 years on any particular brand saw. I think that has more to do with the kind of blades you use and how many hours a day you run the saw. The glued on tires are replacable but would obviousely be more trouble than tires designed to be changed quickly with out an adjesive. I wonder what the advantage would be to the glued on tire vs the MiniMax style tire.
Is that the one that demonstrates the Knapp Combination machines also. Way cool. I confess that I have watched that DVD more than one, er three or four times. LOL I noticed that Mr."Laguna" changes out a blade on the 14" saw and shows how to adjust the upper guides but for some reason skips over showing the adjustments on the lower guides. This could be hiding the difficulty on those guides hidden by the front table trunion.
For piece of mind, I ordered the MiniMax DVD for comparison also and it is quite interesting also. The MM16 MiniMax comes with European guides. I have used neither ceramic or European guides but my main desire is to resaw and the ceramic guides along with the Resaw King look better for this procedure. The mobility kit available for the MiniMax also seems to be awkward when using the Johnson bar to lift and push the saw around. It hooks into the foot brake. Humm. The MiniMax is heavier but when you hit 450 lbs I wonder if 50 lbs is a big advantage over the Laguna. Additionally the MiniMax has a touch more HP and has a cast iron fence. Neither seems to be a real advantage over the Laguna as the Laguna fence is aluminum and can be set up as either tall or short.
When I talked to the Laguna rep about the show he indicated that the show normally offers better pricing and free shipping.
In a properly designed Band Saw, with a tire of the proper size and durometer, particularly if it has flanged wheels, it should not be necessary to glue the tires on. If it does not have flanged wheels then it probably should be put on with an adhesive.
There are at least a half million Delta 14" BS out there that did not have the tires glued to the wheels.
That said, the only downside I can see to using an adhesive is when you would need to change the tires because they are cut or worn. I would ask the Laguna people how hat is achieved.
The one with NO groove will require "crowning" to get correct tracking in my opinion. This question comes up quite a bit on OWWM concerning older bandsaws that don't have the "groove" for the tire to fit on. Some folks seem to get by without this process but tracking can be a problem.
Le> I am considering the purchase of a new band saw when the woodworking show
All of that makes sense to me but with the 14" saws in mind, a wide blade is not recomended. IIRC one of the manufacturers, I think Laguna, recomends that when using wide blades to track the blade near the front of the top wheel so that the teeth do not come in contact with the tire. I wonder if that would possibly result in the tire moving around or off the wheel if it were not glued into position.
Agreed but I would also think that if the adhesive were not evenly applied that there could be high spots under the tire. Ill have to remember to ask that question at the show.
I have the LT18 and love it, the tires are not continuous bands slipped over the wheel, but a strip glued on with a "scarf" joint. Pretty tough rubber and I can't see needing to replace it often, but way easier to find a replacement as opposed to a custom sized and grooved setup. I'm sure they are simply shaped after gluing.
Just sawed up a log into 2" lumber with a 3tpi blade, way too many teeth, but it went ok. I bought mine after Laguna went to the 4.5HP Baldor, and before the Minimax followed so that was my deciding factor, the Canadian version (Euroshop) was also more money than the Laguna even with the smaller motor.
-------------------- Steve Jensen Abbotsford B.C. snipped-for-privacy@canada.mortise.com chopping out the mortise. BBS'ing since 1982 at 300 bps. Surfing along at 19200 bps since 95. WW'ing since 1985 LV Cust #4114
Nothing catchy to say, well maybe..... WAKE UP - There are no GODs you fools!
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