The LAGUNA TOOLS-MBAND14BX220-250 Bandsaw is quite a machine. It has great re-sawing qualities - powerful and accurate. The fit and finish of the saw is first rate. In spite of its virtues, like all tools there are several improvements that can be made: 1) The table is a bit low compared to other bandsaws, eg. Delta 14 inch bandsaw, and therefore the base should be higher; 2) the light attachment needs to be brighter and easier to adjust 3) the tension indicator could be a lot more accurate; 4) the under the table adjustments for the blade are difficult and 5) the dust collection system leaves much to be desired. I found this to be true on every bandsaw I've used, so no surprise. Must be something inherent about bandsaws. On the plus side, the machined cast table is ... MoreThe LAGUNA TOOLS-MBAND14BX220-250 Bandsaw is quite a machine. It has great re-sawing qualities - powerful and accurate. The fit and finish of the saw is first rate. In spite of its virtues, like all tools there are several improvements that can be made: 1) The table is a bit low compared to other bandsaws, eg. Delta 14 inch bandsaw, and therefore the base should be higher; 2) the light attachment needs to be brighter and easier to adjust 3) the tension indicator could be a lot more accurate; 4) the under the table adjustments for the blade are difficult and 5) the dust collection system leaves much to be desired. I found this to be true on every bandsaw I've used, so no surprise. Must be something inherent about bandsaws. On the plus side, the machined cast table is flat and good sized; the optional wheel set makes it easy to move around; the foot brake is a great safety feature and the built in tension release is very convenient. As already mentioned, resawing on the saw is a breeze. I do agree with another reviewer that it would be nice to have had the machine designed to accept a more standard band saw blade, however, I have not had any difficulty obtaining Laguna blades from Acme and other manufacturers off 115" band as well.

BEYOND EXPECTATIONS

I had a Powermatic band saw and sold it to buy the Laguna. This saw has a lot of power and cuts straight for resawing. I thought the instructions were not very good but there are plenty of videos. the saw runs like a dream. It does a much better job than the Powermatic. I purchased the carbide blade, lamp and mobility kit also. Very satisfied.

Great Bandsaw!

I have had this for 3 months and what a quality unit. My wife has taken it over and insist on doing all the cutting. Changing the blades is a five minute job. The table and fence are accurate with a few adjustments. I would recommend the led light for better sight. The 220v runs great and smooth. If your a hobbyist and enjoy quality tools then this is a great buy when it goes on sale. Acme Tools purchase was simple and arrived undamaged. You will need another person to get it up out of the box. I purchased the mobile base and had to lay it back down to put the base on. Great mobile base will need if you move it around the shop. Do hesitate to buy it through Acme Tools!

Incredible craftsmanship and ingenuity

The 14BX was my first Laguna tool purchase and now I'm excited to try their other products. I prefer to pay more for intuitive features that save me time. When researching bandsaws in this category, the Laguna appeared to be a couple hundred more than the equivalent. Features that I liked were the fence, brake, and cast iron from head to toe.The more I use it, the more I love it. I dialed it in once and haven't had to touch it since. I've ripped a 12" board to 1/8" strips and it came out perfect on each piece without needing any adjustments. The cuts with the ripping blade also come out very clean with minimal sanding.To my surprise, the brake is my favorite feature. While also a safety bonus, I use it all the time when I'm done making a cut and taking the piece ... MoreThe 14BX was my first Laguna tool purchase and now I'm excited to try their other products. I prefer to pay more for intuitive features that save me time. When researching bandsaws in this category, the Laguna appeared to be a couple hundred more than the equivalent. Features that I liked were the fence, brake, and cast iron from head to toe.The more I use it, the more I love it. I dialed it in once and haven't had to touch it since. I've ripped a 12" board to 1/8" strips and it came out perfect on each piece without needing any adjustments. The cuts with the ripping blade also come out very clean with minimal sanding.To my surprise, the brake is my favorite feature. While also a safety bonus, I use it all the time when I'm done making a cut and taking the piece back to the workbench. I prefer to not turn my back to a spinning tool, so the instant stop is excellent piece-of-mind.Laguna support was also a big selling point. I broke a part during assembly (my fault for not reading instructions). I sent in a ticket and Laguna responded within the hour ready to ship a new piece, no questions asked.All-in-all, I am very satisfied with Laguna's quality, intuitive design, and support. Next tool I buy, I will first look to Laguna. Next up is likely their lathe...

It's worth the extra spend, honest.

4 stars.I have been shopping and looking for 5 years. I almost settled for the 14-12. But liked the BX features better. I am glad I waited the extra year and a half for someone to offer it on sale.The saw is Awsome. Fit, finish, smoothness of operation, blade guides and brake is world class.. Ease of set up and packaging is top notch. Shipping packaging well done to protect your purchase. Plenty of power in the 220 volt unit. The fact that you very rarely see a used Laguna for sale speaks a lot.I would have given 5 stars except for the fact that the two bolts holding the top wheel carriage were very slightly over-tightened at the factory and it took a little work plus a call to Laguna to figure out why the 115" blades would not fit. Less then 5 minutes of ... More4 stars.I have been shopping and looking for 5 years. I almost settled for the 14-12. But liked the BX features better. I am glad I waited the extra year and a half for someone to offer it on sale.The saw is Awsome. Fit, finish, smoothness of operation, blade guides and brake is world class.. Ease of set up and packaging is top notch. Shipping packaging well done to protect your purchase. Plenty of power in the 220 volt unit. The fact that you very rarely see a used Laguna for sale speaks a lot.I would have given 5 stars except for the fact that the two bolts holding the top wheel carriage were very slightly over-tightened at the factory and it took a little work plus a call to Laguna to figure out why the 115" blades would not fit. Less then 5 minutes of adjusting after the call and the top wheel drops fully to accept the blade now . The tech rep at Laguna immediately knew what was wrong so I expect I wasn't the 1st caller. I only wish I hadn't spent 4 hours of investigation before calling, as who would expect the $35 blade was correct and the issue was in the $1500 saw. :(. BTW, the Timberwolf blade is 0.5" shorter then stated. Which pointed me in the wrong direction as the saw is spec'ed for a minimum of 114.75" blades and mine measured 114.5" it will fit though.

Laguna 14BX 220V Is a Wonderful Bandsaw!

The Top and Bottom lines are: This Saw Makes Me Happy!It was money well-spent.Going into this purchase I did a lot of research. Everyone seemed to stay with this 14BX machine and be happy with it even if they had some initial problem.The 14BX was well packaged. I was able to move it alone using furniture dollies and straps. I was able to do the assembly alone and safely. The overall Fit and Finish was in excellent.The 14BX is not at all hard to set up and fine tune. Wheel run-out was low (<0.004, <0.005?), and they were aligned vertically. The machine is very quiet and so smooth and it passes a dime test every time.The magnetic switching and brake work wonderfully well.The fence and table were not at all hard to get into 90's with the blade and each ... MoreThe Top and Bottom lines are: This Saw Makes Me Happy!It was money well-spent.Going into this purchase I did a lot of research. Everyone seemed to stay with this 14BX machine and be happy with it even if they had some initial problem.The 14BX was well packaged. I was able to move it alone using furniture dollies and straps. I was able to do the assembly alone and safely. The overall Fit and Finish was in excellent.The 14BX is not at all hard to set up and fine tune. Wheel run-out was low (<0.004, <0.005?), and they were aligned vertically. The machine is very quiet and so smooth and it passes a dime test every time.The magnetic switching and brake work wonderfully well.The fence and table were not at all hard to get into 90's with the blade and each other. I routinely switch from low fence to high fence positions without worry about lost alignmentsBlade change is a snap. Making fine adjustments to blade tension is easy.Adjusting the blade position on the drive wheel is an absolute dream for both wide and narrow blades.The blade-guide column has little run out. The column locks out well with knob. Blade guides rarely need adjustment after column moves.The ceramic guides are unbelievably nice and easy to adjust, and this is especially nice under the table where it is a bit tight.Dust collection is very good, having two vacuum ports is great! I don't mind at all the presence of the sliding panel on the lower door, it helps with dust collection for sure.I put the mobility kit on it...Great addition!Do not overnight anything below decks to avoid inducing a warp where none was, and you will have "90's" in every direction. The only thing I would change on this machine is the table, I guess. One can inadvertently push on this and cause deflections, and if the bolt between the tables is not adjusted exactly as was, it can cause the miter bar or work piece to snag on the table's blade-change slot.Some production improvements-- I would clean up the machining of the miter slot--there is absolutely no reason for a machine like this to have a rough-ground trough. Nor, for that matter, should it have cast trunions without machined faces. Also, they used some very brittle bolts in several places (eg: brake, motor mount, parts of the under assembly). Get Rid of at least the ones on the brake assembly and replace them with Stainless Steel.I would add 120 volt and maybe a 5 volt USB outlets to the column.The 14BX 220V is an Excellent machine--just short of perfect, and it is a Great Value. So unless there is a specific quality of some other machine which makes it more useful to you, you can't go wrong with this one.*****Conclusion*****I am so fortunate to have made the financial reach up in budget so as to purchase a full-height/column machine which is equipped with heavy and true-running wheels, excellent blade guides, geometry which can be made "true", magnetic switching (think of it as "instant off" in multiple locations) and the foot brake. The 14BX has turned out to be a blessing, all around.My Final Word--I can't say it enough-- a blade break and magnetic switching make a bandsaw so very much safer, especially if you have heavy wheels which take a long time to run down. You will never wait, forget to wait, be tempted to not wait for the machine to spin down. OBTW, the accompanying magnetic switch system means without ever taking your hands off of your work pieces you can cut power using your foot .The work flow with this machine is both safe and fast....So Cool...

Not impressed.

Had this saw for about a year. Was happy when I sold it. Was a constant fight to get it to cut properly. The fence is a disaster it flexes during use. The ceramic blade guides were a horrible choice. Much prefer ball bearing. Overall I hated this saw. I replaced it with the new Jet 14SFX. So far I have resawed about 400 board feet and it out performs this saw by a long shot and it's cheaper!

Resaw Bandsaw

Have a couple projects requiring resawing oak. My old Makita saw does not have suitable guides and frankly was tired of the high noise level of its gear reduction drive. A very good wood worker and friend recommended LaGuna. The 14Bx seemed like a good pick with the 220v motor option. The Altamonte Springs FL Rockler store was a great place to check out Laguna products and the staff was excellent in getting my unit ordered and on my truck to get home. Setup was easy. First few cuts have been good. Need to practice my technique to get 10" plus wide cuts.

Stands up to the nickel test

I've been looking for a bandsaw for nearly a year. I considered both vintage models (e.g. Delta, Oliver) and newer models from Jet, MinMax, PowerMatic, Rikon, and Laguna.I finally chose the Laguna Tools MBANDS 14BX (220V). And wow, this thing is amazing.PROS* Super quite* No vibration—you can stand a nickel on edge, start the bandsaw and it won't move* Blades are easy to install* Foot pedal for disc brake* Straightforward assemblyCONS* Wish there was an easy way to replace the cord. My 220v outlet was more than 10' away.

This was a good purchase decision and a good addition to my workshop.

The Laguna BX is and outstanding bandsaw. At its conclusion, after initial set up, I cut a 1/64 inch strip 2 feet long with precision accuracy that I never would’ve expected from a bandsaw. My confidence in the use of a bandsaw has soared. And it’s beginning, set up, blade installation and adjusting was straightforward and intuitive. The auxiliary light is fabulous. The mobile Stan is well done. This was a good purchase decision and a good addition to my workshop.