I wanted a saw that could resaw at least 12 inches, that I would look
forward to using, and that I wouldn't have to replace for anything short
of starting my own company doing woodworking. That gives a choice of everything
from a 14" Grizzly with a riser kit on up. So I sent away for a Laguna
video, said, "Wow," and from there decided to set my sights
a little higher. I heard many people on the Pond say they wished they
had opted for the Laguna 16HD, instead of the lower 16" models, and
an 18" was only $100 more. So I ended up with a monster (to me) 18"
Agazzani. Why Agazzani? Who knows? Maybe just because everyone else has
a Laguna. If you don't want the rationale, skip this paragraph. Agazzani's representatives
in the US do business almost by word of mouth, because they are small.
They can't afford to offend too many purchasers, because every owner is
a salesman. After reading James Krenov's book, I would put him down as
a perfectionist, if he owns one (unknown age) and is happy, I figure it
will be good enough for me. If the saw is built well, then probably no
one will be making parts for it by the time I wear them out. The saw arrived fine, I requested Eagle Tools ship it to my workplace
(loading dock and forklifts,) and the crate arrived in good condition
(thanks to Watkins Freight.) It had been shipped on its back, in a heavy
cardboard box, on a pallet. I got it out of my pickup with a cheap wire
come-along with no problems, and uncrated it. The saw has a handy padeye
on the top (but not over the balance point) that aids in standing it up
and getting the mobile base under it. My first impression was that the thing was BIG, it's about 6'3",
and the box is big enough for a coffin. But there is no such thing as
too much tool, right? The saw arrived with a 1/2" blade tensioned
on it, three other blades made by Lenox, and a very terse instruction
manual. There are several plastic knobs on the saw, but all of them seem to be
well made, none of them have broken or cracked. There is one 4" dust
port, a 4"S&D pipe fits right over. I checked out the European style blade guides, and some were a little
stiff, so I sprayed some WD-40 in them, and most freed right up with a
little turning. Wiring the thing up was no problem, (after all, I had
to change the panel box just to get space for the extra breaker,) the
terminals are easy to get to, and pretty self-explanatory. I fired it
up to make sure it ran, then went over the saw closely. The saw is heavy gauge sheet steel, all the main frame welds are good,
but some of the tertiary welds have blow throughs. I expect the saw will
rust in two from old age before any of the welds break. The table is good sized for a bandsaw, milled different than I
am used to, it has small ridges ~ .002" running parallel to
the feed direction, about 1/2" apart. No problems so far, but
not a mirror surface. The table is relatively flat, it dips down ~ .008" forward
of the throat plate, on either side of the blade removal cut, with
no pin to join halves. A pin might help solve the dip. Not all of
the table is cast Iron, there is a small area towards the spine
of the saw that is heavy duty sheet metal, about 4" wide, and
runs the length of the table. The fence is not too bad, it's heavy aluminum, with two positions
like a Unifence. It has effective adjustments for blade drift, using
bolts and jam nuts. I just do it finger tight-- with no problems
so far. I had a problem figuring out how to adjust it for square
to the table for resawing, then after a couple of days. . er, weeks,
I figured it out. Doh! Just loosen the fence a smidgen, and rotate
it till it is plumb. Too used to fancy doodads, I guess. The throat plate is UMHV I guess (white slippery stuff,) about
1" thick, and tapered to fit a tapered square recess. I doubt
if it will be easy to make a new zero clearance one. 18-1/8" in diameter, cast iron, well balanced, and pretty true.
The bottom wheel surface is excellent, and runout is .004". The upper
wheel runout was .002" -except for a couple of small indents and
two ridges. The largest of the ridges was .007" high, running transversely
across the face of the wheel, and only about 1/16" wide. I carefully
sanded them down until they were smooth, took about 5 minutes. The indents
are about the same size, and shouldn't affect the blade at all. Don't
know if the tensioned blade on it when shipped was the culprit, shouldn't
have been. I called the people I bought it from, and they handed me to someone named
Jesse. I explained it, and asked his opinion, and he offered to send me
a new wheel if I was not satisfied with this one, but agreed that if the
runout was down to .002" then there shouldn't be a problem. Blade runout- .001". I can live with that. The tires are vulcanized on, with almost flat surfaces. Before I bought
the saw, the Agazzani salesman measured one for me, and claimed the peak
in the middle is about .030". With the wheels coplanar, the blades
track slightly forward of center. Adjusting the upper wheel angle is simple,
with a plastic knob, and a jam nut with a plastic handle. The lower wheel
adjusts easily, with bolts on all sides of the axle, just like the Laguna
video shows. Don't look for it in the manual, because along with just
about everything else, it isn't there. Vibration: Passes the nickel test, nickel might turn a little, I expect that a link
belt would do it good. The wheels don't stop in the same place when rotated,
so I can only assume they're balanced. No problems, I have owned the saw less than two months, and I can do
it in less than 5 minutes. 2.5 horses, haven't been able to make it slow down, except when I tried
to make a 1/2" radius cut with a 1/2" blade. One 4" port, a cover to help enclose the trunnion (not mentioned
in the manual what that extra part is, but it shows on the exploded view,)
and a small housing in the lower cabinet to house the guides and dust
port. There is also a brush on the lower wheel. When I remember to turn
the DC on, (650 Jet) it leaves a couple of little piles in the bottom,
and virtually nothing on top. No dust on the table that I remember. Has an emergency stop switch, a switch on the foot brake, and the regular
switch. The upper guides are enclosed behind a wrap around cover in front,
and the blade is contained in a box that moves up and down with the rack
and pinion. It has a simple design to allow the inboard side to remain
covered at all times. There is also a small window in the front, so you
can put the cover right down on top of the board, and still see what you
are doing. It's okay, but it works on the movement of the upper wheel, not actually
tension. I strum the blade, and that seems to work okay for me. And the
LOML said that it can't carry on a conversation with me! Hmph. I've only tensioned up to 1/2" on it, I ordered a carbide Lenox
at the same time, they recommended 3/4" because the 1" apparently
does not behave well on this saw, but haven't received it yet. I've run probably 600-700+ linear feet through it, resawing, freehand,
etc. I have problems with the European style guides, I try to get them
so close they almost touch, and maybe turn slowly with the saw running.
Takes some fiddling. On 6" oak, the saw marks will plane off in about
1/32", watching how the planer cuts, I would say no more than 1/64"
"bow" in the cut itself, and pieces 1/16" thick are no
problem. The table is fairly low, even on a mobile base, I do all freehand stuff
on my knees, as I'm 6'2" (okay, so I'm only 6'-1-3/4".) Came with 1/2" 3tpi, 1/4" 14 tpi, 1/4" 6 tpi, and 3/8"
6tpi. All Lenox, all okay. Need to slip on a Woodslicer or a Timberwolf
to see what they can do, or if Eagle'd ever ship my carbide blade, grrrrr. One of the side blade guides would catch on something as it rotated,
two spots about 180 deg apart. I played with the thing, and figured out
you could press the shaft out of its holder using the adjustment threads.
Well, it popped out, and I could see that there used to be a clip that
held the shaft in. Apparently, it had been dragging on the back side of
the bushing. I slipped the shaft back in, and it turned perfectly. I discussed
this with the company I purchased the saw from, explaining that I had
fixed the problem and broken the guide simultaneously. He wanted to send
me a new one. I didn't take him up on the offer. For wheel problems, see
above notes in wheel section. Works as advertised. I don't fight with it, and I enjoy using it. I used
to only really like my table saw, but now I think it's getting jealous.
My wallet might not like it, but I'm glad to own something that I don't
think about replacing before I own it a month. It cost more than any three
other pieces of equipment I own, but I don't regret it. Sorry this was
so long, but I figured if you're really thinking about buying one, then
you might as well get all the information I can give you. If there are
any questions, feel free to email
me. Works as advertised, but if you are going to put your stuff on mobile
bases, buy a welder and a chop saw. Not entirely impressed with it, but
now I have a design to go off of.
Agazzani 18" Bandsaw
by John Preston
I
decided I needed a bandsaw after I saw what my neighbor could do with
a 14" Grizzly and a Woodslicer blade. I'd never owned a bandsaw,
or even seen anything bigger than the 14" models in stores, but I
knew I only wanted to go through the process of buying a bandsaw once.
I spend 20-30 hours a week in the shop, between house projects and furniture,
so I figured it would get pretty regular use. I thought they were only
good for scrolling, but the Pond set me straight on that. I use it as
much or more than my table saw. I do all rough ripping on it, resaw after
face jointing rough lumber because my planer is wimpy, and the usual curves.
Table:
The tilting mechanism is heavy, but rudimentary. The bolt to loosen
the trunnion is accessible with a normal wrench (metric) and effective.
I believe the next size up has a quick release for the tilt.
Guides:
Wheels:
Brake:
It works, and has a microswitch to shut off the motor
at the same time.
Top
Copyright 1997-2001 Badger Pond Woodworking
No parts of this article may be reproduced in any form
or by any means
without the written permission of the publisher.