Agazzani Bandsaws

[gsysak]

Hi,

I am interested in Agazzani Bandsaws. I've spoken with Jesse at Eagle tools who was very helpful. Can anyone add some additional first hand experience (good/bad)? I am specifically looking at the B20 and B18. How do they compare to the Minimax and Laguna Italian made saws? Does anyone have any issue with the miter slot? What about blade changes/table tilting? I seem to have head that Bob Marino has one but I don't know for sure.

Thanks for all the help.

Greg

 

[mohrab]

You need to ask Eiji Fuller or maybe joraft - I believe they might know...

 

[PaulMarcel]

Mohrab's correct... I believe joraft has the B20.  Elji has looked at a number of saws, too.  There's a subforum over on talkFestool for bandsaws... all those you mentioned have come up with long discussions.  The MiniMax, Felder, and Laguna Italian-Made saws were also discussed a lot there (with photos).

http://www.talkfestool.com/vb/bandsaws/

If you post there, I guarantee a long thread

 

[stvrowe]

Greg, I have had the B24 for a little more than 4 months.  I haven't used it a whole lot due to work schedules but that is about to change.  Prior to purchase, it boiled down to the Felder FB600 and the Aggazanni B24 (new generation) which were nearly the same cost.  Laguna and Minimax were significantly higher but did have more resaw capacity.  Jesse had asked me to provide some feedback comparing the B24 with my older LT18.  The excerpt I sent him follows:

My comparison is largely superficial at this point given my limited use of the B-24 (2010 model) versus over 10 years use of the LT-18 (2000 model) however, I will give some initial observations.  Apart from the obvious difference in size and 10 years age difference, the most obvious physical differences to me are the wheels and the dust collection.  The wheels on the B-24 are solid with 3 cutouts about 1-1/4” square where the LT-18 wheels are not solid and have oval cutouts near the rim.  Both brands have balance weights on the wheels attached in similar manner.  The B-24 is significantly better at dust collection due to the presence of a chamber around the lower guide.  While having 2 – 4” ports to connect is less convenient than the one 5” port on the LT-18, the arrangement evidently improves dust collection significantly on the B-24.  The lower wheel brush on the LT-18 is physically larger and has stiffer bristles than the brush on the B-24. 

There is a much different finish on the tables.  The LT-18 is very smooth and polished where the B-24 has ribs.  All of my high end European machinery has had the ribbed surface grind.  On the surface (no pun intended) at one point I believed that the ribbed grind was a lower quality finish.  However, after using machines with this grind, it is actually easier to move the material over the surface of the table and IMO is better than a polished surface. 

My experience with Eagle Tools is good.  The bandsaw is well crated and packed.  Blade changing is no problem.  No issues with miter slot but since I don't have a miter gage that is moot.  If you have specific questions, let me know.
Steve

 

[gsysak]

Thanks. I will check out the "other" forum. Steve, did you have a chance to compare the quality of the cut? Were they about the same or was one better than the other? How do you like the Euro guides vs the Laguna ceramic?

Thanks,

Greg

 

[PaulMarcel]

Did you watch the videos on Laguna's site?  Of course they explain how the Laguna guides are better, but regardless, they show them all side by side and explain why they think they are better.  I've been convinced since I researched them long ago and everything Elji discussed only confirmed it.

The Laguna guides are available for a number of saws so it doesn't lock you into a Laguna saw.

 

[gsysak]

Paul,

I currently have a Laguna 14SUV and am having some issues. I have a resaw king blade on it and get teeth marks on the cut. I called Laguna and they said send them my blade. I sent the blade back and they said it was not sharpened correctly. They sent it back to me and I put it back on. While it is better, I still think I should be getting a better finish off such a high end blade. I am waiting for Laguna to call me back to see what else we can figure out. In terms of the guides, the support is nice but I am still figuring out how to get them set just right. The issue is that as you tighten them down they tend to move in the direction you are tightening. This makes getting them set up a bit difficult. I read somewhere that someone put sandpaper on the back of the guide to prevent this slipping. I may try that and see what happens. I am looking at other bandsaw options as well, hence my questions on Aggazzani.

I'd be interested in hearing what you think of the LT18 (ACM).

Greg

 

[stvrowe]

Thanks. I will check out the "other" forum. Steve, did you have a chance to compare the quality of the cut? Were they about the same or was one better than the other? How do you like the Euro guides vs the Laguna ceramic?

Thanks,

Greg

Greg,
Quality of cut is to a great extent dependent on the blade.  On the LT-18, I used a 1-1/4" Resaw King and it is the best resaw blade I have used.  On the Agazzani, I used a Lenox 1" CT blade and it cuts very nicely and evenly but not quite as cleanly as the Resaw King.  When I used a Lennox CT blade on the Laguna, I got a similar cut as on the Agazzani.  If you were to use the same blade on each, resaw and give me the samples, I suspect I couldn't tell you which made the cut.

I didn't care much for the original Euro guides that came on the Laguna so I upgraded to the ceramic when they came out with it.  I really like the ceramic guides but am going to hold off and continue to use the Euro guides that came on the Agazzani.  So far so good.  The guides on the new saw are pretty easy to adjust and if I continue to get cuts like I have been getting, I will likely just stick with them. 
Steve

 

[Spike]

I believe Sam Maloof used the Agazzani saw.

Anyway, I see little difference aside from guides and fences between the Laguna, Meber, Centauro, and SCM. I believe Laguna outsources to one of these companies for their 16 & 18 series.

 

[Mac]

In terms of the guides, the support is nice but I am still figuring out how to get them set just right. The issue is that as you tighten them down they tend to move in the direction you are tightening. This makes getting them set up a bit difficult.

Greg

I'll be interested to hear how the sandpaper trick works Greg, I have ceramic guides on my new Startrite 401S  bandsaw (made in the same factory I believe) and am struggling with exactly the same problem.

Cheers,
Rick

 

[Neill]

Rick,

You never told me you got the bandsaw, or I missed it, if you posted it earlier this year.  Congrats.  I got one also, the Powermatic 14".  I have not used it much, just a few practice cuts.  I am getting some help this Sunday, hopefully, putting the riser block on and then I will probably start using it more since I bought the longer blades.

By the way, it has the Carter Guides and I really like them.  They are very easy to set, both above and below the table.

Neill

 

[joraft]

I believe Sam Maloof used the Agazzani saw.

Yes he did. He had two of them. I believe this one was his favorite:

 

[Kevin Stricker]

I believe Sam Maloof used the Agazzani saw.

Yes he did. He had two of them. I believe this one was his favorite:

WOW.....that is either a very short man or a very large bandsaw.....

 

[robtonya]

I believe Sam Maloof used the Agazzani saw.

Yes he did. He had two of them. I believe this one was his favorite:

WOW.....that is either a very short man or a very large bandsaw.....

OH, He IS short!

 

[Corwin]

Yeah, and he really should have brought a bigger sack.    [tongue]

 

[joraft]

OH, He IS short!

Actually, it's a little of both.    [smile]

That Agazzani is a 30", which is pretty darn big, plus it's sitting up on blocks. Sam was a short guy, so I guess he liked a very high table.

Here are photos of a B24 with a 16 ¾" resaw capacity, and a 24-24 with a 24" capacity (photos taken at Eagle Tool in L.A.):

 

 

[Michael Kellough]

It is a huge band saw. Sam did some very compound cutting by hand
so he probably liked to have the table at a comfortable height for resting
his arms on while his hands supported a curved piece of work above the table.

Also, getting the base up on blocks leaves room for toes to fit under the deep base.
It's really annoying to stumble over the base just when you try to move in closer
for some intricate cut.

 

[Spike]

OH, He IS short!

Actually, it's a little of both.    [smile]

That Agazzani is a 30", which is pretty darn big, plus it's sitting up on blocks. Sam was a short guy, so I guess he liked a very high table.

Here are photos of a B24 with a 16 ¾" resaw capacity, and a 24-24 with a 24" capacity (photos taken at Eagle Tool in L.A.):

 

I don't think you can go wrong with the Agazzani. Hey did you see any Inca machines anywhere while at Eagle Tool?

 

[joraft]

I don't think you can go wrong with the Agazzani. Hey did you see any Inca machines anywhere while at Eagle Tool?

It has been a while, but I did see an Inca bandsaw there, one of those deep throated machines. Jesse always seems to have a few used Incas on hand. And he knows a lot about them.

Roger Savaterri is also quite an Inca expert.

 

[Spike]

I don't think you can go wrong with the Agazzani. Hey did you see any Inca machines anywhere while at Eagle Tool?

It has been a while, but I did see an Inca bandsaw there, one of those deep throated machines. Jesse always seems to have a few used Incas on hand. And he knows a lot about them.

Roger Savaterri is also quite an Inca expert.

Back in college when I started in cabinetry my partner and I bought every Inca machine they made, we had a 570 with Tersa cutter, 259 table saw with optional mortiser, 710 and 340 band saw. We sold off everything when he married and I decided to move south. Sure wished we kept it.