We purchased a laguna px 16 planer in June from a local supplier, all we are using it for is running face frame on edge after they are ripped on tablesaw, Planer has rattle in it from day one have have called Laguna they open a case and start emailing me to try this try that wood chip must be lodged in the cutter... no cutter inserts are loose... no okay i get it i know somtime it just somthing simple and you should always cover all base's, I ask them to send a tech out and to see if he can diagnose the problem. no they can't do that... so i hire a local tech to come out at 100 buck's an hour he say's the noise is in the gear box and it's full of oil i email back Luguna they want another video, oh yea i forgot to mention this is probably the 4th video i have sent. now they are saying someone shifted the speed controll while the machine was not running, and the gearbox needs to be dissambled nad the gear be re-alighned to correct the problem... personal i dont think it should my responsibility ,they will not talk to you on the phone all they want to do is hide behind the computer and send email after email unitl you finally give up and go away. I thought this was repitable company. Anyone else had bad experience dealing with this company?

Should have bought a Grizzly!

Unfortunately pretty much any machine in that class, green included, can either hit the ground running or hit the ground and uncompensated mechanical work, part-swap, will be involved. In my experience this can extend right up into the "big boys".

When your buying in the laguna/green class your just in for what your in for. Shoddy crating/shipping that leads to landed damage. Price-pioint machinery that leads to low quality (green is the king of low quality). And either a non existent customer service experience or conversely one that just willingly ships you parts upon parts upon parts (green) that you have to take time out, machine down time, to swap.

We had a painful experience with Laguna a long while back but after a long (but pleasant) back and forth, they made it as right as they could and shipped a complete machine replacement AND an additional machine (free) for our troubles (which I made sure to pounce on the instant it was mentioned). We in no way came out ahead with fiddling/fussing/downtime/headache.. but they (Laguna) on_their_own made it right.

While I'd love to blame this on buying cheap and you get what you pay for... I personally know a shop that bought an extreme top of the line Biesse 180K bander that sat on the floor crippling the shop, not making parts, for weeks going on months and the shop finally had to bring in a non-biesse tech to get them making parts so it happens on even the highest of levels.

Expecting field tech's at this price point is just not going to happen. You'll be swapping out shipped parts on your own dime.

The comparison of Laguna to green is like comparing two bananas in the same bunch at the grocery store. It just is what it is.

Well Mark you are probably rite it is what is , I do try to do my homework before i make a purchase just didn't this time. but i will be sure and setup a good youtube video just for them if they dont make it rite ... maybe it will save the next guy some grief.

I have no idea what Laguna today is like compared to my experience (5+ years ago). It was a mess to say the least but in the end (long end) I at least didnt get full shafted and the replacement machine, and the free-bee for my troubles, are still running. Definitely not happy to have fought it out for as long as we did but in hind sight it was what it was.

Im not defending Laguna but just be careful going off on a flame war if you still have a potential for resolution. If no resolution is in sight.. load up the backpack, and flame away I guess.

What machinery company in that class has tech people in the field? I don't know of any. You've never had to work on a machine before? When you buy for price from an internet only supplier, you didn't realize you would have to work on the machine yourself? You only have to buy one machine before you figure that out. Everyone else in the world knows that, why not you? "Should have bought a Grizzly"? That's hilarious! They sent me about half the parts I needed on a bandsaw. It took weeks to get all the parts I needed and then I discovered the top wheel was just as far out of balance as the bottom wheel. They agreed to take it back. Now if you run that planer for months and you didn't fight for a fix on day 1, I can see their reluctance.

Laguna has had a bad customer service reputation for decades. They are now a huge company that exports overseas.

Looking at their gear it’s similar to the most expensive Grizzly stuff. Grizzly actually has a decent rep. Many machines worked hard in the last 3 decades.

I had some Wilke gear back in the 2000’s that was good quality and excellent service. All of there machines were made in Taiwan. All of the Powermatic and Delta gear was made in Taiwan.

Now everything is made in China. Different paint jobs, nicer knobs, a bit more Powermatic looking. However, the true quality is hit and miss. The bearings , gear boxes, and dovetail ways maybe garbage.

So you’ve got a nice looking car with a bad engine out of the box. No service.

We have all been doing this unless you mortgage your house to buy German, Italian machines.

Lacuna, Grizzley and a couple dozen more brands that you see advertised in the pages of some of the woodworking magazines are all made off shore, like mentioned, even in the same factories with just a different color.
Depending on your use, a lot of this equipment will work fine. If you plan to use the equipment a lot I would steer clear of most of it. If it is a gear box issue I would hope that the manufacturer would stand by their product.
As mentioned the better equipment is more money and also most of the better equipment is three phase which is a problem for a lot of people.
If you do have access to three phase or a converter my advice would be to look for a used SCM planer, they are excellent quality and quite often can be picked up used for a decent price.
I hope Laguna comes through for you.

You can buy Italian and German without mortgaging the house if you buy used.

Yes, you will need to go thru it and see what needs repair or replacement. Plan on it - like buying a used car. Overhauling a new to you used machine is a great way to get to know it.

Oh....Really its too hurting....

Yes, this is a problem with your gear box but I can suggest you a better option if you are planning to replaced it with new one. Really, Helical gear box are amazing due to its performance and efficiency.

Here are some characteristics-
Optimised size/performance ratio
Highly efficient and low-maintenance
Designed for permanent operation under rough conditions
Housing produced from high quality grey cast iron with rugged walls
High axial and radial forces on the output shaft are permitted
Extremely torsion-resistant
Hardened helical gears produced from high quality steel with precision ground tooth profiles
Diverse attachment options

Thank you!

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Helical Gear Box