Errol,
I have the same saw. I use it for resawing, and cutting out bowl
blanks. I do the radius cuts on my smaller saw with a 1/2 inch blade.
On the Laguna, I have been running an 1 1/4 blade. I did have one that
broke, but it didn't break on the weld. I keep the tension up high. I
agree that the 3/8 blade may be too light duty for the saw, and there
are several thicknesses of blades available. I wouldn't attempt to cut
16 inches high with that small of a blade.
robo hippy