On Mon, 03 Apr 2006 19:31:54 GMT, "Leon"
wrote:

"cdo" wrote in message
.. .

snip

Exactly. I believe both saws to be over built anyway. Both saws come with
motors producing more than 4.5hp and 4 years ago 2hp was plenty.
As for the stronger set up for the guide bar on the MiniMax I wonder what
advantage it "really" has over the Laguna because it is bolted up to the
same upper cabinet that the Laguna bar is mounted to. Basically both are
mounted to probably the same strength upper cabinet. That is the part that
will flex first. I never saw the 5mm thick steel on the MiniMax , in fact
nothing close to 1/4" thick. Regardless, if the guide bar has anything to
do with cut quality the MiniMax came in second to the Laguna.

I was a bit amused at the Minimax comments about the cabinet structure
and "triple beam" resistance to flexing. As you noted, both machines
appear to be built well enough that you'd need to measure very
carefully to detect any flex in the upper structure.

I forgot to mention in the earlier post that I too got the sample
4"x7" resaw cutoff from the Laguna guy - paper thin (1/64") walnut,
uniform top to bottom and lengthwise, and very impressive.

snip

I pondered the replaceable tire also and have decided that this is a non
issue. MiniMax indicated to me in Austin that their tire should last about
7 years in a production shop setting when using 1/2" and smaller blades.
Perhaps never with larger blades and not used all day long.
Something else to consider concerning the tire that do not glue down. It
was mentioned in another post that if the wheel spins too fast a tire could
expand and lift if the spee was too great. They were mentioning a blade
speed of some where in the 2200 fpm range. I read on the Laguna forum that
the 16HD blade speed is around 4800 fpm IIRC. Seems to me the tire will
maintain shape better if it is glued down.

If I've done the math correctly, 2200fpm and a 16" wheel translates to
just under 44rpm; I have a hard time believing a tire is going to
start lifting at that point or even at a hundred rpm (4800 is probably
somewhere around there). Like most of the other nit pick arguments,
it's probably not much of an issue...


Cliff