Laguna combo machine pulls quintuple duty

Laguna Tools introduced 20 new machines at IWF 2008 in Atlanta, including a five-function 5' sliding combination machine that features a table saw, 12" planer, 12" jointer, shaper and mortiser — all in a 6' x 5' footprint.

“It is a space-saver, which is the No. 1 reason people buy these machines,” says Torben Helshoj, president of Laguna Tools. “You get a lot of machine for the money, because we were able to use some of the functions on two or more of the machines.

“The sliding table is a crosscut aid for the table saw, but it also doubles as a tenoning table on the shaper. The jointer and the planer have the same cutterhead. On top, it’s the jointer, and underneath it’s the planer.”

The right-tilt sliding table saw can be fitted with a 10" or 12" blade, and features an 80mm scoring blade. However, the scoring blade must be removed to use a 12" blade. The table saw offers a maximum depth of cut of 3", a crosscut capacity of 60", and can be used with a dado blade.

The 12" planer/jointer features Laguna’s helical cutterhead with its patented Shear-Tec carbide knives. “Each of the 70 carbide-tipped knives has four cutting surfaces, so it will last a long time,” explains Helshoj. “If you nick the cutterhead, you don’t need to change the whole knife. You just change that row by turning each knife a quarter turn, and then you have a whole new cutterhead.”

Changing from a jointer to a planer takes less than a minute, according to Helshoj. The user simply folds in both jointer tables, flips over the dust chute and the conversion is complete.

The shaper accepts a 3/4" or 1-1/4" spindle, and features adjustable infeed and outfeed fences. The mortiser, which runs off the same shaft and motor as the jointer/planer, features a 20" x 8" table.

The combination machine is powered by a pair of 3-hp motors.

“Each station has a 4" dust port and the machine comes with a standard mobility kit with ball-bearing hubs,” adds Helshoj. “It’s single-phase, but you can get it in three-phase, too”

The Laguna Tools Platinum Series five-function 5' sliding combination machine, model A175008, is priced at $8,500.

Contact: Laguna Tools, 17101 Murphy Ave., Irvine, CA 92614. Tel: 800-234-1976. www.lagunatools.com

This article originally appeared in the November 2008 issue.