Irvine, California -- Scot Ferraro's love for woodworking developed at an early age when his grandfather, a successful local homebuilder, kept him busy during the summer months doing everything from framing to dry walling at various construction sites. He also took woodshop in Junior High and that further cemented his love for the craft.

"One of the only power tools the school would allow its students to use was the bandsaw and that is where I was first introduced to some of the amazing things this tool could do," he added.

But like many people, that love for woodworking would be placed "on hold," at least temporarily, to make room for college, career and marriage and three German Shepherds.

"And then we purchased our first house, and suddenly, it made complete sense to dust off those old woodworking skills and save money by doing some things myself, such has building my own shelves" said Scot, a regional account manager for an legal services firm. "However, for our next house, I decided to get really serious and purchase the right tools for all of the woodworking I had in mind."

After a ton of research, Scot choose the LT-18 Series Bandsaw from Laguna Tools as the workhorse for countless ambitious project at their new home back in 2001 – and he's been creating beautiful furniture with it every since.

"It's impossible to convey just how versatile and invaluable this bandsaw has been," said Scot, who has added a few Laguna Tool's upgrades to it over the years. "I've built cabinets for the entire house, including at least 25 doors from rough, resawed cherry boards for the kitchen. I've also made doors for my entertainment center and upstairs loft and right now, I'm in the middle of making matching computer desks – for me and my wife – out of Birdseye Maple to go perfectly with book cases out of cherry and maple."

For Scot, the goal has never been to just save money, but to create truly quality furniture that will stand the test of time and test his skills as an avid woodworking hobbyist.

"That's why this Laguna Tool's bandsaw has been so great. It allows me to do all of the detail work I enjoy, such as 'book-matching' wood, cutting dovetails for drawers, cutting curves and special veneers that add so much symmetry to my projects."

Scot prefers the Laguna Tools Bandsaw, because it gives him complete control over the finished product. "I also use the Laguna Tool's Resaw King Blade, which leaves an amazingly true and smooth surface that needs very little sanding," he said. "Since I love creating that book-matched look, I take a 6 or 8-inch board, cut it in half so it opens like a book, and simply glue it together to get a wider 12 or 16-inch panel. The Resaw King Blade provides maximum yield, which also holds costs down."

Scot says safety is another benefit of using the bandsaw. "The force of the blade always pushes down, thereby reducing the risk of a kickback… so it's very safe. The blade also creates a very narrow kerf and you can safely rip rough stock to size. The Resaw King Blade excels at ripping operations and it cuts straight and true every time."

Another key feature of Laguna Bandsaws is the Laguna Guides.

"At the time I bought my bandsaw, it came standard with European style guides. Since that time, Laguna Tools developed an entirely new guide system to support the blade using ceramic. These guides are simply amazing," he said. "They are quick to adjust and you can set them very close to the blade for great support at five points above and below the table. This really helps ensure a straight cut, especially when resawing thick work pieces. There are also no moving parts that you have to keep clean of pitch and saw dust which is bonus. And they are virtually maintenance free."

Scot also appreciates the fact that Laguna Tool's Bandsaw is easily adjusted for any project. "I own a Driftmaster Fence and the technology of this fence allows me to set the fence to the drift of the blade effortlessly. The result are cuts that are perfectly straight and parallel," he said. "The Driftmaster's pivot system lets me adjust left or right to match the exact angle of blade drift. So, what used to take 10 to 15 minutes, now takes just a minute or two. Additionally, there is a fine depth wheel on the fence that allows you to cut exact thicknesses of material to the outside of the blade, which is useful when making veneer, and I find it gives me more control for a higher quality cut as opposed to trapping the work between the blade and the fence."

And about those little details that mean so much to Scot's woodworking, he calls the Laguna Tool's Bandsaw revolutionary. "Not only does it deliver absolutely uniform pieces, the table tilts both left and right so I can get the perfect degree of angle for exact bevel cuts such as the pin of a dovetail joint," he added.

Scot says his favorite woods are cherry, walnut and maple, and he finishes all of his pieces with a Tung Oil mix that really makes the grain pop. "I especially enjoy watching cherry wood darken with age as its patina increases."

As for his next project around the house? "I'm going to make a set of Sam Maloof inspired low back dining chairs, which will require lots of sculpting at the bandsaw."

"I can't say enough about the equipment and service I've received from Laguna Tools over the years," Scot said. "And I'm not shy about telling others about it on various 'on line' blogs. They really care about their customers, and I love the fact just about everybody there is a woodworking enthusiasts like me. I can walk in any time and feel right at home."

Scot also wanted to relate one more example of the customer service he's received at Laguna Tools.

"Basically, I had a cast-iron part that holds the upper wheel assembly on my bandsaw fail a couple of years ago. I called Laguna Tools and they actually gave me a replacement part off of another machine -- I brought the damaged part in and they gave me the new one, FREE of Charge!!

This was on an 8-year-old machine at the time! I was blown away that a company would stand behind its products and replace something at no cost that it deemed was a manufacturer's defect. Not many companies I know to have that level of commitment to customer service is a testament to the kind of company Laguna Tools is!"

Laguna Tools, based in Irvine, California, has been leading the industry in woodworking innovations for 25 years and continues to challenge the industry with new advancements.  At Laguna Tools we aim to be "globally local" by investing our time, support, products and services into many community outreach programs.  For more information on the Laguna Tools quality line of performance products, please call 1-800-234-1976 or visit our website at www.lagunatools.com.