saw unbalanced

[vinceaus]

Help needed - After ripping a hefty piece of pine (about 2.5m long by 90mm thick) my brand new bt3100 saw had a wobble in the blade. Or so I thought. After replaceing the blade the wobble was still there. Now my question. What damage have I done and what is the best way to fix it?

[poolhound]

Vince,

Firstly hi and welcome to the best WWing forum on the planet and also where did you get a brand new BT3100 or do you mean new to you?

Anyway it may help if you can explain more about your wobble. Does the blade move or are you suggesting the arbor is out of true? Do you have the ablity to measure it?

Sorry for asking the obvious but do you have both the blade washers mounted and the right way around?

It may be helpful also if you add your location to your profile. That way if there is another member near you they may be able to offer personal assistance.

I am going to take a wild guess that as your screen name is Vinceaus and you are talking in mm you are from down under

We do have quite a few members (including our famous Rod) at least on the continent cant say if they are near you though (I know its a big country)

Let us know more info and I am sure the group here will help you try and find a solution.

[LCHIEN]

i can't ever recall anyone actually bending an arbor on a BT saw.
Are you sure its not some problem with the blade and/or the washers and spacers?
The blade is held by a nut, along with the two blade washers and a 1/4 and a 1/2" spacer, if stuff gets in there between any of them then they won't be flat and can cause the blade to wobble.
You said you replaced the blade, with a known good blade?

where are you that you talk in m and mm - you don't post a location.

[cgallery]

I would find a smaller blade that you can mount w/ those arbor spacers removed. Spin the arbor and look for wobble. If it is gone, the problem is likely spacers that aren't flat.

I had spacers that inexplicable went bad, and I've spoken to a few other users here that also suffered from bad spacers.

[pelligrini]

How much wobble are you talking about?

I was messing around with my new dial indicator a couple days ago, and I checked the bade runout on my 21829. First test there was about a .007 variation, which isn't all that bad. I checked the washers and rotated the blade 90 degrees and it went down to .005. I then tried tightening the nut more than I normally do, almost like a death grip tight. I was suprised to find that the variation went down to about .002.

[thestinker]

my only exp with wobble

I was cutting ZCTP once and had put my circ saw blade on to crank up through the ZCTP. I got in too big of a hurry and didn't get spacers on right....big wobble.

Riley

[cgallery]

I was cutting ZCTP once and had put my circ saw blade on to crank up through the ZCTP. I got in too big of a hurry and didn't get spacers on right....big wobble.

Riley

That is another good point. Taking it apart, cleaning everything w/ a brush and even some thinner if there is any buildup anywhere, and taking your time to reassemble sure can't hurt.

[vinceaus]

Thanks

Thanks to all. Great news from Lchien ( quote - i can't ever recall anyone actually bending an arbor on a BT saw.) That was my worst fear. So now I will go ahead and recheck and clean everything - again.
To poolhound, no I mean brand new, like about 10 days out of the box. So you can imagine my panic when things went pear shape. The saws are readily available here in Aus. Check this link to see my pride and joy---------

http://www.ryobi.com.au/Products/Power-Tools/Benchtop-(1)/1800-Watt-254mm-Precision-Wood-Working-System.aspx

[LCHIEN]

a little off topic, we should import BT3100 aussie model motors for replacements here in the US so you can get 220V operation...

[poolhound]

Thanks to all. Great news from Lchien ( quote - i can't ever recall anyone actually bending an arbor on a BT saw.) That was my worst fear. So now I will go ahead and recheck and clean everything - again.
To poolhound, no I mean brand new, like about 10 days out of the box. So you can imagine my panic when things went pear shape. The saws are readily available here in Aus. Check this link to see my pride and joy---------
http://www.ryobi.com.au/Products/Pow...ng-System.aspx

Brand new - wow how lucky. They have been unavailable here for quite a few years. I wonder why Ryobi decided to continue to make and sell in Aus but not USA.

How much do they go for in $AUS

[vinceaus]

Cost

I paid Aus$899, thats about US$670 at todays rate. I believe that Ryobi has signed a deal with Bunnings Hardware that gives them the sole agency here in Australia. How does that price compare with US prices.

[LCHIEN]

I'm sad to inform you that the BT3000 debuted in 1992 for around $500 (USD) and as production went on and the model "improved" to the BT3100 around 2002 the price was eventually $399 at the sole sales outlet, Home Depot. If you caught it on sale you could frequently get it for $349 or so. When they stopped US sales in around 2006 and cleared them from the stores, they frequently went for mid-$200's.

Those of us who like our BT's think they were a great bargain at any of those price points.

I think you maybe got the accessory pack with the saw - throat plates, router mount, clamp, bag, wheels etc that was $100 extra. altho sometimes thrown in as a promotion.

(P.S. the original BT3000 was $600, not 500 as I stated)

[Jim Frye]

I wonder why Ryobi decided to continue to make and sell in Aus but not USA.

Because Ryobi has an exclusive contract with HD here in the US for power tools (not outdoor tools though). HD didn't want to sell the BT3100 anymore (like a bunch of other decent Ryobi tools), so it is gone from our grasp. Obviously, the saw is good enough to be sold elsewhere.

[leehljp]

When it was going for $399.00 in the US, it was selling for the equivalent of about $2000.00 (US) here in Japan but that did include the wide table kit as well as just about the full accompaniments of accessories that was available as optional in the US.

[Jim Frye]

Looking back...

I'm sad to inform you that the BT3000 debuted in 1992 for around $500 (USD) and as production went on and the model "improved" to the BT3100 around 2002 the price was eventually $399 at the sole sales outlet, Home Depot. If you caught it on sale you could frequently get it for $349 or so. When they stopped US sales in around 2006 and cleared them from the stores, they frequently went for mid-$200's.

Those of us who like our BT's think they were a great bargain at any of those price points.

I bought my BT3K (build date 9302) from Home Base (gone from my area now) in early February 1993 as a birthday present. The list price tag was $550. I took out a HB credit card to get 10% ($55) off. At the time low end contractor saws were in the $700 range, so it was a great deal and still is.