Hello

[ve3hbj]

Hi there I've got the itch to build some boxes and hone my wood working skills. I've had access to a BT3000 for many years and its in great shape. one of the things that has always bothered me about it is that it doesn't have any T-slots on it. ive seen some youtube vids and such where people have t slots. a quick ebay search reveals nothing at this time. I'm not against buying my own saw and understand that they have been discontinued following the 31k. does the 31 have t slots built into the table pieces or are they still accessories? also can you tell me more about the aftermarket blade guard I've read about on here?

thanks
Brian

[poolhound]

Hello Brian and welcome,

When you say T-Slots I take it you are referring to miter slots (as the miter guage runs in them) which you would find typically on either side of the blade on a regular TS. None of the BT versions came with any as the idea of the sliding table meant that for regular crosscut operations they were not needed. There are many other uses for these slots and hence the after market addon that has 2 slots on one side. They can still be found and IIRC there was a thread on the last few months were somebody found some for sale. They are not really that hard to fabricate and you could then add them where you wish. If you were to go the new saw route the world is open to you depending on your $$s and you will find plenty of opinions here as to what you should buy. We always love spending somebody elses money :-)

Re: the blade guard I believe you are referring to the Shark Guard. I had one of the early versions and recently upgraded to the latest one and they are well worth the money. Whether you stay with the BT or go to another saw I can not recommend it enough. If you decided to put down a couple of grand on a new Delta or Sawstop then their systems are pretty good but otherwise I would make your saw decision and then buy one ASAP.

[LCHIEN]

Welcome.

I think by T-slots you mean miter slots which on most table saws are not T-slots but just slots. Some saws do have T-slots which will capture the bar and you cannot remove it from above.

The following is an answer in my BT3 FAQ (which you can contact me to get a copy - see my signature line at the bottom)

Why isn't there a miter slot on this saw? How can I get one to use miter slot accessories?
The Sliding Miter Table (SMT) provides the basic function of a miter slot used to crosscut wood. Many agree it does a better job than a miter slot and miter gage, chief attributes being the enlarged angle scale, and the locked-on sliding table. However there appears to be a sizable group that likes to use conventional and upscale miter gauges like those from Incra.

There are also widely available or DIY jigs, like tenon jigs and crosscut sleds designed for miter slots. Most accessories and jigs can be reworked to work with a SMT. If you must have a miter slot, then Ryobi sells a miter slot table (MST, Ryobi Part number 4060310) (also included in the accessory kit) which mounts on the left side of the saw table (which moves the SMT further left from its usual left spot). It has two slots. Some enterprising people have also mounted one on the right or made extension table tops that they routed for slots or mounted additional miter slot tracks into. They show up on eBay frequently for around $20-30.

[LCHIEN]

Regarding the aftermarket guard, here's an excerpt from my FAQ again

Do I need to use the supplied blade guard and splitter/riving knife/pawls?
This is a very touchy topic. The official manufacturer’s position as dictated by their lawyers says that you should use all the safety devices supplied with the saw.

However, it is generally a reality that inconvenient and difficult to use safety items will soon be discarded if no one standing behind you is pushing for their use.

The good points about the supplied safety items:
The blade guard does guard the blade. The pawls do prevent kickback. The riving knife/splitter is really an excellent feature because it rises and falls with the blade elevation and therefore sits directly behind the blade as you can get for maximum effectiveness. It keeps the saw kerf from closing around the blade and hurling the workpiece back at you at 100 mph.

The bad points about the supplied safety items:
The pawls are nasty sharp. The scratch your expensive wood. They dig holes in your ZCTPs. Sometimes they won’t let you lower the blade without holding them up. The blade guard is hard to remove – involving the raising of the blade, removal of the throat plate and reaching inside for some difficult to get at bolts. But you have to remove the blade-guard assembly for non-through cuts – dadoing and grooving – and then you lose the riving knife.

Some use of safety devices is better than none, it could be argued. I am not suggesting any of these but this is what others have done many times over:
· Pawls have been taped over with duct tape, dipped in rubber coatings, filed down, or simply removed. The pawls are widely regarded as the least effective and most annoying part of the BT3x’s safety system (guard, knife, and pawl).
· The riving knife has been cut off one inch below its present top (after removing the blade guard). This cut-down knife now mounts directly behind the blade in the usual way and provides full splitting function (that prevents kickback from twisting and jammed items) and permits non-through grooving cuts without having to remove the splitter knife. There’s no guard, which is a disadvantage. The top of the cut-down knife will be just a fraction of an inch below the top of the blade when installed correctly.

Now there’s another solution, the Shark-guard, which one forum member has provided and is used by many members of the forum now. This has a cut-down knife with the advantages mentioned before, plus a new guard that clamps onto the knife top and is easily removed or installed from the top (no need to remove the throat plate) when you need to. There’s also a top dust port for maximizing dust collection. As of Nov 2010 – the current version 10 shark guard even has optional pawls, if you wish to use them. Go to http://www.leestyron.com/sharkryobi.php.
You can buy one with all the bells and whistles for around $90, but Lee also has the full plans for making your own provided at his site should you want to make your own. The Shark Guard has gone through many improvement revisions (current model version 10, fall 2010 is $126 incl. shipping) and is now available for other major table saws as well.

[Black wallnut]

Welcome! Many users of the BT3K never felt at any loss by not having miter slots. Many did.