Sears closeout on 21829 $199.97

[tohellwithuga]

I assume this is the miter gauge for use with hte 21829 auxilary/Router table.

The miter gauge is only of use with the router and not the table saw part... because the miter slot in the auxiliary table cannot be reliably aligned with the blade.

Oh, didn't realize that (having the bt3100, I'm not used to having the miter gauge or slots at all). That makes it much less useful IMO (not sure if I will be attaching a router or not, especially since I am missing some pieces of the accessory kit).

That said, its only a problem if you plan to mount a router. Now, there are a large number of miter gauges made to a standard which is a 3/4" wide slot that is I think 3/8" deep. Most better table saw use this standard as well as your 12-14" and up bandsaws. There are also a great deal of smaller, stamped out miter assemblies made for smaller tools like benchtop table saws belt sanders, etc.that have thinner and narrower and shorter bars.

The dual slot miter accessory for the BT3x00 fits the standard miter gauges.
You can check if the ones on the the auxilary table are 3/4" wide by 3/8" deep, in which case you can use most standar miter gauges which seem to cost around $30 to $100+ depending upon features.

The miter gauge for the 21829 is standard and even works in my Delta bandsaw. If you mount a dual slot miter table or make your own from miter track (I used the INCRA track it will fit. You can likely but some miter bar and attach.

Great, thanks for the info guys! I will probably not worry about it for now since it can't be used with the saw.

As a side note, I had sort of hoped to use the slots for some sleds, but it looks like I will need to find a different solution for that.

[Bill in Buena Park]

Here's the Incra miter channel I bought. Believe the 48in version will allow you to cut in half and make a dual slot table if desired. http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/200...r-Channel.aspx. Here's the quick & dirty version I built from this: http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...ighlight=miter

If you don't want to make one, you can usually find the prefab table on ebay, here: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trks...at=0&_from=R40

And here's some miter bar that you may be able to fit to the gauge. http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/208...Guide-Bar.aspx

[Wildwillis]

Just mostly saying hi here as I'm a proud (and lucky) new owner of a closeout 21829. I was in the market for my first table saw and initially found a BT3100 for sale in the area. At first I was mostly interested in it because of the included router table, but then I read some reviews and discovered the forum. I was pretty disappointed when someone beat me to that one.

I learned about the Craftsman from the forum and got my heart set on it a few weeks ago. Figures I'd have to find one used to fit my budget until I saw a post on it going on closeout on the Slickdeals forum.

Took me about a week to finally get one! There was nothing available remotely close to where I live, but after making a lot of calls (I quickly learned that the inventory counts aren't always right) I was able to get one that had been returned in September to the Sears that's closest to me.

The only note they had on it was "missing parts" but it took 2 trips to talk them into selling it to me. Nobody had bothered to inspect and disposition it. I had someone open it up for me and confirmed that the fence, router table, router fence hardware, etc were all there. Only thing missing seemed to be the manual. I was pretty thrilled when the saleswoman talked the manager into selling it w/o that inspection and also gave me 10% off so I bought a $20 service plan basically just to thank her.

What a saving grace that service plan turned out to be! I'd expected 'small parts' to be missing and when I got it home I realizes it was missing the entire sliding mitre table! Available on Sears Parts Direct - for $227! I was very disappointed when I went back to the store and they told me it was too expensive for it to be worthwhile to them to even split the cost of it with me. I could return the saw, pay the $227 and order it, or try calling the number for the service plan.

That service plan is awesome! Granted, I may have claimed that the mitre table was damaged and not completely missing to avoid a discussion about buying the saw 'as-is,' but I've now got a 'replacement' on the way...along with a manual and a push stick (the only other part that was missing).

Thanks for indulging such a long first post! I'm pretty excited to get such a good saw for $200 so I just had to tell 'someone!' Looking forward to learning a lot on the forum. Next step - a decent rip blade and crosscut blade!

[woodturner]

That service plan is awesome! Granted, I may have claimed that the mitre table was damaged and not completely missing to avoid a discussion about buying the saw 'as-is,' but I've now got a 'replacement' on the way...along with a manual and a push stick (the only other part that was missing).

Did you tell them it was damaged in use, or damaged out of the box? Wondering if the service plan might be an option for others who buy a display model.

[tohellwithuga]

Everybody keeps saying the service plan is $20, but they charged me $30 for mine (3 year) - as I said, the employees there weren't exactly friendly towards me, so they probably overcharged me on purpose. Didn't matter at the time, as I planned to cancel it... Just another reason for me to make another trip down there I guess. Not the best time of the year to be going to the mall, though...

[Wildwillis]

Did you tell them it was damaged in use, or damaged out of the box? Wondering if the service plan might be an option for others who buy a display model.

I told them it was damaged out of the box. I'd avoid mentioning that it was a display model. Not sure of the coverage of the service plan there.

Everybody keeps saying the service plan is $20, but they charged me $30 for mine (3 year) - as I said, the employees there weren't exactly friendly towards me, so they probably overcharged me on purpose. Didn't matter at the time, as I planned to cancel it... Just another reason for me to make another trip down there I guess. Not the best time of the year to be going to the mall, though...

I don't believe you got overcharged, but apparently they didn't give you the 2-year option. I believe there were 2, 3, and 4-year options that were $20, $30, and $40 (I think) respectively. When I first called, I got a woman that was extremely helpful. When I went into the store that night thinking I was going to pick up the saw, I dealt with a salesman that couldn't have been lazier or more obnoxious. When I went back again, they were both there and the woman helped me out while the guy made comments about how I was persistent (which I generally am anything but). 2 totally different experiences. I told the manager about how helpful the girl was...

[woodturner]

Everybody keeps saying the service plan is $20, but they charged me $30 for mine (3 year)

That is the correct price - the two year plan is $20, three year $30. I got the two year plan, just to "thank" the guy that helped me - they get commissions and spifs on the service plans.

[tohellwithuga]

That is the correct price - the two year plan is $20, three year $30. I got the two year plan, just to "thank" the guy that helped me - they get commissions and spifs on the service plans.

Ah, ok, thx. I was only offered a 3 and 5 year.

[tohellwithuga]

Here's the Incra miter channel I bought. Believe the 48in version will allow you to cut in half and make a dual slot table if desired. http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/200...r-Channel.aspx. Here's the quick & dirty version I built from this: http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...ighlight=miter

If you don't want to make one, you can usually find the prefab table on ebay, here: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trks...at=0&_from=R40

And here's some miter bar that you may be able to fit to the gauge. http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/208...Guide-Bar.aspx

Awesome, thanks Bill! Great job on the custom miter slots. And thanks for the link to the prefab unit, seems to be decently priced (although shipping hurts).

What is the use of having two miter slots so close together, though? Does it provide extra stability / precision for sleds? Just curious.

[Bill in Buena Park]

I speculate that to provide a miter slot accessory of adequate rigidity a certain width to the extrusion was necessary and someone said "why waste the material and space for just one miter slot, let's put two". Some say that it might add stability even being so close but I think you really only need one.

[Wildwillis]

Got my SMT and push stick for my 21829 from Sears Parts Direct today (via the service plan I mentioned earlier)...a week and a half earlier than they "quoted" when I called Sat morning. I'm pretty thrilled about it!

Here's the Incra miter channel I bought. Believe the 48in version will allow you to cut in half and make a dual slot table if desired. http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/200...r-Channel.aspx. Here's the quick & dirty version I built from this: http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...ighlight=miter

If you don't want to make one, you can usually find the prefab table on ebay, here: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trks...at=0&_from=R40

And here's some miter bar that you may be able to fit to the gauge. http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/208...Guide-Bar.aspx

Bill - sorry for what I'm sure is a Newb question, but can you (or anyone else) explain the benefit of the additional mitre slots you linked to (and built) above the mitre slot that's on the table you can mount a router to? I can see how they could be useful on the opposite side of the blade if you're in need of mitre slots on both sides of the blade or need one next to the SMT, but I'm not following the 'problem' with the one on that router table. I believe I read something somewhere about potential difficulty squaring that to the blade but I don't understand why exactly.

Thanks for any help. I've talked a couple of buddies into a little Black Friday road trip to the Woodcraft store in Rochester, NY (about a 1.5 hr drive from here). I need an 'excuse' to pick up a mitre track or T-track to do something similar. Looking forward to the trip because we don't seem to have any similar stores here in Syracuse...and because it's a good excuse to to grab a garbage plate as well!

[Bill in Buena Park]

Bill - sorry for what I'm sure is a Newb question, but can you (or anyone else) explain the benefit of the additional mitre slots you linked to (and built) above the mitre slot that's on the table you can mount a router to?

WW - it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to align the miter slot on the router table to the blade on the saw. You need perfect alignment, or slight "toe-out" of the slot to the blade to avoid binding the wood against the blade, causing poor cuts, burning, or even kickback. The slot on the router table is meant to be used with the gauge or sleds in conjunction with the router only.

[Wildwillis]

WW - it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to align the miter slot on the router table to the blade on the saw. You need perfect alignment, or slight "toe-out" of the slot to the blade to avoid binding the wood against the blade, causing poor cuts, burning, or even kickback. The slot on the router table is meant to be used with the gauge or sleds in conjunction with the router only.

Thanks for the explanation. There are two mitre slots on on the router table so I kind of assumed that the one that's closer to the saw blade was meant to be used with it. I haven't checked the alignment yet though.

[woodturner]

I told them it was damaged out of the box. I'd avoid mentioning that it was a display model. Not sure of the coverage of the service plan there.

Just wanted to update with my experience.

Called the service plan people, told them it was a display model and missing parts, gave them the list of parts and they ordered them at no cost to me under the 2-year service plan.

Frankly, I was a little surprised, since the saw was essentially purchases "as-is".

[greenacres2]

Just wanted to update with my experience.

Called the service plan people, told them it was a display model and missing parts, gave them the list of parts and they ordered them at no cost to me under the 2-year service plan.

Frankly, I was a little surprised, since the saw was essentially purchases "as-is".

Good service. I still buy c-man hand tools, but have shied away from their power tools--but in their favor, they are one of the few companies (if not only) that covers their reconditioned products under the same warrant as their first-run stuff.

earl