Brand new saw = POOF

[BreachingWhite]

1 month old and my BT3100 is burned up ripping 3 2x4s. At the end of the third one I mistook smoke for dust until it suddenly started pouring out, turned it off, now the blade is locked. It's on a 20amp circuit but the outlet is 30 feet from the breaker, didn't think that would be a problem but I'll have to check the wire gauge. The only other thing running on the circuit is an exhaust fan which is pulling somewhere around .5A, not much. From cold to dead in 3 2x4s? I was ripping through 3.5" (on end) and it was labouring a little, but the box said it would rip 4x4 in a single pass... and this is SPF not oak. The fence is aligned, blade is clean... it didn't even seem to be struggling THAT hard, it never seemed in danger of stalling.

I guess you get what you pay for, lots of plastic and a cheapie motor that doesn't last? It's under warranty so I guess I need to make sure theres no voltage drop up to the tool under load, and make long cuts reeeeeal slow? A ripping blade isn't in the budget unfortunately.

Has anyone ever mounted a different (better) motor? I can do simple metalwork, weld, etc... doesn't look impossible to put a real motor in?

[430752]

I'd say either you got a dud (it happens), or your fence was misaligned to the blade and it put one helluva a strain on the motor.

I've personally ripped about a hundred 8 foot lengths of 2x stock on mine when I first got it (over a few weeks) in order to make true 2x2's for a home refurb project. I think I tripped the circuit 3 or 4 times total, and never had a problem with the motor.

Take it back to the BORG and get another, its a good machine. Also, next time speak lovingly to it, coo at it, etc. Mebbe that'd help?

Curt J.

[gmack5]

Welcome BreachingWhite,

Congratulations on the acquisition of your BT3100 and welcome to the "family".

One of the first things you need to do, after you get your BT3100 Saw assembled is, following your Owner's Manual, go thru the entire set-up proceedure, step by step, in the sequence laid out in the Manual. Each set up proceedure builds on the one before it, so you MUST keep them in sequence.
Usually the Saw is set up properly, right out of the box, but you should still check it as this gets you familiar with all the adjustments on the saw and assures you that everything is as it should be.

The Illustration shown below is of a BT3000SX.
Most of the accessories shown will also fit the BT3100.



Here's some free plans that'll keep you busy for a while. http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/r...ex.php?cat=102

And here's some additional information about your Saw that you may find useful.

Regardless of what you've read or others have told you, NEVER NEVER use any wax or lubricant on your saw that contains Silicone, this includes all automobile waxes and polishes and most spray-on furniture polishes. The reason is simple, most of them contain Silicones and they will make your projects difficult to finish.
Silicones repell liquid, making "fish eyes" in your finishes, this will force you to remove the Silicones from your project and start over. That stuff (Silicone) migrates all over every where, don't ask me how, it just does.
If you put it in one place, eventually it will be all over the
entire saw.

Your best bet is to use a "dry" lubricant, such as Teflon (PTFE), Powdered Graphite, or Candle Wax for the Raising/Lowering and Tilt mechanisms below the table top.

Then use either Johnson's Paste Wax, Minwax's "Finishing Wax" or Butcher's Wax on the working surfaces, table tops (All three of them) and the Rip Fence.

Do NOT Wax the Front and Rear rails or the Miter Fence. As a mater of fact, you may want to glue 220 grit sand-paper to the front face of the Miter Fence, cause you don't WANT things to slide on there.

You might also want to check out the "Articles" section on the www.BT3central.com site. Lots of good maintenance information on your saw and some of the Jigs and Fixtures that BT3Central members and others have designed for it. Located here: http://www.bt3central.com/articles/ The only thing you'll need to access the information is a recent copy of the Adobe Reader (It can be downloaded from the BTcentral site). One of the Articles mentioned is a "Check List", written by Jim Frye. You can find it here: https://www.sawdustzone.org/articles...nce-check-list

This list contains all the different areas on your saw that need to be periodically inspected or given some sort of special attention. In other words, a "Preventative Maintanence Check List" or PM. Performing this PM on a monthly basis would be a good idea. One of the other things you'll find there is an on-line copy of the User's Manual in downloadable pdf format (a handy thing to have).

Something you might think about is the use of a set of Draftsman's Triangles instead of the Carpenter's Square that they show in the Owner's Manual for setting up your saw.
An accurate Carpenter's Square is almost a myth!
A good one will cost you quite a bit of money, $40 - $75, or more. I would recommend that you consider using a pair of Draftsman's 30 -60 and 45 degree triangles instead. You'll find they're not near as expensive and are far more accurate than a run-of-the-mill Carpenter's Square. The 30 -60 triangle should have one 12" leg and the other leg would be 9" long. The 45 degree triangle should have at least 8" legs on either side of the 90 degree corner. That way either one can be put up against the side of the Saw Blade without touching the saw teeth.

Just remember, regardless of which measuring instrument you choose to use, check it(them) to be sure they're accurate. When checking the Miter Fence for Square to the Blade with a triangle, use the 12" 30-60, if possible.

One of the other "tricks" that I've discovered is to take a piece of "Wax" paper, fold it several times and rub it in the grooves that the "T" nuts that lock your Rails in place ride in. Makes the Rails move smooth as Butter.

You might also want to check out the "FAQ" shown in the link below.
http://www.bt3central.com/forum/topi...TOPIC_ID=12490
It'll answer a lot of your questions.

Last, but not least, don't forget to paint the RED line!
It's a line that extends the line-of-sight from the saw blade to the front edge of the table to remind you NOT to let your Miter Fence or your FINGERS get in the way of the saw blade. Just put red paint, nail polish, or what ever, in the grove that extends towards the operator from the front edge of the saw blade.

[Brian G]

I'm sorry to read of your trouble. Just so I understand, you were cutting the 2 x 4's on edge (i.e., resawing to lesser thickness), correct? That type of operation really calls for a thin-kerf ripping blade. The stock blade is not a good resaw blade.

I'm guessing that the kerf closed up on your blade, which stopped the blade, and the smoke was your belts melting. 2x4 (and other construction lumber) is notorious for having large amounts of internal stress. Blades release it, sometimes in bad ways. I've decided that I will no longer attempt to rip 2x construction lumber with my BT. I have a bandsaw, now, and if I need to rip or resaw a 2x, that's what I'll use.

You have a good saw, but it's not a saw mill .

[monte]

Welcome to the group. I would return the saw to HD and get another one.

[JR]

Yeah, you got a dud, buddy. That's a real bummer.

I haven't heard of anyone successfully putting another motor type on a BT. It's got a purpose-built casting that makes it difficult to do.

I've run a few 4x4s and 2x4s on edge through mine, no problem. Obviously it's up to you, but you might try to swap this one out and try again. I'd wonder of those boards might be wet and somehow bogged things down...

JR

[Tom Miller]

If the blade is locked, as the OP says, then it's probably not just fried belts, no? Seems like any time I've heard of fried belts, the blade is then free-wheeling. If my assumption is correct, then the motor itself may be fried, meaning a stronger case for replacement of a dud.

Regards,
Tom

[LCHIEN]

Clearly a 3.5" rip is within the design capability of the saw.
If you were ripping 100 of these as fast as you could I could see the motor overheating and burnig out, but three seems like it should work unless you just really fed it hard. Incidentally a dedicated good quality ripping blade is around $27 and may allow you to rip a litte faster.

I think your saw had a defective motor - bad insulation on the windings and it shorted out when it got a little warm. Take it back and exchange. I hope you have better luck!

Incidentally its hard to install another type motor; the universal motor in the BT was chosen and they took advantage of the small size and light weight compared to an induction motor. This allowed the deep rip capacity and the lightweight saw and the compact design and the high value per dollar.

[Tundra_Man]

You got a dud. It happens sometimes. I agree with Tom that if the belts were fried, the blade would spin free. The belts are designed to melt prior to the motor burning up (to protect the more expensive motor), so if your motor fried there was most definitely an internal problem.

I regularly rip 3.5" rock maple for guitar neck blanks without any problems, although I'm not setting speed records (probably 5-7 seconds per foot). I also don't have a 20 amp circuit available to me, so I'm running on a shared 15 amp. The saw is more than capable for making the cuts you describe. You just happened to get a lemon.

There are thousands of us on this site who have used this saw without upgrading to a "real" motor, whatever that is. Take it back and give the saw another chance.

[nlange41]

Have to agree with all the replies on bad motor. Mine is 13 years old and last year it helped me build the kids new playhouse. Ripped through 480 FT of pressure treated pine and only popped circuit 1 time.

[BreachingWhite]

Thanks for all the replies and advice. I researched this saw fairly well so I was surprised when it died under such light use, but maybe you're all right and I got a dud motor. I hope so. I wish now I had ignored what ryobi and home depot told me and just boxed it up and taken it back... I was told emphatically by both that after 30 days it has to go to a repair center. I've had the saw 35-40 days. I'd much rather play "Mr. Irate Customer" and create a scene to get home repot to make good on an exchange than be without my saw for 2 weeks, which is what's going to happen now since I already dropped it off at a repair shop.

All I can say is motor #2 is going to be put through it's paces. I have a couple projects to get out of the way and then it's going to rip a dozen 2x4s into sawdust, no way I'm waiting till it's out of warranty to find out it can't handle real use. Could be ryobi has swapped out to a garbage motor on recent saws, the trend in manufacturing is always towards cheap and crappy and home depot isn't really the place to buy quality tools...

[Knottscott]

I thought the return policy for the BT was 90 days.....? [?]

[Ken Weaver]

What Scott said - my impression was it was 90 days no questions asked. I would argue for warranty repair even from the repair center. It shouldn't have been that way - and its unusual when it is.

[Jim Boyd]

quote:Originally posted by Ken Weaver

What Scott said - my impression was it was 90 days no questions asked. I would argue for warranty repair even from the repair center. It shouldn't have been that way - and its unusual when it is.

Web site says 90 days.

[cwsmith]

Where does it say, "90-Days"? It would be nice, but the Ryobi warranty clearly states "30-day No Risk Satisfaction Guarantee", on the box, on their web site, and in the manual.

I believe the 90-day return you are referring to, is Home Depot's policy, but it states return policy basics as: "Merchandise in unused, like-new condition must be returned within 90 days" and even then, there are exceptions.

But all said, having the motor burn out within such a short time is a bit infuriating to say the least. I hope the service center gets this resolved for you in short order.

CWS