BT3100 belt replacement

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • fordcs
    Forum Newbie
    • Feb 2006
    • 5

    BT3100 belt replacement

    Does anyone know how to replacement the belts on a Ryobi BT3100-1 tablesaw? I broke mine when a peice wood got caught under blade.
  • JimD
    Veteran Member
    • Feb 2003
    • 4187
    • Lexington, SC.

    #2
    There are articles on this but they are apparently not up yet. I fried mine when an offcut droped down into them when I was making a shallow angle cut to put a raised panel effect on some drawer fronts. I tried the instructions in an article from this website but it didn't work too good for me. I think it involved making a "spoon" out of electrical conduit to help work the belt into position.

    Anway, you have to take the left side off the saw (left if you are on the front of the saw). Then you have to take the metal piece that directs the sawdust towards the dust chute. I think all of this was screws but I am probably forgetting things. Once you get the metal dust guides out of the way, you will be able to easily see the belts - or at least where they go. The motor pully is near the top of the saw and small. The other pulley is larger and on the arbor. The belts are a tight fit on these two pulleys. The smoother side of the two sides of the belt goes on the pulleys. Getting the belt on the pulleys is the tough part. I had melted belt on the motor pulley - you should check them over to make sure you do not have something similar. If you do, you must scrape all the old belt off the pulleys before you can put the new ones on.

    What worked for me was to roll the belt onto the pulleys. You put one edge on the motor pulley (not the whole belt, just 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch of the belt), then get a little bit started on the blade pulley then rotate the blade pulley to roll the bit up onto the pulley. I had to do this about 50 times before I got it. Not much fun. Others report success boiling the belts first to expand them. Worth a try. Once you have at least a little bit of the belt onto both pulleys, take a wooden block to put up against the pulley and tap it into position. That part goes quickly so take it easy with the taps. Then put the other belt on.

    For me this was a patience testing exercise. I had to figure it was going to take half a day because it did.

    Good Luck.

    Jim

    Comment

    • fordcs
      Forum Newbie
      • Feb 2006
      • 5

      #3
      Belt Replacement

      JimD,

      This looks like a good approach, if the belts are not broken. But, mine are broken and I need to know how to get to the pulleys, after I take the metal piece that directs the sawdust towards the dust chute. The pulley appear to be encased in a metal block. Removing the screws to the metal block does not appear to open the block so that I can access the pulleys. Is there something I missed?

      Fordcs

      Comment

      • JimD
        Veteran Member
        • Feb 2003
        • 4187
        • Lexington, SC.

        #4
        I think you haven't taken enough stuff out of the way yet. There is a fair amount of disassembly to get to the belts. Now that you mention it, I think there was a plate or something behind the dust chute. While disassembly to this degree is a bit scary, the difficult part comes after you get all this stuff out of the way.

        I got to thinking and I think I have the pdfs for the articles that might help you. See the attached.

        Jim
        Attached Files

        Comment

        • fordcs
          Forum Newbie
          • Feb 2006
          • 5

          #5
          Belt Replacement

          Thanks a lot. I also received good instructions from Ryobi tech support.

          Cecil Ford

          Comment

          • fordcs
            Forum Newbie
            • Feb 2006
            • 5

            #6
            Belt Replacement completed

            Thanks everyone who replied to my message. I completed the belt replacement. It was tough, but not as bad as it had to be. I found out that in order to get the belts back on the pulleys, I just need to use my thumbs. First, the pulley needs to be rotated clockwise. While rotating it, I used my left thumb to push the belt outward away from the pulley whie using my right hand to rotate the pulley. I was amazed how easily the belts moved into position. Thanks again.

            Cecil Ford

            Comment

            • tomscanio
              Forum Newbie
              • Jan 2003
              • 80
              • McKinney, TX, USA.

              #7
              Technique Question

              JimD,

              Don't understand the part about the block and tapping when the belt is just barely on. Could you give more details?

              Thanks,
              Tom Scanio

              Comment

              Working...