Replacement planned for BT3100?

[kwc]

Hello,

This is my first post on the forum. I just bought a Craftsman 21829, reportedly roughly equivalent to the BT3100, based on the BT3K's stellar reputation and popularity. I had originally wanted the Ryobi but couldn't find any in southern MD.

Prior to purchasing the Craftsman, I contacted Ryobi customer service and asked if they intend to replace the BT3100. The answer I got was "yes"--they are planning to release an upgraded model in the near future... early in 2007. Has anyone else heard this or have I spoken to an uninformed service representative?

Does anyone know if Sears will continue stocking and supporting the 21829, or will that production line drop off as well? I got concerned when Sears reported the dado throat plate to be "out of stock"... everywhere (online and in all retail stores). And purchasing it through the parts dept costs $25 vs. the online listed price of $14.99. Hmmm...

Thanks!
kwc

[LCHIEN]

Hello,

This is my first post on the forum. I just bought a Craftsman 21829, reportedly roughly equivalent to the BT3100, based on the BT3K's stellar reputation and popularity. I had originally wanted the Ryobi but couldn't find any in southern MD.

Prior to purchasing the Craftsman, I contacted Ryobi customer service and asked if they intend to replace the BT3100. The answer I got was "yes"--they are planning to release an upgraded model in the near future... early in 2007. Has anyone else heard this or have I spoken to an uninformed service representative?

Does anyone know if Sears will continue stocking and supporting the 21829, or will that production line drop off as well? I got concerned when Sears reported the dado throat plate to be "out of stock"... everywhere (online and in all retail stores). And purchasing it through the parts dept costs $25 vs. the online listed price of $14.99. Hmmm...

Thanks!
kwc

Regarding the dado plate, it's pretty easy to make your own.

Regarding sears and Ryobi's plans, who knows...

And welcome to the forum.

[jziegler]

About a year ago, I found the dado plate on a clearance rack at Sears. It seems that they were clearing out some of the accessories. It was only a few bucks at the time. I don't think that the stores will have them anymore.

Of course, a ZCTP can be better than the dado plate. If you're cutting a smaller dado, using the dado plate can be much more dangerous.

Jim

[JR]

Does anyone know if Sears will continue stocking and supporting the 21829, or will that production line drop off as well?

The 21829 is a new model, introduced just last year. I'd think it would be in their lineup into the future a couple of years.

As to the future of the BT, yours is the first reference to a Ryobi customer service agent answering in the affirmative. I have thought for some time, though, that it didn't make sense for Ryobi to make the 21829, but discontinue the BT. The tooling is the same, so doing limited runs for only Sears just doesn't make sense.

OTOH, I've seen crisper transitions as a mfr. EOL'd one product and introduced another. There have been virtually zero NIB sales of the BT3100 feported during the last six months (some people have found them high on the shelves at HD and forced the BORG clones to drag them out and sell them). If it takes as long to fill the pipeline with the new product as it's taken to purge the old, it may be some time before we see the replacement BT.

JR

[kwc]

Thanks for the info. The dado plate just came back into stock @ Sears.com so I'll be good to go there; easier than making my own. I was more concerned about the lack of availability potentially hinting at an imminent production stoppage, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

Regards,
kwc

[jp_spins]

I just called Ryobi's customer service and spoke to a supervisor, she said that they have no information about a replacement for the BT3100. However, she did say that consumers usually get news before they do.

What does this mean? Probably not much but I thought that I would pass it along.

[ofna89]

I also spoke to Ryobi about a month ago and got the same answer that they were coming out with a new model. They didnt know when though, thats why I purchased my 21829.