Parallel setting jig for SMT?

[steve-norrell]

It's clear the designers failed to take at least one thing into account when developing the cart system: the blade guard bounces all over when the cart is moving the vertical saw. Thus, I am not totally confident that they took everything into account affecting or affected by the rails going vertical.

Gwyneth: This may sound like a silly question and I will apologize for it ahead of time.

A design consideration would be that the rails did not hit anything when the saw was being "folded up" and "unfolded". For example, if you have moved the rails to the right or left, is it possible for the rails to hit the floor when the saw is folded? Do the rails get bumped when the saw is being wheeled around in the folded position? One of the earlier comments touched on whether or not the rails could be loose, but its worth another check.

Good luck, regards, Steve

[gwyneth]

Gwyneth: This may sound like a silly question and I will apologize for it ahead of time.

A design consideration would be that the rails did not hit anything when the saw was being "folded up" and "unfolded". For example, if you have moved the rails to the right or left, is it possible for the rails to hit the floor when the saw is folded? Do the rails get bumped when the saw is being wheeled around in the folded position? One of the earlier comments touched on whether or not the rails could be loose, but its worth another check.

Steve, it's not a silly question at all.

The user must make sure that the rails are moved to the right enough so they don't hit the floor when cart is folded. They will hit if left in what most would consider the 'normal' position--centered.

In my opinion, the least the designers could have done would have been putting a mark somewhere on the rails to show the 'safety zone'.

At the least, this is one more opportunity for user error, if after unfolding, user shifts rails back to left.

I am thinking also there may be error, inaccuracy, or distortion of some kind occurring as a result of the rail clamps holding the rails vertically. They appear to be the same rail clamps as on the BT3100, which are definitely designed to hold the rails horizontally.

jon-ramp, it's a good thing you piped up!

[LarryG]

Another, perhaps obvious, issue with a portable saw is whether anything gets twisted out of whack by floor unevenness when the saw is moved from one location to another. I used to occasionally move my BT in the shop building I recently vacated, which had a VERY uneven floor. If I didn't return the saw to the EXACT same place each time I moved it, the body would distort and throw the rails, and in turn the SMT, out of kilter.

Also, while we're all assuming that the 21829 "should" behave the same as the old BT3x00, maybe it doesn't, for some reason. Could that reason be the integral stand itself? Veteran BT owners always caution new BT owners not to move the saw around like a wheelbarrow, using the rails as handles, because that induces stresses that can mess up the alignment. It may be that putting this same saw on a self-contained, folding stand was not one of Ryobi/Sear's better ideas.

[gwyneth]

Another, perhaps obvious, issue with a portable saw is whether anything gets twisted out of whack by floor unevenness when the saw is moved from one location to another. I used to occasionally move my BT in the shop building I recently vacated, which had a VERY uneven floor. If I didn't return the saw to the EXACT same place each time I moved it, the body would distort and throw the rails, and in turn the SMT, out of kilter.

Also, while we're all assuming that the 21829 "should" behave the same as the old BT3x00, maybe it doesn't, for some reason. Could that reason be the integral stand itself? Veteran BT owners always caution new BT owners not to move the saw around like a wheelbarrow, using the rails as handles, because that induces stresses that can mess up the alignment. It may be that putting this same saw on a self-contained, folding stand was not one of Ryobi/Sear's better ideas.

Well, it's a great idea, the question is whether they took everything into account in executing it.

While the cart itself seems to be as well designed and operative as similar ones (though probably not quite the Germanic paragon of the Bosch stand), three factors do distinguish the BT/21829 from other saws with intrinsic carts: the rails, and two removable tables, one of which also has a removable fence.

The designers did provide places to stow the tables while moving, though IMO the transporting part of saw operation is relatively unimportant compared to the sawing part of saw operation.

I have not stowed the tables on the saw during take-down. I put them on a table or shelf.

So I'm guessing that the two potential trouble areas would be the rails and the location of the 'legs'--the bottom of the stand at opened, operating position.

Larry's cogent points bear on both aspects.