What's the difference?

[rberrybabylon]

I''m a newbie to this forum. Just bought a used BT3000 and, so far, love it!!
As a still-working 70 year old, I got back into woodworking as a hobby cause I've always liked it - just never seemed to have enough time. Built a couple of things in the past two years using a cheap Delta and decided I needed something a little less flimsy. Put my Freud thin-kerf blade on the BT3000 and have nearly everything I could ask for.

The only question I have at this time is: what is the difference between the 3000 and the 3100? I'm also looking for ideas for some jigs and fixtures such as I had put together for my Delta but I guess I'll find plenty of them on this site. I already downloaded a couple of articles which look promising.

Thanks for your help.

[cgallery]

Wow, your post count reads "0" and I thought it woulda at least been "1".

Anyway, you'll want to get a copy of the FAQ from Loring. Hopefully he will be here soon w/ instructions for getting a copy.

The differences are really minor, and to the best of my knowledge, any jig for a 3100 should easily work on a 3000.

And BTW, welcome and glad you found this place!

[eezlock]

what's the difference?

If my memory is correct the.....Other than a few minor differences they are basically the same saw, with some upgrades. The BT3100 is the best of the Ryobi line of saws. The rails,
rip fence, SMT, accessory table, throat plates, are all interchangeable
from one saw to the other.The BT 3 xxx line of saws has been discontinued by Ryobi but they are selling saws thru Sears stores marketed as the #21829 series for about $499.00 regular price, with a different paint color scheme. They do however put them on sale at times. Parts availability...most times
can be obtained from Ryobi, others sources on the internet have some parts also. I saw the other night that the wide table kit, legs, extension table and rail connectors was for sale from komatoast on e-bay, he also has some items
for sale that are useful such as the dual miter slot tables and other parts as well.

The Bt 3000 had a gray cabinet, straight legs, and a 13 amp motor, some saws had motor shim problems.

The BT3100 has a gray cabinet with a blue front panel,15 amp motor, splayed legs set, and almost no motor shim problems.

Hope all this info. helps.........eezlock

[LCHIEN]

From my BT3 FAQ:
================================================== =

What are the Differences between BT3000, BT3100, and Sears model 22811 version of BT?
The Sears 22811 (also the 22185) is the BT3000 with the following differences:

• splayed base instead of the square base (in this regard more like the BT3100)

• Sears Craftsman-branded 40T blade instead of Freud thin kerf 36-T blade

• Different, metal, not plastic, crank elevation handle (being larger, at some positions of the

rip fence and elevation crank, there is possible reported interference with the elevation

crank handle and the rip fence lock handle. It may depend upon how far down your rip

fence locking handle goes.)
• Sears name on front

• no videotape

The BT3100 is like a BT3000 except for the following:

• splayed base

• improved vertical shim retention

• improved riving knife shim set (easy entry)

• different front panel,

• different paint scheme (blue and yellow instead of gray/black)

• gray metal-flake powder covered top instead of gray anodized top

• SMT base is black instead of clear (natural Aluminum) anodize

• black instead of silver rails. Slight but not significant profile shape, all known accessories still fit

• different shape on rip fence front rail clamp but same basic mechanism

• different elevation crank – plastic with yellow hub (and not the same as Sears, either)

• no instructional video tape (although lately some new owners have reported receiving DVDs)

• Notably it does share the nice 36T Freud thin kerf blade.

BT3100-1 version which the main change appears to be a new power switch

As of about December, 2005 the very nice Freud Italian-made blade on new BT3100s seems to be

replaced by a Chinese-made blade.
Key components/spares/accessories available from Ryobi distributors and Sears are all
interchangeable.
Don't know if there are any diffs for the Canadian sears version.
If price were equal, I dislike the new color scheme and crank but the improved shims would
clinch the BT3100 for me.
In the states, the BT3100 is generally cheaper, too, than the Sears saw and sometimes you can get
the $100 accessory kit for free. At this point in time (Feb 2005) the Sears 22811 version has
pretty much disappeared from the Sears stores so any you find might be worthy of striking a
bargain with the store manager to sweeten the deal. By and large the Sears retailers seem to be
ignorant of the existence of the BT3000/3100. Accessories and parts still are listed in the Sears
website using the 22811 (for accessories search) and 228110 as the model number for repair parts
search.
There appears to be a new (March 2005) Canadian Sears saw based on the BT3K. It’s a model
27413 and it differs from the BT3100:
• Flat, not ribbed top

• No-name 36-T blade

• Silver rails

• Wider Auxiliary table has two miter slots and locks front and rear, router mounts directly to table, not adapter plate, with Craftsman router hole pattern, only. Note: many people think the miter slots in the Auxiliary table are replacements for the Miter Slot Table accessory but it

appears to this author that they cannot be aligned to the blade so they are useful for router
work only.
• Power switch mounted on rail, not body, has yellow safety lock

• Two orange tabs on the back of the miter fence for angle readout

• Red accent rip fence lock handle, crank know, and miter fence knob

• High contrast black on white SMT angle markings

• Yellow mark-on circle before blade for noting kerf locations

• Metal elevation and bevel crank

• Front of saw silver and black says 10" Table Saw/Scie a Table de 10 po with a Craftsman logo.Splayed leg stand says "Craftsman"

There now (August 2005) appears to be a new Sears US BT3-derived model in the catalog

designated 21829. Differences from the BT3100:
• Flat, not ribbed top

• 36-T blade (a Chinese-made blade, not the Freud-made blade)

• Silver rails

• Wider Auxiliary table has two miter slots and locks front and rear, router mounts directly to table, not adapter plate, with Craftsman router hole pattern, only (?) Note: many people think the miter slots in the Auxiliary table are replacements for the Miter Slot Table accessory but

they cannot be aligned to the blade so they are useful for router work only.
• Yellow mark-on circle before blade for noting kerf locations, yellow throat plate

• Different (metal? But looks more like Plastic?) elevation and bevel crank

(Truncated for length)

[JR]

Bt 3000 Bt3100
13 amp motor 15 amp motor
some had motor shim problems little or no motor shim problems

Weeell, not exactly.

The EARLY BT3000 had a 13 amp motor. They changed to 15 amp after a couple of years, but unfortunately I don't know the date.

All BT3000s had shims on the motor carriage assy that are different from the improved ones on the BT3100. The old ones were prone to breaking and falling out, the improved ones less so. The shims are interchangeable, so if the OPs machine starts to have problems raising and lowering the blade, the new BT3100 shims can be installed.

It may also be useful to know that early Bt3000s had a suspect power switch. It can be identified by having two buttons vs. the improved switch's rocker-type setup.

JR

[LCHIEN]

to address CGallery's comment, if you want the other 39 or so pages of BT3 answers to frequently asked questions, send me a PM (private mail on this forum- just click on my name) and send me your e-mail address.

[sparkeyjames]

All of the information in the prevoius posts is why I love this forum. No grumpy "check the archives newbie" stuff. Just plain straight answers to questions.

Also the Sears 28129 is mounted on a mobile cart kinda like the gravity lift on a Bosch mobile table saw. This makes it handy in a shop with little room as It can be folded up and stored against a wall to make room for other things.
There are also several posts here on how to put your BT on a mobile 4 wheel cart so you can push it out of the way. Here is one of the best. http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...=Tim-Will-Lift
I just know Tim won't mind if you build one for your own saw.


sparkeyjames

[big tim]

.......way. Here is one of the best. http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...=Tim-Will-Lift
I just know Tim won't mind if you build one for your own saw.


sparkeyjames

Of course I don't mind. That's why the article ended up on this site, for anyone to copy. I also submitted the idea to Fine Woodworking mag and earned 100 bucks with it. So Babylon go right ahead. Any questions, just pm me. You'll love the BT3.

Tim

[TheRic]

Welcome to the family, come on in and make yourself at home!!!

I would strongly suggest you get the FAQ from Loring, well worth your time reading it, and having it handy. Make sure you check out the articles area, plenty of good stuff there. You will find the Bargain Alerts section has a tendency to make you spend your money more.