New BT3100 owner.....hello, frustrated and some questions

**leehljp** · 01-12-2010, 10:36 PM

Welcome Dave!

I will comment on one item - power. Are you using an extension cord? Extension cords and the BT3x00 are not too fond of each other unless they are very HD cords. A second part is the wiring in the walls and circuit breaker. I have seen small wire gauge used in garages that can't handle the amps needed for the BT to maintain its speed and power.

A third aspect of this is - are you using a thin kerf blade? Full kerf blades in conjunction with the above will slow down the BT considerably. The BT does best with TK blades, but will work with full kerf. Feed rate must be considered at this point.

Some general points about the BT: it is a good precision saw and does well for those that treat it with kid gloves. It will not take the pounding like a cast iron saw does such as dropping a few 2X4s on the table or bouncing around in the back of a pickup from site to site. It will not take the fast feed rate of a cabinet saw or industrial contractors saw. But it will make precision cuts as well as any cabinet saw. This is such a subjective matter that people either love it or hate it . . . and it boils down to personal attitude, perception and expectation.

**sailor55330** · 01-12-2010, 10:42 PM

Thank you for the quick thought Lee,

To answer your questions.

I would consider the blade to be a "medium" kerf so to speak. It doesn't strike me as particularly thin or excessively thick.

For the power, it is a dedicated 20 amp circuit wired with 12/3. I know this because I wired the room in my basement with this in mind. The only other thing that was running was a 500w halogen worklight for a little extra illumination. If this isn't adequate for the saw, I'm in trouble

As I said, my feed rate was about 1 inch every 3-5 seconds. I guess I should probably get a new blade regardless.

**leehljp** · 01-12-2010, 10:52 PM

I think your feed rate is fine and the medium kerf is OK too. Your wiring is OK also. I will let some others comment on this. Sometimes a change in blade does wonders and sometime it doesn't. I would definitely give a new blade a try though.

**Uncle Cracker** · 01-12-2010, 10:59 PM

Suggest you use the PM tool on this site to contact Loring (his member name is "LCHIEN") and give him your e-mail addy, so he can send you the latest updated "BT FAQ"... You'll find answers to many questions you don't even know you have... Also, "RayintheUK" has an excellent BT illustrated tutorial.

And last, but not least... Welcome Aboard!

**mpc** · 01-12-2010, 11:47 PM

I'm not sure I follow you on what you're describing with your SMT. Basically though:
* there should be 4 black levers to clamp the whole SMT package to the saw's aluminum rails; 2 levers on each end of the SMT "miter base."

* Those levers are attached to a couple bars that run parallel to the saw's rails.

* Those bars are in turn attached to the "miter base" aluminum plate via screws; these are the screws you adjust to align the whole shebang. The rear-most screws are loose, as is the left front (outer-most) screw, when doing the alignment. The right front screw (as you stand in the normal operator's position) is just slightly loose; you rotate the miter base plate about this screw to get the top piece (with the angle measurement scales) moving parallel to the blade. You may have to loosen the rear black levers too - you want the rear of the whole miter base to freely move while doing the alignment. Once the miter base is aligned, tighten the black levers and the screws to lock everything. From now on, you can remove/re-install the whole SMT assembly by just lifting the 4 black levers; re-install by setting the assembly onto the saw rails, tightening the front 2 levers first, then the back two.

* The top piece, with the angle measurement scales, is the only part that actually slides when using the SMT. It has small plastic guides that slide on the miter base... they need to be adjusted so there is no lateral play/slop between this top piece and the miter base. If they're adjusted too tight though the top won't slide easily/properly. The nuts visible in the top piece are used to align the top piece to the saw blade so that the miter fence angles are accurate. The miter fence, by the way, has:
1: a plastic pin/foot in the bottom - this should fit without freeplay into either hole in the SMT's top part.
2: a small plastic foot that slides along the back edge of the miter fence; the trailing edge of this foot is the "pointer" when you're reading/using the angle scales. The back edge of the miter fence itself should not be used to read angles. This plastic foot should be on the opposite end of the miter fence from the plastic pin.
3: the top part of the SMT assembly has a small flip-up stop on the left edge; use the eccentric screw in this to calibrate the stop to hold the miter fence & plastic foot for 90 degree crosscuts. Don't "slam" the fence into this stop either; folks have busted it doing that. Remember, the BT3x00 saws are precision instruments, not cast iron gorillas...

Slow/weak motor operation:
* The BT saws run at a higher than typical RPM (4800 RPM compared to 3600 RPM of most saws) unloaded; this will drop a little when cutting of course. Does your saw blade appear to be spinning faster than other saws when it's not cutting? If not, find out why - something is dragging your saw down. Bad bearings on the arbor, sawdust buildup in that area, bad motor bearings, etc.

* Quick/easy way to test your power lines (though your 20 amp breaker and wire sizes sound great): at the side of the saw, unplug the stubby cord. Get one of those 1-to-3-way things that plug into wall outlets. Stuff that in there, plug the saw in, and plug a regular table/desk lamp, auto shop lamp, whatever - i.e. an incandescent light bulb - into the adaptor as well. Turn on the saw and make a test cut... if the lamp gets significantly dimmer, there is a power restriction some place. Of course, you could just measure the "running" voltage with a quality AC voltmeter too. Light bulbs are easy though - and you don't have to squint at them to read them while also trying to handle a test cut ==> safer.

* Brushes on the motor itself may be worn.

Miter slots:
I've never had the dual miter slot accessory so I can't comment on how well it works. Others like them though - they're the most often requested item on the buy/sell forum I'd say. They are not "T" style tracks like many current saws use - miter guages equipped with the little washer "ears" won't work. It's quite simple to fit a wood spacer block to the existing holes in the saw's top and then mount your favorite brand of aftermarket miter slot to that. That's what I've done. Several folks have made crosscut sleds that ride in the Ryobi dual miter slot piece with good results; folks have also made sleds for a home-brew miter slot like I've described.

Touch-up on the rails:
The only "gotcha" to watch for is to keep bumps and especially WAX off the portion of the rails that the rip fence clamps too. When the upper portion of the rails gets wax on it, or excess paint, the rip fence "walks up" as you try to lock it down. You shouldn't have to push the rip fence downwards to hold it as you move the locking handle down. By the way, a properly adjusted rip fence typically locks with the handle pointing straight out (3 o'clock) or a little lower. It should not have to point straight down to the floor to lock; if that's the case then the rip fence adjustments are out of whack or a small cam+lever piece inside is bent. There was a recent thread (with pictures) on this damage and how to un-bend the cam.

mpc

**LCHIEN** · 01-12-2010, 11:53 PM

dadoes - get a Freud SD206 for under $100.

your lights are sucking down 4 or 5 amps from your circuit. You should be able to rip - maybe the blade is dull, misaligned, or you have a smallish extension cord.

bunch of answers in the BT3 FAQ

**sailor55330** · 01-13-2010, 12:38 AM

MPC,

Thanks for all the detail. I follow everything you say and agree. I have been doing the exact procedure you mention. However, on page 38 of my manual, it clearly states that the rail clamps on the rear of the SMT assembly should be unlocked, then the procedure you outline regarding the adjustment should be performed. Once I retighten the adjustment screws and then reclamp the rail clamps, I find that the SMT is no longer parallel. It appears that when I apply pressure to align the SMT after loosening the clamps and the screws, the movement comes along the rails, not the screw adjustment points. In my simple little mind, it seems like you should leave all 4 rail clamps secure and then use the adjusting screws you mention, but I'm going with what the manual says. I'm certain that it is either a) user stupidity) or b) the fact that the slides are not functioning correctly at this point (I'm hoping for B and that some replacement slides will remedy this). I don't plan on wasting any more frustration until I know I have the correct parts to do the job.

I did make a quick test cut based on the recommendations of adding an accesory via a 3 way adaptor. No noticeable dimming. There is a distinct possibility that I am just more used to the more typical contractor style saw which relies as much on torque as it does revs. I admit the blade revs higher under no load than I think I have ever heard a table saw rev.

There are too many people here who seem to have great results for my experiences to be typical. As I said, I am hopeful that some new SMT guides/slides will rememdy this.

Please bear with me as I learn here---imagine my frustration of having the saw for about 6 days and not being able to make 1 cut even close to precision.

Thank you

**sailor55330** · 01-13-2010, 12:44 AM

Also forgot to mention---no extention cord. Plugged straight into the wall and only thing on the circuit.

**Black wallnut** · 01-13-2010, 01:00 AM

Follow the manual for all the SMT adjustments after you get the replacement parts. Do the adjustments in order, i.e. base first, then table.

Your power may or may not be an issue. Try a different blade and a different wood. The pitch of the motor on a BT3x may change with loading, this does not necessarily mean the blade slows. Check also to make sure you have the blade installed correctly, it has happened before.

By the way if we can get your "power" issue fixed without costing money then you got a steal.

**LCHIEN** · 01-13-2010, 02:42 AM

the BT3100 does rev faster than most table saws. and the motor does have a nasty high pitched whine that most don't. The whine mostly goes away when you cut wood.

Burning is a symptom. It can be caused by binding which is caused by misalignment which can be because of the splitter not installed correctly (i.e. there's some side-side adjustment so it can be placed directly behind the blade) and also has to be properly vertical.

If there is no alignment issue then as a last cause burning is usually caused by feeding too slowly - when the motor is laboring to cut and you are risking burning up the motor because its overloaded and you are burning the wood because you are feeding too slowly and can't go any faster that is when you have too little power.

The opposite condition, when you don't burn the wood but can feed as fast or slow as you want, then you have sufficient power.

**Lonnie in Orlando** · 01-13-2010, 08:25 AM

Welcome to the forum, Dave.

Here is a link to how I align the Sliding Miter Table and the Rip Fence. Note: Near the bottom of my post, the link to Phil Bumbalough's site is broken. His description of the 5-cut method of setting the miter fence is superb. Send me a PM and I will send a .pdf file of his info to you.
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=33234

This a link to fixing a problem with my rip fence. It may or may not apply to your saw.
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=48887

- Lonnie

**sailor55330** · 01-13-2010, 09:45 AM

I'll take another look at the guard/fence/RK. Based on my 'eyeball" measurements, the RK seems to be pretty well centered on the blade, about 1/8 of an inch over it. Not to say it couldn't possibly be better.

I do have the fence adjusted so that there is just the slightest toe out (about the width of a playing card) from the blade to eliminate binding--it's just how I was taught. Again, a re-check hurts nothing.

I am getting burning, so I will continue to play with feed rates and different set ups to see if it is a predictable pattern.

Lastly, I am familiar with the 5-cut method, but until I get the saw straight, it's not really going to work.

Thank you all again for the help, ideas & patience.

New BT3100 owner.....hello, frustrated and some questions

New BT3100 owner.....hello, frustrated and some questions

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