dust collection BT3000

[phone60]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum and just bought a bt3000 used for $125.00. It is in good condition with miter table and router table attachment, no rust ,top is in good condition, blade cuts good , but, got some burn marks on 2x4 I was testing with. Is it the wood I was using or is the blade dull? I have a stipped screw on throat plate (going to get a extractor at HD).I took apart the cabinet and sucked all the sawdust with a house vacuum. Can I use a shop vac with this saw for dust collection? The dust bag just doesn't seem to do it.
Thanks,

Greg NE Philly

[Black wallnut]

Welcome and yes you can hook a shop vac to the saw. You will find a shop vac does a good job.

[volozhin]

Do you need some kind of adapter? The hose of my shop vac is, I believe, 1 1/4".

[Hoover]

Welcome to the forum. You might want to clean your blade after running pine or other softwoods thru the blade. Pine has a lot of pitch in it, so clean your blade. If your blade has been used a lot, you might want to have it sharpened or replaced.

[Uncle Cracker]

As for your burn marks, the blade may be the culprit. Swap another one in and see if it helps. Your riving knife may also need adjustment so that it does not skew the outfeed, and the same may be true for your fence(s).

[Garasaki]

There could be a bunch of things, including a misaligned rip fence, causing burn marks on a 2x4. Could also just be a bad piece of wood. Or a dirty or dull blade.

Dust collection is pretty darn good with a shop vac. I will tell you this though, I wished for years that I had a real DC instead of a shop vac. Then I got a real DC - and it was exactly as good as I'd hoped it be.

Point being, you might be well served to take the DC leap right now instead of "suffering" for a few years with a shopvac.

[dbhost]

To answer the question asked, yes you can use a shop vac to collect from the rear port, just make sure it is a full size 2.5" hose equipped vac, and not the 1.25" hose equipped vacs used for cleaning the gunk from the cracks in car seats... You will find the port is sized to fit that hose...

Even with a shop vac hooked up, you will still get a little bit of blow by that the shroud misses, it's better than most, but not perfect. You can add a belly pan, basically a piece of hardboard to enclose the bottom, add to that a 2.5" dust port (Rockler and Peachtree have them, I sure others do as well...), a piece of 2.5" dust hose and a Y fitting and you can pull from the blade shroud and belly pan at the same time... You will get much better dust collection though if you have the funds to invest in a true dust collector. Harbor Freight has coupons for the #97869 2HP dust collector for $139.00, that DC, some hose, and a 1 micron filter bag and you are in business for sure!

Your burning could be caused by a blade, or setup issues. Make sure everything is squared up, and working well, clean your blade and make sure it is nice and sharp, and you should be good to go...

[steve-norrell]

Welcome to BT3XXX land.

I have used both a ShopVac and a DC with the BT3100. As noted before, the ShopVac works as well as it should and captures lots of dust. But, as also noted, a real DC works even better. After I got the DC, I found myself wondering why I didn't do so sooner.

One of the members, Loren, offers a very comprehensive FAQ about the BT3XXX. I don't remember his email, but you could search the site and get it. His information is a "must have" for setting up and maintaining the saw.

Good luck and Welcome, Steve

[dbhost]

Welcome to BT3XXX land.

I have used both a ShopVac and a DC with the BT3100. As noted before, the ShopVac works as well as it should and captures lots of dust. But, as also noted, a real DC works even better. After I got the DC, I found myself wondering why I didn't do so sooner.

One of the members, Loring, offers a very comprehensive FAQ about the BT3XXX. I don't remember his email, but you could search the site and get it. His information is a "must have" for setting up and maintaining the saw.

Good luck and Welcome, Steve

Had to correct, sorry it's Loring. Do a search for LCHIEN and PM him with your email address asking him for the BT3 FAQ...

[Mowgli]

There could be a bunch of things, including a misaligned rip fence, causing burn marks on a 2x4.

I just got a new-in-box(!) BT3000 from 1992.

The rip fence was misaligned right out of the box.
I still haven't aligned it because I haven't needed to use it yet.

Once upon a time I had a 3100 that I aligned and it was pretty simple and easy following the directions in the OM.

[young woodworker]

Where did you find a coupon for the HF #97869 2 HP dust collector? I can't find one.

[steve-norrell]

dbhost, thanks for the correction. Darn those 'senior moments'!

Regards, Steve

[williamr]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum and just bought a bt3000 used for $125.00. It is in good condition with miter table and router table attachment, no rust ,top is in good condition, blade cuts good , but, got some burn marks on 2x4 I was testing with. Is it the wood I was using or is the blade dull? I have a stipped screw on throat plate (going to get a extractor at HD).I took apart the cabinet and sucked all the sawdust with a house vacuum. Can I use a shop vac with this saw for dust collection? The dust bag just doesn't seem to do it.
Thanks,

Greg NE Philly

You sure can.

But I recommend the HEPA filter and a fine dust bag. Cuts down the air flow a bit -- but then you don't breathe the fine dust.

[dbhost]

Where did you find a coupon for the HF #97869 2 HP dust collector? I can't find one.

Current issue of Wood Magazine.

[phone60]

Bt3100

Thanks for the input, I believe I will go for a real DC unit although I probably go with a smaller one since I have a small shop ( 1/3 of a 1 car garage). I'm a little leary of Harbor Freight and their quality. Any suggestions for a small shop DC ???
Another couple questions: Where can I get replacement blades and what type of general blade would you recommend?
Would a 6" dado be sufficient ?
Where to get a zero clearence throat plate?
Thanks
Greg