some new stuff about BT3 handwheels.

[LCHIEN]

One topic of discussion with BT3s is the handwheels.

First the good news: the 21829 handwheel should fit the BT3s and 22811 - giving us a source of spare handwheels.

Up until recently, My understanding of the BT3 handwheels was that the BT3000, the BT3100 had the same handwheel mounting shaft end.
And that the 22811 had a different handwheel that required an adapter (no longer available) to fit the shaft that was the same as BT3s. It was also presumed that the 21829 had a different handwheel.

The Ryobi source for BT3 handwheels has apparently dried up - people have reported that both BT3000 and BT3100 handwheels are no longer available from BT3 parts dealers.

In a recent discussion with DBHOST he described to me the shaft end of his saw and I realized that it was exactly the same as a 21829 handwheel description I had. (7/16 shaft with flats .33" across). SO THE NEWS IS THAT THE Sears 21829 HANDWHEEL spares should fit the BT3s.

I'll fix the FAQ shortly.

The reason for my confusion is that I've never had my BT3000 handwheel off although I've tried several times. According to old reports the BT3000 handwheel retaining bolt (allen head 1/4-20) was apparently loc-tited at the factory. Technique for Breaking the bond was described as using a blow torch. OK if your handwheel broke but not good if your handwheel is OK and you are just curious to get it off as you will likely melt the plastic handwheel.

I've tried taking mine off with a regular 3/16" allen wrench, a Tee-handle wrench and a impact driver with a interchangeable bit mounted. I bore down until I didn't feel comfortable pushing harder. Anyone have a suggestion for how to get this bolt out without destroying the plastic handwheel?

I applied some liquid wrench a day ago - I'll see if that helps any, but i'm not hopeful.

[charliex]

Regarding your hand-wheel and quoting an ancient Chinese philosopher "If it ain't broke, quit trying to fix it" With my luck eventually the bolt would snap off within the shaft creating an interesting dilemma, requiring hours of endeavor to solve. Yah I'd keep trying also.

Your post is good news for members with real wheel problems. I also remember a post recently about someone casting replacement wheels.

[dbhost]

Loring,

You might try the rust breaking trick for threads... Stick your allen head wrench into the bolt, and tap it a few times with a mallet or what have you...

My BT3100 handhwheel comes off with some work, but not excessive force. Yes they used Loctite, in my case it was the blue loctite which is typically fairly easy to get apart... I do not know what they used on the BT3000...

[LCHIEN]

Regarding your hand-wheel and quoting an ancient Chinese philosopher "If it ain't broke, quit trying to fix it" With my luck eventually the bolt would snap off within the shaft creating an interesting dilemma, requiring hours of endeavor to solve. Yah I'd keep trying also.

Your post is good news for members with real wheel problems. I also remember a post recently about someone casting replacement wheels.

yeah there was a recent thread about some machined aluminum, not cast, handwheels on eBay made for the BT3 but they wanted like $50 plus shipping and I thought they were fugly.

I was pricing some COTS (commercial off the shelf) handwheels and an adapter and I wanted to measure the shaft on my BT3000 hence taking it off when not broken. I was thinking that the new handwheel might look really cool but I don't want to burn any bridges.

[dbhost]

Funny thing is, I rather liked the look of the Ebay handwheel, I just thought it was overpriced...

[twistsol]

After I broke my second one, I realized that if you keep the raise/lower mechanism cleaned and lubed properly the handwheel doesn't break. I still have a spare in the shop because I know my limitations. Good to know I'm not out of luck the next time I don't time to properly maintain the saw.

[jnesmith]

I've had a Craftsman hand wheel on my 3100 for many years.

[LCHIEN]

I've had a Craftsman hand wheel on my 3100 for many years.

from which Craftsman saw? 22811 or 21829 or other?

[jnesmith]

Good question Loring. I don't recall. It's been a long time since I replaced it. I did not realize there was more than one version of the Craftsman clone.

[LinuxRandal]

That one looks like the 22811, as the 21829 is wider/fatter.

[dbhost]

That looks like a 22811 hand wheel... Mighty good looking too. Have I mentioned I hate the yellow center on the BT3100 hand wheel?

[jnesmith]

It's much beefier than the OEM.

[pelligrini]

This is a shot of my 21829 wheel:

[LCHIEN]

well, my experiments with a new handwheel have come to an end I think because I cannot remove my wheel without breaking it. There seems to be locktite on the bolt. I can put a bigger cheater allen wrench on the bolt to break it free but to counter the torque I can only hold the handwheel so that subjects it to the full torque and being plastic the handwheel will break. I have tried rapping it with a punch and using liquid wrench but not the blowtorch idea (for obvious reasons).

Anyway, having found out that the 21829 handwheel should fit lessens the need for a replacement as you can still order these from Sears.
Part for CRAFTSMAN, Model # 315218290
Blade Adj Handwheel Assy
Number: A182014001
$9.02 in stock

item 101 in the diagram

http://www.searspartsdirect.com/partsdirect/partsdirect/showSubComp.pd?imageUrl=http%3a%2f%2fc.searspartsdirect.com%2flis_png%2fPLDM%2f50027597-00001.png

does not show needing an adapter that was required for the 22811 saw handwheel to fit.