1st-gen BT3000 switch upgrade, manual wanted; and other Q's

[I saw that!]

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[LCHIEN]

the switch replacement is still avail. Its a Safety recall, not an "upgrade". Do a search for Wayne Hill in the forum.

Muter fence ends (slides?) are doable w/o, they're not critical , look in the article section recent post about Rod Kirby Miter fence for how to make your own.
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=58821

Wouldn't worry about blowing 15A breaker with either motor. You seldom use the max amps and when you do its not for a long enuf time to trip the breaker and if you do its a good thing it saved your motor. Make sure you have no other loads on that breaker when using it for the saw.

Probably not worth the trouble to swap out a working 13A motor for a 15A.

Look at recent forum threads about buying belts for advice.
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...ighlight=belts
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...ighlight=belts

Shims are usually the bad news part of old BT3000s. If your shims are good, make sure the ways are lubed with something like JOhnson's paste wax (pure wax, no additives like silicone)

I don't think carbon brushes go bad by sitting, I'd expect they'd be good to go.

[rfisher7381]

I have a new switch if you need it. Mine failed and I received a warranty replacement and then a few days later another one showed up. I no longer have the saw so cannot use it.

[LCHIEN]

regarding circuit breakers. THis discussion will shed some light and also some confusion about circuit breakers. I'm an electrical engineer. I 'm sure that you will be more than OK with a 15A breaker on a 13 or 15A BT3x. The BT3x is really probably not suited for continuous use at full load, the motor will overheat and short out when the insulation fails.
The 15A breaker will allow as many peaks of current as you need to do intermittent cutting of 4x4s if you wish, just don't push it too hard.

As discussed in the thread below, breakers are both time and current sensitive. It will trip almost instantly at about 9X rated load but at just over rated load may take minutes before tripping.

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...+breaker+curve

Despite what I say, I have five 20A circuits in my shop.

[LCHIEN]

I searched prior to posting. The last entry I could find by Mr. Hill wherein he states his email addy was in 2011. A lot can happen in 2 years. There are references made more recently as to contacting him, so I'll go out on a limb and assume they used the 2011 address. I could call the number and check that way, but I prefer to do business via email -- mostly to avoid errors in name and/or physical address, which happens to me quite often. Anyhow, just thought I'd check prior to firing off an email and maybe being confronted by the mail daemon.

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http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...ch+free&page=2
if you read to the end of the above post started by Wayne Hill, you'll see that as late as 11/8/13 people reported that e-mails to Wayne were replied to in 30 minutes. I think its safe to say he's still there.

[rcplaneguy]

If you read Wayne's offer, it is for BT3100 models, not the BT3000.

[LCHIEN]

the BT3000 early switch one was actually recalled, its just so old he didn't mention it but I understand they still replace that switch for free. There have been problems at least twice in the BT3 line with switches. I don't think the BT3100 switch was an actual CPSC recall, but Ryobi voluntarily replaces that switch.

BTW, the original BT3000 switch was in the first couple of years...it had two rectangular push-buttons, on and off buttons, black and red. The replacement was a rocker switch type button. with a hinged safety cover that if you pressed the cover it would turn the switch off. You had to lift the cover to press the on-side of the rocker.

You can look at the name plate and see the date code as to when the saw was made but if its 13a IT WAS ALSO THE FIRST COUPLE OF YEARS.

if you ask for my FAQ it tells all this stuff.

[rfisher7381]

Is that an old version replaced during the original warranty period or do you mean the redesigned replacement under recall/warranty?

If Ryobi is still giving the redesigned/updated ones away, I'll try to score one from them. If that doesn't work out -- or even if it does -- I might be interested in your spare if it's the newer design. What sorta price did you have in mind?

Thanks.

I am not sure. Here are a few pictures of the switch.





Cost would just be to mail it to you.

[LCHIEN]

...
That'd make operation smoother and reduce friction/wear, but I'm concerned about it leading to gumming of sawdust, whereas with the shims dry it obviously just falls away easily (the shop vac helps).
I bought this pre-owned saw back in the mid 90's and I used it a good bit before I put it in storage. When I opened her up, there was only a moderate amount of dust accumulated in the shim area. I'd hate to gunk it up and have that ultimately trash the shims.
I suppose it's possible the vac would pull the majority of the dust away before it had a chance to stick to the wax, but it wouldn't get it all.
Btw, I read through the shim-fix mod (nhavens shims1-e). For now, I'm going to resist such hacks and just remain vigilant re: clogging/cleaning.
....

The general consensus is that paste wax is good because it does not attract a lot of dust, unlike grease which does.
Running the shims dry is a sure fire way to get shim failure, eventually it sticks to the fixed ways, the motor moves up or down and then they fall off and the saw works like crap after that because they don't slide smoothly without the shims.

Spray on dry lubes are also OK in place of paste wax, but the paste wax is readily available and can be used for so many other things in the shop - particularly coating cast iron or aluminum surfaces to protect them against corrosion or spills. Its also good for finishing wood and other lubrication jobs.

[LCHIEN]

Sorry, the original switch is two-buttons - black (on) and red (off). (2 pics) That one was recalled.
The second generation BT3000 switch is the rocker switch with the hinged cover and lock loop. (3 pics)

They all fit the same hole as well as the BT3000 switches (1 pic - mounting), as far as I know...

Last pic is of the BT3100 switch.

[LCHIEN]

good info, I'll add that the the FAQ about the switch not fitting later models.
I think the change of the push butto n to the flip door model switch is well documented in the FAQ already - I'll note the year 1996.

And he was answering mail on a Saturday after thanksgiving? wow. what dedication.

[Condoman44]

I have the same experience as I Saw That. My BT3000 was built in 1992 and I have had it since 1996. I got it from Harbor Freight as a refurb. Only once have I replaced the belt.

It has proven to be a great saw. I am awaiting the switch upgrade and new manual.

[rcplaneguy]

Interesting that the bt3000 switch which was covered by a hinged lid had zero problems reported.

[LCHIEN]

By later models, do you mean later runs of the BT3000 (i.e., 15A) or do you mean the BT3100? The FAQ edit could be erroneous, depending on the answer.

I meant the BT3000 hinged cover switch won't fit the BT3100. Is that how Wayne explained it?

[rcplaneguy]

I meant the BT3000 hinged cover switch won't fit the BT3100. Is that how Wayne explained it?

I have a BT3100 with a black rocker switch covered by a hinged cover (which has a red label on the cover). And I have a BT3100-1 which has the red paddle switch with yellow safety key. I know for a fact that they do not interchange. The switch with a cover is smaller, the metal front of the saw has a smaller rectangular hole cut in, and the plastic box the switch fits in is smaller.