Seems that it's all over now

[Burg53]

Because of the recent posts here regarding recalls/replacements of switches for the BT3X00 I contacted Wayne Hill at Ryobi to see if either of my two saws were among those with a potential problem. In the course of emailing back and forth I mentioned that Sears had the 21829 on clearance. This was apparently news to him. He talked to some people at Ryobi and provided this information, which I told him I would pass along here.
* The Bt3000 and BT3100 are out of production
* * The Craftsman 21829*had*changes to the outlet/switch which caused it to be re-priced to Sears.* As a result they cancelled it.* The only saws left for the Craftsman 21829 are those in the stores - there is no more inventory in the Ryobi warehouse.*
* *Parts*are available but will be discontinued over time.*
* There is talk of the saw being reinstated at Home Depot in the future but at this point we should not hold our breath.*
* * It would be wise to get parts such as belts and shims while they are readily available.

* The Craftsman 21829 still exists in the Canadian market as a Model 27667.* Canada currently has 235 units on order pending delivery. I don’t know if this will be Sears Canada’s final order but at least we know that at least those saws will be available.

Wayne was part of the team that developed the BT3000. He seems to have great pride and affection for these saws (doesn't everyone?). He closed by writing:

"I share your disappointment that this fine saw has come to the end of its era. I will take better care of mine and hope it survives me."

I'm hoping for the same thing.

Les

[RAV2]

Need to create an end of life parts kit

We should research the part numbers for the shims, belt, and any other items that the members recommend be purchased to have on hand to deal with this situation and put us in good shape for the long term.

[Stytooner]

I think Loring may actually have that info in the FAQ's.

[cwsmith]

My understanding is that certain parts like a replacement motor hasn't been available for some time, but perhaps I'm wrong about this.

While I certainly don't have the long experience that many of you do, I would think that the biggest concern over the coming years would be replacement belts.

The price of those belts seems to have gone up dramatically in recent years and if they are now going to be declared as parts for an obsolete product, where with that leave us in five or six years? From another recent post that I've read, these belts don't have an indefinite shelf life.

CWS

[LCHIEN]

My understanding is that certain parts like a replacement motor hasn't been available for some time, but perhaps I'm wrong about this.

While I certainly don't have the long experience that many of you do, I would think that the biggest concern over the coming years would be replacement belts.

The price of those belts seems to have gone up dramatically in recent years and if they are now going to be declared as parts for an obsolete product, where with that leave us in five or six years? From another recent post that I've read, these belts don't have an indefinite shelf life.

CWS

The belts are unfortunately a standard design item but custom manufactured for this purpose to a specific length and width. Thus they can be manufactured for a probably significant setup charge and/or MOQ (minimum order quantity) making it prohibitive to buy by single individuals or even a small group. For example its not inconceivable that they have a setup charge of $5000 and an price of $10 ea if you order 1000. Now $10 is a good price for you and me but you have to come up with $15,000 and get 1000 belts which drives the unit price to $15 (hence the current retail prices of $20 to 30), you have $15,000 invested and will need to sell 20 belts to each active BT3central member to recoup your costs.

I imagine the falling production quantities of the belt as they moved from BT3100 to only Sears 21829 orders has contributed to the rising prices due to having smaller lots made and amortising the setup costs over the order.

The life of the belts are debateable. I'll bet many of the owners still have their original belts ( I do, from 1999 BT3000 production which is now 14 years old) but you do hear of some belts left sitting that dry rot and disintegrate. I'm not sure what conditions exactly make it do that. The belts are polyurethane with internal belting so its not rubber which is known to dry rot... polyurethane should be much better in that regard.

And yes the part numbers for all BT3 parts that are easily lost or broken are listed in my FAQ which I have made readily available. I've probably e-mailed out between 200 and 300 copies.

[rcplaneguy]

So where is the "best" place to purchase extra belts?

[LCHIEN]

So where is the "best" place to purchase extra belts?

depends, are you talking best in terms of price, delivery, or customer service-friendly?
Been lots of threads on the subject, search for Ryobi drive bets or similar.
http://omgili.com/thread/_0JOtn.4SCr...a15Q3z2l0sps-/

https://www.google.com/search?q=6623...sm=93&ie=UTF-8

[lrr]

For me, it would be price. Fast delivery is not required since it would be a spare. And customer service is typically a "don't care" for a consumable item.

I too am running on my original belt (BT3100). I do not have a heavy usage on my table saw, so for me, the spare belt would likely still be packaged when I'm 6 feet under. .

[LCHIEN]

I have a spare belt set. That's why I think I haven't yet broken my original belts (Murphy, y'know I think one of the corollaries is that if you buy a spare, the original will never break ).

[vaking]

This line of saws had been in production for over 15 years. I have 3100, not the first model in this line and mine is over 10 years old. It runs fine, the only issue I had with it was belt that I had to replace once. When I bought replacement belt - I bought also a spare set, so I have one. I never needed shims or anything else. I want to remind that BT3 was designed from the beginning as light duty machinery. It is not supposed to last for generations like Unisaws, so I would not try to stack up on replacement parts.

[chopnhack]

This line of saws had been in production for over 15 years. I have 3100, not the first model in this line and mine is over 10 years old. It runs fine, the only issue I had with it was belt that I had to replace once. When I bought replacement belt - I bought also a spare set, so I have one. I never needed shims or anything else. I want to remind that BT3 was designed from the beginning as light duty machinery. It is not supposed to last for generations like Unisaws, so I would not try to stack up on replacement parts.

That is an excellent point Alex, however, like many folks on this forum, I think we have taken good care of our saws and want them to continue to function. I received my saw brand new with the accessory kit from my wife, one of the last ones from Home Depot somewhere around 2004-05, that makes mine about 8-9 years old. I think the value has been excellent, about $0.10 a day for the ability to build anything I was capable of. A pair of belts is probably a prudent thing. Maybe on my next order from Amazon I can squeeze another $38 in there ;-)

[LCHIEN]

a quick study of polyurethane on the internet discloses that
Its not a thermoplastic meaning heat won't cause it to soften and melt like thermoplastics.
It is degraded by compounds created when chlorine is in contact with water.
It is degraded by several Fungi and bacteria. This has been observed to happen in PU items stored in museums as well as samples recovered from garbage fills where there was little oxygen for reactions.

Light and UV radiation may have an effect, usually on the surface (but this was directed to PU foams.)

Thats all I found.

It was suggested somewhere that PU finishes are hard to remove because very little will dissolve them. It was suggested that Acetone would soften but not dissolve it for removal from metal, glass to aid in mechanical removal (scraping, abrading). Don't know it that applied to "melted" belts.

[woodturner]

Working on something

I'm working on an alternative, low cost source for replacement belts. Too early to tell if it will work out, just a teaser at this point, will post updates when available.

I'll ask the Plastics faculty how to remove and soften poly, will let you know.

[JimD]

I have a couple spare belts I've had for years. I lost 2 belts when an offcut fell into them - a freak accident. When I bought replacements I purchased 4. So since I have replacements, I have had no additional issues.

[rcplaneguy]

Maybe on my next order from Amazon I can squeeze another $38 in there ;-)

You found a pair for $38? The best I found was $45.