About to buy a BT3000

[niswanger]

New guy here! I’m running short on time…I’m about to buy a used BT3000 from our local craigslist for $220 here in an hour. Just wondering if anyone can give any input with regards to things to check out first? Raising/lower blade stiffness which would mean the shims need attention, etc? I have a 1.75” thick piece of hard wood (red oak) to test some cuts. Looking forward to buying a fairly old machine even in lieu of so many plastic technological advances

Thanks,
Roy

[jdon]

Hope this is still in time, and of some help! You're right- blade elevation resistance is probably the most important thing to watch for (possibly most expensive to fix, if threads are stripped). But could just be dirty.

Most things to check for are basically to see if it was used roughly, or with little care to detail- sloppiness in sliding miter table, and having to move the fence locking handle down to near vertical to lock (should only have to move just below horizontal to lock).

Just remember that this isn't a real powerful saw- a dull, full kerf blade will have trouble with 1.75" oak.

Finally, for >$200, you should expect excellent condition, a/o lots of accessories (router kit, casters, hold down clamp, extra ZCTPs, etc.)

just my .02

[niswanger]

Thanks and I see if I had more time to read this particular board I would have gleaned a lot of good info on this same, seemingly repeated, topic. Anyway, I did a scan of units across CL in the nation...right now $200 seems the median price. Unit was in great shape...raise/lower was fine...new blade had no issue with the oak...just a slight burning in one section. Spins up quiet and spins down quiet. Only issues: 1. The tension bold/nut assembly for the fence lock-down lever needs some pb blaster and cleaning up. 2. Over-all unit just needs some general cleaning and lube.

He still has the ad up...so shape-wise, a little hard to tell from the images. Again, he took $220: http://austin.craigslist.org/tls/4380900688.html

Thanks,
Roy

[tfischer]

Welcome to the club. It's a great saw if you take care of it.

[niswanger]

Thanks for the help guys. Yes $220...not a great deal but also it seems from various postings on craigslist around the country the median price is about $220. For me I feel much happier buying a decent older saw that's belt driven and has a bit more potential at $220 than an ~$400 new portable job site saw that has limited rip depth and even in the dewalt's case doesn't accept a dado. I'm just a fix-it dad with one side of a 2 gar garage as a shop. My small job-site Delta 10" saw bit the dust and I really just need another small one, so this bt3000 is certainly bigger but I can live with that.

No extras with this unit, but as-is it's more than I need. Now, I have some advice for those who may be looking. I showed up and spent 20 minutes looking over, talking, and even cutting a 1.75" piece of red oak. All seemed good, even the raise and lowering of the blade was pretty smooth. So I give him $220 and headed home.

That's when I removed the fence and the rear roller holder was broken (plastic tongue that sticks into the fence is broke). Next thing I commence to doing is tearing it down and cleaning and lubing (dry spray moly lube) and then I noticed the motor carriage a wee bit loose...whole **** assembly wiggles just a tad. Humm...need to fix that! So I took the blade off and and investigated...didn't take me long to see that there are four tiny hex allen set screws...one was pretty loose. Tightening this some took all that slop out, but now the raise and lower is tight. I then I cleaned the race area of where the shims make contact and added a bit of lube. The assembly is now snug w/o any movement but the raise and lower is snug too. Might need to work on that more later. ^^I also need to read the manual

So lesson learned, inspect the fence well and check to see if the motor assembly is loose which would contribute to the easy raise/lower. I don't think the guy selling it knew anything about it and it wasn't deliberately loosened as there was saw dust caked into the set screw holes.

So now I want to order some parts. Is this an okay place? http://www.ereplacementparts.com/ryo...7954_7955.html

Thanks,
Roy

[LCHIEN]

yeah they're cheaper than sears. Good service.