New owner of a used BT3100

[stioc]

Hi all, thought I'd register since I now own a BT3x. I'm fairly new to woodworking (still learning) but I love fixing/building things and have done it as long as I can remember but mostly cars related. I started with a cheap $100 Craftsman TS back in 2008 when I decided I wanted to do try 'home improvement'. I think it was another excuse to buy more tools but I digress. After putting in laminate flooring (a passable job at best, thank god for base boards to hide the imperfect ends) in one of the bedrooms and getting several kickbacks from the saw (before I new what a KB was) in the process I put it away and got busy with life and things. Until recently when I dusted off the old TS, put in a new Freud 50-tooth blade, built a sled for it and squared it up (it was so out of square) - all thanks to YouTube. Then, after building a few garage organization items I realized the 10" cutting capacity to the right of the blade is not going to cut it. the fence was a bit tough to setup too. So after some research I almost bought the Bosch but then I kept coming across something called the Ryobi BT3x. Some more research lead to this forum and the cult following. A month or so later one came up on Craigslist for $200, I showed up, made sure the motor turned, handed the money over and brought it home. Just about every alignment was off and man there are so many on this saw. I went ahead and ordered the accessory kit for $100 and also a few old replacement parts and a riving knife (didn't come with one). At this point the saw was cutting great except the SMT. After spending hours over the course of a few evenings I realized the SMT fencehold down plastic bracket has a crack and it moves even after being cranked down. So ordered a new one but the delivery took a while so I ended up building a sled and I like it much better. In fact, I'd like to buy another extension piece (where you mount the router) and get rid of the SMT altogether. Finally I added a shelf at the bottom of the stand and made a fold down out-feed table with the help of T-nuts sourced from t-nuts.com (btw Robert is great to deal with, he gave me lots of pointers for aligning the SMT).



Sled:


Cuts square enough for me:


Small fold-down out-feed table:




The saw stows away under the workbench (I have it on furniture moving pads so I just push and slide it where I need it) since I park two cars in the garage. The dust is a bigger pain to have to clean up each time I cut anything.

Here's the only indoor (non-garage) project I've built with it so far, made out of pine and birch plywood.



I'm open to any thoughts, recommendations, jigs, mods, must-dos related to the saw. I'm already thinking about buying a 6" dado blade set for it. I'm hoping once it's perfectly setup I wouldn't have to tinker with it as much as I've had to so I can concentrate on make things with it rather than for it

[cwsmith]

Stioc,

Things appear to be a bit slow on the forum this weekend (perhaps because it's the last weekend before Christmas), so let me be the first to say "Hello" and welcome you to the forum.

I hope you will find this as helpful and informative as I have. I bought my BT3100 back in 2005 when they were being clearanced from Home Depot. Fortunately, after the initial setup, I haven't had to do any re-alignments or major adjustments since. I did have to go through a belt replacement though. My own fault, as I didn't have the blade all the way down when I made my first zero-clearance plate. However, it was a good lesson and an opportunity to learn how to do the replacement, which wasn't nearly the big deal that I thought it would be.

Nice pictures of your shop area and your new BT. It looks a bit 'experienced' by the wear on the SMT, but altogether a very worthwhile purchase and a nice addition to your shop. I notice that the guard is missing, and that would be the first thing I would address in getting. I don't use a cross-cut sled, so don't know if that is the reason for not having a guard.

Occasionally I read posts from guys who don't use blade guards for whatever reasons, but I highly recommend their use whenever possible, and that is especially true for those who are just starting out with a table saw. It only takes a split second to loose an appendage!

Personally, I like the SMT and think it is a major feature of the BT if it can be aligned correctly. But, I confess to leaving most all of my crosscutting to my RAS, as it does so with much better accuracy and far more convenience.

There is a wealth of information and experience here on the forum and I'm sure you'll gather a lot of advice over the next few days from the other more experienced members.

Welcome to the forum and best wishes for the Christmas season,

CWS

[mpc]

If you find the saw doesn't hold adjustments, check your shop floor! The BT3 stand and saw body aren't the most rigid things in the world so if the floor is uneven that can twist the saw body every so slightly... enough to throw off the alignment of the rails, fence, or SMT. Many folks mark spots on the floor for the legs so they know they've moved the saw to the spot where it was last aligned.

The other technique is to replaced the splayed-leg stand with a stiff wooden box for better support, wheels, and more storage space. Lots of examples have been posted on this site over the years. The original BT3000 saws came on a square-box leg set with panels on the sides instead of the splayed-leg arrangement of later saws. I fit storage inside this box to help stiffen mine... many folks have simply replaced the entire Ryobi support with a shop made cabinet/box. Double-locking casters (locks both the wheel from turning and the caster portion from rotating) allow the saw to be stored out of the way yet lock it almost as firmly as solid feet on the ground when you need to use it. Make the box wider than the saw body so you have some shelf space on either side to store the fence, SMT, and any add-on fences (such as a sacrificial fence for the dado blades) you create. You'll appreciate the "local" storage and it doesn't change the overall footprint of the saw. Pics of my setup at mpc saw setup The last pic shows an earlier version of how I made my saw mobile (wheelbarrow like handles from ideas posted on this site) which I removed when I added the long rails. Now my whole saw assembly is on a mobile base as can be seen in the pics with the infeed and outfeed tables. Mostly though look at the shape of the stand and you'll see what I mean about shelf space on either side of the saw body. The early BT3000s came with this space - and little black plastic clips to hold the fences that you'll see in my pics.

A quickie method to get that shelf space: unbolt the saw from your current splayed-leg stand and slip a sheet of plywood in between!

I replace pretty much any open-leg stand that comes with my tools with roll-around cabinets/boxes. Those stands waste a lot of potential storage space - you've recovered some by adding a shelf.

mpc

[eccentrictinkerer]

Welcome!

You'll find a wealth of experience and knowledge on this forum.

I joined a few years ago right after I found my BT-3000. I'm in the process of building a 'Frankensaw'. (Search for the posts).

Two saws on one base with common rails. Saw blade on the left and dado on the right!

I've collected a lot of parts and saws. Let me know if I can help.

Good luck!

J.D.

[leehljp]

Stioc said:

Hi all, thought I'd register since I now own a BT3x. I'm fairly new to woodworking (still learning) but I love fixing/building things and have done it as long as I can remember but mostly cars related.

Welcome!
You will find that mechanical abilities transfer to woodworking quite well. From seeing your shop, tools and work, you aren't a newbie by any means!

The BT3100 is a fairly light weight machine but has cabinet maker precision abilities. I have a 3000 and a 3100. For general home/shop needs, this is a very good saw. It was mentioned above about alignments. With your auto/mechanical abilities, alignment adjustments shouldn't be much of a problem. Below are two links that deal with alignment. Very helpful!

http://www.sawdustzone.org/showthread.php?33234-No-Measure-Alignment-2007&p=299413#post299413

http://www.sawdustzone.org/showthread.php?60433-Eccentric-screws-and-sliding-table-adjustment

[LCHIEN]

Send me your e-mail address using the private mail system here (click on my username) and I'll send you the BT3 FAQ, a collection of useful information about the saw, although it sounds like you have already discovered a great deal. Some good hints about dado blades in it.

[stioc]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the warm welcome and your suggestions. I'm definitely a woodworking newbie but I've long been a tool hoarder/addict. The BT3 has been cutting well now, I love it how effortlessly it rips wood, feels like one smooth motion. I do need to adjust the rip fence again because I moved the main rails today and interestingly enough now the fence locks down a bit too much further away from the back part of the blade than I like (a very small amount is good like 1/32" or less but this is probably 1/8" right now) but no big deal.

I decided to tackle this mess in the garage today by building a "lumber rack" the space being at a premium though I didn't want the solution to take up too much room. I also didn't want to drive down to Home Depot for lumber so I made it with all I had on hand which was just a 6ft x 2ft long sheet of 3/4" recycled plywood.

Mess:


Ripping the long 2'x6ft plywood:


Another view:


Finally, all done, tools put away and ready to roll in the cars inside:


Given the constraints I had to work with the end result is a lumber rack with only a 10.5" of base from the wall but good enough for a few pre-cut 4'x5' or 2'x4' sheets of plywoods and a section for offcuts etc. I'll add a rope/chain across the front so they don't tip over and hit the car. Overall I'm happy with the results as the garage looks so much neater now.

[stioc]

Thanks Loring, I already have a copy of your awesome FAQ BTW, my replies are moderated (being a newbie) so there will be some delay.

[eccentrictinkerer]

Thanks for the great photos!

Would you mind posting a couple of detail photos of the method you used to mount the outfeed table to the rail? And does the table assembly fold down? Thanks!

[stioc]

Thanks for the great photos!

Would you mind posting a couple of detail photos of the method you used to mount the outfeed table to the rail? And does the table assembly fold down? Thanks!

Thanks- yes the small outfeed table is on hinges so it just flips down. I'll post some pics tonight.

[stioc]

Here're the pics of the outfeed table. The bottom plate is 1/2" plywood with the appropriate T-nuts in the rear fence. On top of the 1/2" plywood is a 2x3 (I planned it lightly to flatten the top and to lower the height just a hint so the outfeed table is just slightly lower then than the saw table). The 3/4" ply outfeed table is attached to 2x3 with a couple of hinges. The weight is on the 2x3, not the hinges the way I attached it. Hope this helps.

[eccentrictinkerer]

Thanks for the photos! The light bulb just lit up!

[LCHIEN]

clever outfeed table mounting.

[Pappy]

Welcome to the asylum!

[stioc]

Thanks for the photos! The light bulb just lit up!

You're very welcome. I was short on the plywood width lol that's why the 2x3 is wider than the table, next time I get some plywood I'll replace the current one with it and may be just a couple of inches longer but without making it heavy or awkward and then cut in the cross-cut sled grooves. Even a small outfeed table helps tremendously though.

clever outfeed table mounting.

Thank you, just quick and dirty...that should be my tag-line. I definitely suffer some level of ADD because if something takes too long to finish/build I lose interest. The longest project recently was building a rear bumper for my 4x4 and with 4 weekends into it the excitement wore off lol

Welcome to the asylum!

Thank you