Ditched my SMT Today

[JoeyGee]

Finally got around to building an insert to take the place of my SMT. I haven't used it in a long time. I got tired of having to adjust and readjust it. I'm sure parts are just worn on it and can be replaced, but I don't want to mess with it any more. Since I built a cross cut sled, I don't miss it at all. I loved it when I first got it and it's a great feature, I just don't use it.

The real bonus is not running into the piece that sticks out the back. I am NOT going to miss that.

[Black wallnut]

Ya do what you must to make it work for you in your shop. I'll be keeping mine.

[leehljp]

Since I have 3 SMTs and two saws, I will say that my 3000 SMT is and has stayed dead on. The 3100 just wasn't manufactured with nearly as good tolerances and if I had to use it - I would do as you are doing. The third SMT (purchased from someone parting out) falls in between and is acceptable.

[tfischer]

My 3100's SMT is something like 12 years old now and has been dead on that whole time. Every once in a great while I run a calibration test on it and it's rarely, if ever, needed any adjustment.

[twistsol]

It is the one thing I thought I might miss when I sold my BT3100 and replaced it with a ShopSmith and then later added a Rigid R4512 when I wasn't happy with the SS table saw function. I really don't miss the SMT at all and since I have both a SCMS and a Radial Arm saw, it didn't see a lot of use.

[jeffbrown3841]

What is an SMT?

[JoeyGee]

Sliding miter table. The top insert that generally goes on the left of the blade that slides and holds the miter fence.

**not all all trying to sound snarky, just not assuming everyone has s btxx and knows all the parts by sight ☺

[cwsmith]

Main reason I bought my BT is for the SMT. Thank you but I'll keep mine, as it's a very handy feature.

BTW, I also have an SMT on my mobil BTS; again, a feature that I thought was a major advantage.

CWS

[tmaceroli]

Over the past couple of years I have been doing quite a bit of DIY, and not as much woodworking. I used the table saw just about exclusively for ripping. I have time now to do more WW, and I just finished building a new workbench in preparation for several other projects I have planned. I'm always trying to improve my skill level, and sharpen my layout and measuring skills. I've been watching lots of Youtube videos, some of which are very good. I've watched more than a few crosscut sled videos, and most of them use the "Five Cut Method" to make their sleds super accurate, i.e., down to a few thousandths of an inch.

When I used my SMT is the past, I was always careful to use a small framing square, or an angle gauge, to make sure the SMT fence was square to the blade or set at the proper angle. I never used the scale on the SMT face. Now when you compare that to the care that people are using to square the fences on their crosscut sleds, I am probably still losing a fair amount of accuracy in my crosscuts.

And finally, the question for those of you who use their SMT's regularly: How do you make sure your crosscuts are as accurate as possible?

Thanks,
Tony

PS I'll post some photos of the new workbench. I think it came out pretty nice and it has a lot of nice features, like an internal shop vac / cyclone dust collection system, and the whole top of the work bench can be used as a vice.

[cwsmith]

From what I understand, some of the SMT's on the BT3-series had some adjustment problems. Not sure if that was 'right out of the box' or perhaps developed over time with wear. What I do know is that my particular SMT seems to be adjusted properly and I haven't had to do anything with it. I also have a BTS-35 (I think that's the number anyway) which has a folding mobile carriage. The SMT on that is of a slightly different design and has a 2-position miter guide (fore and aft positions). That is the saw I am presently using in my shed. (The BT31001 is located down here in the basement where it hasn't seen a lot of activity in the last couple of years.)

In any case, I use a couple of drafting squares, including an adjustable one to check normal angles, but the lower-profile digital protractor also works well... except for it's inconvenience of having to install a battery each time.

This past summer I just cut a lot of fillets to fit into all those open gussets that happen when the factory made my 12 x 20 ft shed. (That's my future shop.) It has a Gambrel (barn-type) roof and when they built the rafters there's a lot of space between each joint because of the wafer board nailled on either side of the joints. I intend to dry wall that ceiling as as it is there's no mounting area for any kind of surface board. So lot's of spaces that had to be filled and accuracy of those triangular pieces was essential. Between SMT and my CMS, it was an easy project.

CWS

[LCHIEN]

What is an SMT?

[radhak]

I never had an SMT, and there have been many occasions when I missed one.

I started out with a smaller sibling of the BTS3: the BTS20. Despite its reputation, it served me well, till somebody gave me a cannot-refuse-offer to take a Unisaw off his hands and I jumped at it. That unisaw is a real deal, a fantastic machine. But - it does not have a sliding miter table, and adding one would be a lot of work, so that's a bummer.

[Bill in Buena Park]

Since adding a home-made dual-slot miter table and making a crosscut sled several years ago, my SMT really only sees use when I'm doing miter cuts on wide boards, which it's awesome for; and for that reason alone, I keep it on the saw and put up with the protruding track.

[Black walnut]

And finally, the question for those of you who use their SMT's regularly: How do you make sure your crosscuts are as accurate as possible?

Thanks,
Tony

PS I'll post some photos of the new workbench. I think it came out pretty nice and it has a lot of nice features, like an internal shop vac / cyclone dust collection system, and the whole top of the work bench can be used as a vice.

Tony, I use a plastic drafting triangle. Then check a cut on a piece of scrap to verify a square cut.

[tmaceroli]

Thank you, sounds like a good way to operate.

-T

[twistsol]

Am I hallucinating or is that a BT3000 SMT mounted on a ShopSmith?