Greetings from a newbie

[mikeg]

Hello folks.

I am the happy new owner of a bt3100. Part of the reason for that is because of this site. I was looking for a table saw since there are a few projects around the house that will be easier with one.

I also plan to use it to cut wood down to a manageable size for carving. I buy my basswood from a hardwood dealer and it's a pain to try to cut it down to size with my CMS or CS. I also have a scroll saw, cordless drill, and a couple of sanders.

One of my first projects will be to finish cleaning out and start organizing my 12X14 basement workshop. I've got the lights up but that's about it.

I haven't even finished assembling my saw yet. I've got the stand put together and the saw bolted to it but ran out of time for the rest. I do have a question though. I was reading another post on this site about somebody who had kickback while doing a mitered rip cut. He had the fence on the wrong side of the blade. That got me to wondering, why not use the saw with the fence always to the left of the blade and the SMT on the right? I'm sure there's a reason, I'm just wondering what it is. I haven't used a table saw much in the 25 years since wood shop in high school.

I look forward to gleaning all sorts of information from this site.

thanks in advance,
mikeg

[softop41]

Welcome to the best forum on the 'Net, period!
Enjoy your new saw and be safe.
Jerry

[gmack5]

Welcome Mike,

Congratulations on the acquisition of your BT3100 and welcome to the "family".

One of the first things you need to do, after you get your BT3100 Saw assembled is, following your Owner's Manual, go thru the entire set-up proceedure, step by step, in the sequence laid out in the Manual. Each set up proceedure builds on the preceeding one, so you MUST keep them in sequence.
Usually the Saw is set up properly, right out of the box, but you should still check it as this gets you familiar with all the adjustments on the saw and assures you that everything is as it should be.

Here's some free plans that'll keep you busy for a while. http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/r...ex.php?cat=102

And here's some additional information about your Saw that you may find useful.

Regardless of what you've read or others have told you, NEVER NEVER use any wax or lubricant on your saw that contains Silicone, this includes all automobile waxes and polishes and most spray-on furniture polishes. The reason is simple, most of them contain Silicones and they will make your projects difficult to finish.
Silicones repell liquid, making "fish eyes" in your finishes, this will force you to remove the Silicones from your project and start over. That stuff (Silicone) migrates all over every where, don't ask me how, it just does.
If you put it in one place, eventually it will be all over the
entire saw.

Your best bet is to use a "dry" lubricant, such as Teflon (PTFE), Powdered Graphite, or Candle Wax for the Raising/Lowering and Tilt mechanisms below the table top.

Then use either Johnson's Paste Wax, Minwax's "Finishing Wax" or Butcher's Wax on the working surfaces, table tops (All three of them) and the Rip Fence.

Do NOT Wax the Front and Rear rails or the Miter Fence. As a mater of fact, you may want to glue 220 grit sand-paper to the front face of the Miter Fence, cause you don't WANT things to slide on there.

You might also want to check out the "Articles" section on the www.BT3central.com site. Lots of good maintenance information on your saw and some of the Jigs and Fixtures that BT3Central members and others have designed for it. Located here: http://www.bt3central.com/articles/ The only thing you'll need to access the information is a recent copy of the Adobe Reader (It can be downloaded from the BTcentral site). One of the Articles mentioned is a "Check List", written by Jim Frye. You can find it here: https://www.sawdustzone.org/articles...nce-check-list

This list contains all the different areas on your saw that need to be periodically inspected or given some sort of special attention. In other words, a "Preventative Maintanence Check List" or PM. Performing this PM on a monthly basis would be a good idea. One of the other things you'll find there is an on-line copy of the User's Manual in downloadable pdf format (a handy thing to have).

Something you might think about is the use of a set of Draftsman's Triangles instead of the Carpenter's Square that they show in the Owner's Manual for setting up your saw.
An accurate Carpenter's Square is almost a myth!
A good one will cost you quite a bit of money, $40 - $75, or more. I would recommend that you consider using a pair of Draftsman's 30 -60 and 45 degree triangles instead. You'll find they're not near as expensive and are far more accurate than a run-of-the-mill Carpenter's Square. The 30 -60 triangle should have one 12" leg and the other leg would be 9" long. The 45 degree triangle should have at least 8" legs on either side of the 90 degree corner. That way either one can be put up against the side of the Saw Blade without touching the saw teeth.

Just remember, regardless of which measuring instrument you choose to use, check it(them) to be sure they're accurate. When checking the Miter Fence for Square to the Blade with a triangle, use the 12" 30-60, if possible.

One of the other "tricks" that I've discovered is to take a piece of "Wax" paper, fold it several times and rub it in the grooves that the "T" nuts that lock your Rails in place ride in. Makes the Rails move smooth as Butter.

Last, but not least, don't forget to paint the RED line!
It's a line that extends the line-of-sight from the saw blade to the front edge of the table to remind you NOT to let your Miter Fence or your FINGERS get in the way of the saw blade. Just put red paint, nail polish, or what ever, in the grove that extends towards the operator from the front edge of the saw blade.

You might also want to check out the "FAQ" shown in the link below.
http://www.bt3central.com/forum/topi...TOPIC_ID=12490
It'll answer a lot of your questions.

[leehljp]

Welcome Mike! Enjoy your saw and post some picts of your work!

A few people do use the SMT on the right side and the fence on the left the majority of the time. But for right handers and regular rips, it is easier to stand on the left side of the rip and guide it that way, because they are right handers. For left handers, what you asked would work much more easily, I would think.

[gad5264]

welcome Mike, enjoy the saw, the site and the information. There is no better place to get information on just about anything than from these guys and gals on BT3.

[monte]

Welcome to the group Mike. Be safe and enjoy your new saw.

[jwaterdawg]

You can use fence on either side (permanently). A lot of people set their fence slightly "open" on the back end (explanation follows). Not sure if this is what you were asking about, but here is my $0.02.

If your fence is on the right of the blade then to set the fence open you skew the fence slightly on the table so that the back of the fence sits slightly (1/128 or so) right of the front of the fence. That way you minimize the potential for a ripcut getting pinned against the blade and causing a kick back since you have a little "wiggle room". However, if you set up your fence this way (I do, as do lots of others) you should reset your fence if you move it to the left of the blade. Otherwise the back end of your fence is skewed _towards_ the blade, so that the board will get pinched against the blade and possibly cause a kickback.

If you permanently set up your fence on the left, you should set up your fence to be open by skewing the back end of the fence slightly to the _left_ of the front end of the fence. Same issue, if you then move the fence to the right of blade.

So, in summary to the long post, if you set your fence to be "open" you have to be very caefful of this if you move your fence from one side of the blade to the other.

[mater]

Welcome to the forum Mike.

[kyle.w]

welcome

[Ken Weaver]

Welcome aboard Mike - make sawdust, have fun and be safe!

[bigstick509]

To the best forums on the Net

[Pappy]

Welcome to the Asylum, Mike!

[silverfox]

Welcome to the cult, Mike. Umm....there's getting to be too many Mikes around here....but do stick around.
Mike