BT3100 Tolerances

[hawaiian paddler]

Aloha everybody. I'm new here and wanted to get some opinions from the people who really use this TS. I was looking at the Ridgid 3650 TS but lack of space is a big problem right now and so I've decided against it. But this BT3100 caught my eye and I need some information on it.

1) Does it have enough power to rip hardwood easily without sounding like the motor is going to burn out?
2) How are the tolerances on the saw as far as blade, rip fence, and miter gauge alignments?
3) How well is it constructed? Is it sturdy or rickety? Does it feel solid?

I know I can't expect to find a $1000 TS in the BT3100, but I'm looking for something better than a cheap benchtop TS. I'll be ripping and crosscutting a lot of hardwoods as close to tolerances as possible. Can it handle the work load of a medium duty TS?

Thank you everybody for your help. You will be helping my decision making process tremendously.

[Pappy]

Don't know what you define as 'medium duty' but a lot of us work in various hardwoods on a regular basis.

My understanding is that the new 3100's come with a China made blade that is less than optimum rather than the Frued made blade on the older units. I use a Freud Avanti 60 tooth most of the time (about $60 at Lowes) but there are a lot of other good blades. The Forrest Woodworker II is also highly recommended.

As far as accuracy, precision, and tolerances go the BT3100 is one of the best. Sometimes fine tuning the saw can be an exercise in frustration, but once done it holds it's settings very well.

The biggest limitation, IMO, is that it won't handle rough treatment. Slamming 2x material on it or production style work is not what it is designed to take.

[leehljp]

What Pappy said! You can build a house with it, or add a room on if you take care of it - and respect the saw and don't push / force it like you are on a time limit. Its accuracy and precision is one of its great features. Great for custom made things where the fit and finish are more important than the mass production.

[jlake1998]

1.) Rips hardwood nicely with the freud avanti 60 tooth from lowes 40.00

2.)tolerances, blade has no side to side movment that i can tell. Rip fence, if its off i cant measure it. Miter guage a royal pain to setup perfect, need 5 gallon bucket of patience. As the setup instuctions dint get mine right. Was even thinking about returning it. Iast adjustment i did was position a perfect squre on the sliding miter fence. And when it slides insure it slides perpendicular to the blade. This get the 90 degree cut at the stop, there are no stops for other angles (has angle of degrees markings)

3.)Its sturdy enough and moveable, Its not a iron tank, so it can be damaged it not treated with some respect.

I origionally wanted a contracters or portable, dint want to lose space with a iron saw. But after finding the bt for price , features and footprint decied it was right for me. takes a little more space that a foldup saw but im taking care of that. Building my bt rolling cabinet that has the same footprint as the rails, 25"X41" and will have 6 drawers under it for bout 9 cubic feet of storage. Think i estimated that right 16x40x24

Ill be able to saw inside - roller outside and saw- or roller-er away with other woodworking tools stored underneath.

The setup takes plenty of time, but everything you cut will be based on it.

[Bruce Cohen]

To put the BT3100 in the correct prospective, there used to be a line of power tools (stationary) manufactured in Switzerland named Inca. Only Garrett Wade in NYC imported them. The saw sold for over $3,000.00 and in those days (about 20 something years ago) that was a bucket full of money.

The stuff was built like a good watch, and the tolerances were made that way too.

When I fianlly was able to afford one, the company was sold to a Frence company and the quality was so bad that Garett Wade stopped importing them.

Then I found the BT. For one tenth of the price, the BT comes really close to duplicating that saw.

I think the above statement sums it up. "Great Price for a great saw".

I'm a convert and when I bought one, I had the money to afford just about anything on the market, so the purchase wasn't one driven by economy.

I don't regret my decision for one moment, well maybe only when it comes to aligning the SMT, but that's a small price to pay for something so good.

Plus, there's this great forum you get with every purchase (even if you buy something else.

Burce

[hawaiian paddler]

Thanks guys for that great review. Very impressive. I'll have to run to the nearest HD and get one before my coupon expires. Looks like I'll be paying around $240 for the saw after discount.

[drumpriest]

I'll say this, the BT is much more precise than I am. Get a good blade on it, and it'll cut with extreme precision if you treat it right. The downfall is that you don't get a saw that'll cut 2"+thick material all day long for 250$.

[jabe]

Aloha,
You won't go wrong with the BT3100. Just use the right blades, I like the Tenryu blades, you can get them from Slim's Power tools. Look up the Tenryu blades web site and select the ones that is right for your needs. I like their rapid cut series blades for ripping and use their Pro Series 80 or 100 T blades for cross cutting. I used their 24T rapid cut for ripping Koa wood or any hardwood or 2x4s with no problems. I do a lot of cabinet work and use a lot of Okumi lumber core cab-liner plywds with laminate/melamine on both sides, I use Tenryu Mel-Pro series or Alumi-Cut series 100T blades for this with minimal chipping. I got more chipping on these boards with a Forrest HI-ATB blade, not worth the money, Tenryu cost less and do a better job for the money. My Blade sharpener says the Tenryu's tolerance are superior to anything he has sharpened. Getting back to the TS, if space & $ is an issue, you cannot go wrong with the BT3100. I have a older BT3000 that I got broken for free, after rebuilding it, I like the features and accuracy and the dust port can be easily connected to a vacuum. The SMT is great, it'll eliminate the need for a sliding miter saw. Recommend you get 2 roller stands so you can handle longer material, Sears have them for about $20.
Also recommend the Craftsman auto switch as recommended by Jim Frye, it'll trigger your vacuum when you turn on your saw, also about $20.