My first table saw!

[lkesteloot]

I just got back from Home Depot with a BT3100, my first table saw and serious piece of woodworking equipment! I'm pretty excited, but I'll have to wait until the weekend to set it up. I've been doing woodworking on and off since high school (speakers, desks), but always with circular saws and drills, nothing fancy. I got a router a few months ago and made a nice bookshelf for a friend, and now I'm a little bit hooked.

My wife is an interior designer who also designs furniture, so perhaps I'll make some prototypes for her. We're also about to build our own fireplace mantle.

By the way, I live in San Francisco and the Home Depot in Emeryville was the only one around that had it. I went to the three in Daly City and called the ones in South Bay. The Emeryville one has at least two left, for $250.

I have LOTS of beginner's woodworking questions, so I'll be spending a lot of time on this forum! Thanks for providing this site, it made my buying decision much easier!

Lawrence

[gmack5]

Welcome to the "Family"

Welcome Lawrence, welcome to the "family".

One of the first things you need to do, after you get your BT3100 Table 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 one before it, 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

You might also want to check out the "FAQ" in a "sticky" at the beginning of the Getting Started Forum:
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=19968
It'll answer a lot of your questions.

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 enough, most of them contain Silicones that will make your projects difficult to finish.
Silicones repell liquid, making "fish eyes" in your finishes, this will cause 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 (parafin) for the Raising/Lowering and Tilt mechanisms below the table top.

Do NOT use "oils" as they will get sticky and attract Saw Dust and "gum up" the mechanisms under the table top.

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/index.php?page=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 Framing 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. If you get a 45 degree triangle that is 10", or more, then notch out the right angle corner so that you have about 8" exposed as a straight edge so you don't contact the teeth of your Saw Blade.

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.

[venkatbo]

Welcome, Lawrence.
Nice to know more of Bay Area folks are joining the forum.
Best,
/venkat

[Popeye]

Welcome aboard Lawrence. Glad to see you made across the bridge and back alright. Keep poping into the chat. Between the forums and the chat, we can solve all your problems and answer all your questions Pat

[ejs1097]

Welcome to the forum and have fun

[LarryG]

Welcome to the forum, Lawrence. Good to have you aboard.

Popeye forgot to mention that in addition to solving all your problems and answering all your questions, we can also help you spend all your money. If you value your wallet, you might want to limit your visits to the Bargain Alerts forum.

[mater]

Welcome to the forum Lawrence. Larry is right about the Bargain Alerts it will keep you broke.

[meika123]

Welcome Lawrence,
What the guys said in previous posts is; well; TRUE. This is a great place to visit and ask all the questions you may have. I promise, someone will answer them. May not be the ones you want, but, what can I say, it's an answer. Right?
Again, WELCOME,

Dave in NC

[kyle.w]

welcome to the group

[Pappy]

Welcome to the Asylum, Lawrence! Read thru the FAQ's first and then fire away with questions you still have.

[just4funsies]

Ah, another victim, er.. inmate, er.. MEMBER! Yeah! That's the ticket...

Some of the smartest people you'll ever meet on here on this forum. Not only that, but I'm here, too... Welcome aboard, and enjoy that saw, but do it safe, 'cause fingers don't grow back!

[gjbivin]

Like you, up until a couple of years ago, I had just worked in 2 x 4 technology (circular saw, drill, and 10p nails). When I got my BT3100, a whole new world opened up. Now I could make cuts that were actually straight!

You will also eventually want to get a drill press (I have a table-top which is good for almost everything I do), cordless drill (great for driving screws as well as holes), back saw and mitre box; also very good to have are a bandsaw (14" or bigger for enough capacity), jointer (which I don't have yet, and really feel the need for) and planer. The jointer and planer, along with the band saw, allow you to use "rough" hardwood boards (the way they usually come) and shape them to any dimentions you need. A decent router, plunge type if you only have one, comes in awfully handy.

Hand planes are problematic: the ones you find at the BORG, Lowe's and other big box stores are pretty much garbage unless you take the time to "tune" them, and then they're just sub-par. The other alternative is something like the Lie-Nielsons, which run above $100 each, but which I understand are the best. Back in the "good old days", companies like Stanley put out good products, but mergers, offshoring, and just general quality creep have eliminated those. A lot of guys find them in garage sales and on eBay and fix them up.

Dust collection is important, sorry to say. A shop vac is OK for cleanup and smaller tools, but things like the jointer and planer really need a 1-1/2 to 2 HP dust collector with at least 4" hoses.

Then there's all the assorted stuff that could run up a total cost as much as the big tools: screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, scrapers, sharpening (try the "scary sharp" method if you don't want to spend $$ on Japanese water stones), clamps. Lots and lots of clamps. All sizes of clamps. It is impossible to have too many clamps.

You can build a lot of things instead of buying them: workbench, jigs, a rack to store all of your clamps, etc.

Discouraged yet? Don't be. I built my shop up over the last couple of years. And when you think about it, shop tools are actually pretty inexpensive compared to electronics. My daughter's MP3 player cost almost as much as my BT3100. You can outfit a shop for not much more than it would cost to put together a personal computer, monitor, printer, and other assorted "necessities".

[AlanJ]

Welcome Lawrence.
You'll learn a lot from these guys. Remember there are NO stupid questions. Soak it all up and have fun. Best advice I've seen for you so far is to beware of Bargain Alerts. That place is dangerous.

Don't forget to post pictures of your projects.

[Crash2510]

welcome
enjoy the saw and the forum

[Howard]

Being a former San Mateo-ite, I can appreciate living in the Bay Area. At least out there you can actually work in your garage year round. Being in Texas, June through September means a lot of sweating profusely and running into the house for brief spells of A/C. Next house - a three car garage with the 3rd garage split and climate controlled. Higher electric bill but worth it considering how miserable it is in the summer with 98 degree evenings at 10:00