Craftsman 21829

[sparkeyjames]

Would not count on using Acc. Table Miters with blade.

When I was in Sears the other day I noticed a small difference on the 21829 from the BT3X.

On the BT3 the fron of the accy table (nearest the operator) has flanges on the left and right corners that fit over a lip on the rail. When the clampl is tightened the whole assembly is snugged up.

On the 21829 the flange is only on the front left corner and not on the front right. Is it possible this is clue to accy table alignement on the 21829?

JR

I went at this problem with a good square and my previously aligned rip fence. The conclusion is that the miter slots do not and probably will not line up square to the saw blade. On my rig they are little over 1/32 inch out of square with the rip fence and there is no way to realign the acc. table to the blade. It seems to me that those miter slots were made for use with the router only.

[dkerfoot]

When I was in Sears the other day I noticed a small difference on the 21829 from the BT3X.

On the BT3 the front of the accy table (nearest the operator) has flanges on the left and right corners that fit over a lip on the rail. When the clamp is tightened the whole assembly is snugged up.

On the 21829 the flange is only on the front left corner and not on the front right. Is it possible this is clue to accy table alignement on the 21829?

JR

This confuses me. I have the 21829 and I just bought a used accy table from a bt3100. The one for the bt is narrower because of the lack of miter slots, but otherwise they mount exactly the same (flanges on both sides). If anything the 21829 is more stable because of the extra width.

A note about the miter slots - they are just for the accy table - whether you mount a router or a jig-saw. But they also work nicely with the TS for slot-mounted featherboards.

People asked about the sliding rails - Slide them! I just installed a floor full of engineered bamboo flooring that measures 7 1/2" x 72" and you always have to cut it top side up to prevent tear-out. - It was a huge help to be able to slide the rails back and forth. I do sometimes use the rails to measure cuts. Once you get used to it, you just have to reference where the Zero mark is and then add or subtract the cut.

I too absolutely love the folding base. Space is critical for me and this thing folds up like a dream. Personally I have stopped stowing the sliding miter table on the backside. Instead, I leave the miter fence attached and mount it on the rails on the right side so that when I fold it, it is at the top. It is high enough to clear my workbench (which I stow the saw next to) and doesn't cause any problems. When I roll it into another room, I leave the SMT off and carry it on a 2nd trip, since it won't fit through a door mounted on the rails.

Finally, if you are used to a cast iron TS, you need to spend some time actually cutting on the 21829 to really appreciate it. Most of the negative comments I see are from people who are used to something else. Give it some time, build a few projects and you will start to understand what a great saw this is (and don't forget what you paid for it!)

-Doug

[JR]

This confuses me. I have the 21829 and I just bought a used accy table from a bt3100. The one for the bt is narrower because of the lack of miter slots, but otherwise they mount exactly the same (flanges on both sides).

Hmm, I guess I didn't look closely enough! Thanks for examining it properly, Doug.

JR

[sparkeyjames]

Quoated from Rlah: Interesting idea of using SMT with router setup... but again, I'll probably use my main router table for this kind of cut. But then again, I might try out this idea just to see how it works. One concern I have is that the SMT table sits above the main table by maybe .030" so it is not completely level.

The SMT sits above the table by .030 because of the slide tape applied on the bottom of the aluminium slide tray to keep wear on the rails to a minimum. If you dont care you can remove the tape and it will probably level up to the main table. I have not tried this yet but if it comes down to square cuts vs a slight wearing of the rail on the left side the rail will wear.
Anyone know of a thinner slide tape say on in the thousandths?


Jim