BTS15 concerns

[MARCUS30]

I just purchased a bts15 at HD the other night hoping to get started on building a workbench- and while putting it together the nut that the rip fence handle goes into broke in two pieces, which now makes perfect sense because the one i looked at at HD was broken also- in doing even more research i am reading about other problems with the BTS 15- blade staying true etc- i am considering 1 of 3 options i'm hoping you folks can help me with- do i return it and get a bt3100? which i'm not sure i can justify to the wife-(i had a hard time justifying the 150 for the bts15) do i get a replacement part (which i have read is a nightmare getting parts from ryobi- or do I look at getting another saw all together..???HELP I have $200 worth of lumber in the basement waiting to be built in to a workbench so i can start making furniture for hte house- and more importantly a very skeptical wife!!!!

[BobSch]

quote:Originally posted by MARCUS30

I just purchased a bts15 at HD the other night hoping to get started on building a workbench- and while putting it together the nut that the rip fence handle goes into broke in two pieces, which now makes perfect sense because the one i looked at at HD was broken also- in doing even more research i am reading about other problems with the BTS 15- blade staying true etc- i am considering 1 of 3 options i'm hoping you folks can help me with- do i return it and get a bt3100? which i'm not sure i can justify to the wife-(i had a hard time justifying the 150 for the bts15) do i get a replacement part (which i have read is a nightmare getting parts from ryobi- or do I look at getting another saw all together..???HELP I have $200 worth of lumber in the basement waiting to be built in to a workbench so i can start making furniture for hte house- and more importantly a very skeptical wife!!!!

There was just another thread on HD returns:

http://www.bt3central.com/forum/topi...TOPIC_ID=13524

Box the 15 up and take it back. HD has a 90-day return policy that should cover this. You'll find the 3100 a far superior saw.

[silverfox]

Well...if I've said it once I've said it a hundred times....The BT3100 is the most accurate and versatile saw on the market for the money. Period. If it is at ALL possible to talk your wife into it...take the saw back and trade it for the BT3100. Trust me when I tell you that you will be SO happy that you did.
Mike

[monte]

Trade it in! You'll never regret it!

[tpratt]

Justifying financial expenditure is one of my specialties...

You'll probably make more mistakes using the BTS15 vs. the BT3100. You'll save money by using less lumber. With the combination of your BT3100 and a straighter, truer workbench, you'll save thousands on future furniture projects in lumber and get much better furniture. How can you put a dollar amount on your satisfaction (and that of your wife) with the furniture you produce? How much time/money would have been wasted if you didn't use the furniture/workbench because it didn't turn out as you'd hoped?

The BT3100 is much heavier and hence stabler. It will reduce the risk of injury significantly. Just one injury could far exceed the difference in price--even with the best insurance, you'll be in for several office visits and probably two pharmaceutical copays. I won't mention the loss of ability to work due to injury.

This stability and accuracy combined with the excellent blade provided with the BT3100 will reduce your sand paper costs.

Put into proper perspective, it would not only be fiscally irresponsible to perform the given tasks on the BTS15, it would be blatently negligent.

[Ken Weaver]

What Todd said...tell her you'll play Santa at Christmas .

[monte]

Good idea on the Santa idea. It always works.

[MARCUS30]

Thanks you folks so much- I think that is exactly what i am going to do- and SOON so i can get in on the accessories package- I DO have an additional question- is the rip fence much different on the BT3100? as in I'm concerned thta the 3100 will break also- I mean the BTS15 broke first time i tried to secure the rip fence whil setting it up! after taking a Good look at it I see that there is a screw at the back of the fence but the owners manual mentioned NOTHING about it- all it said was put the fence on the back first and thenthe front and clamp it down... anyone have this problem? with that nut breaking I've seen two broken ones in HD displays and the metal that nut is make with might as well be bubble gum..

AGAIN than you guys so much for your advice it is Much appreciated![^][^][^]

[MARCUS30]

AND TPratt i went to school in Lowell!!

[JohnnyTest]

Just wanted to say that I just went through the same thing with my wife, but I can't tell you how glad I was that I got the BT3100. I made my first cut the other night on it, and it is 1)powerful 2)accurate 3)easy to use.
I was amazed at how easily it cuts, I was looking at the Bt15 because the price was so nice, but from being on here I knew the BT3100 is the way to go. I would just tell the wife that the BT15 is known to break, and you can show her, and then say you want a saw that is accurate and well built...BT3100 !!!!

[MARCUS30]

I did a bit more shopping around and found a craftsman 24883 for $199- this table can rip 24in left and right- has a dust collection system with catsers already in the box. I can get parts or service right at sears- aside from the SMT being better on the 3100 (I already have a 10" ryobi CMS)and being able to mount a router- (I have a bosch which i'm not sure I could mount to the 3100 anyways) how is the BT3100 better? as in $100 better? this is an honest question and I'm lookign for feedback- i have the Bts15 boxed and ready to go back and am planning on stopping at sears on the way home tonight..[:0]

[Scottydont]

Hi Marcus. If you need a basic table saw it would probably be OK. I looked at one of those and did not like the fence. In my case I bought the BT because of a better fence, more depth of cut, sliding miter table and having the capability to expand it. When I bought it, out of the box it was great. As for the expansion, I have since added a miter slot table, wide table rails and seperate router table top and misc jigs due to the slotted design of the fences and rails. As a matter of fact I am building a mobile bainet base for it as we speak. The other aspect was that if I later decide that the BT is not the saw for me, I can easily part it out here for the price I paid for the whole saw. Even though the $299 might be a stretch for you, If you are going to be building furniture the BT would be a better choice.

My woodworking hobby has grown beyond what I had envisioned but I have not outgrown the BT saw.

[LarryG]

Obviously most of us here are BT fans, so our answers will tend toward the predictable.

I'm not personally familiar with that Craftsman saw, but I just had a quick look at the specs and I guess the best way I could answer your question would be to say that aside from the SMT, which many of us regard as one of the saw's best features, the BT is perhaps not a whole lot better in any single, easily-definable area but is a little bit better in a whole lot of small ways ... it'll rip wider, cut deeper, has the option to mount a router, possibly has a better fence (based on what Scott says), and arguably has more power (I have always found Craftsman HP ratings to be a little suspect, but to be fair perhaps this is true of all makes, Ryobi included).

One thing to consider is that with the Craftsman, you get $199 worth of saw and accessories for $199. With the BT and the current free accessory kit, you get $399 worth of saw and accessories for $299. Okay, so the accessory kit is really worth maybe fifty bucks, so make it $349 -- still, you see my point, right? The only downside is that you have to wait a few weeks for your accessory kit to arrive.

[JR]

Marcus, I wouldn't trivialize the ability to mount the router on the BT3 accessory table, unless you already have a router table. There are lots of routing operations for which moving the material across the router, as opposed to moving the router across the material, is prefered. In my experience it's just plain easier and faster to do the work this way.

Good Luck

JR

[thrytis]

You should check out the saw at Sears. When i was shopping for a saw, i looked at a similar Craftsman saw that had the extension wing to reach the 24" rip width. I noticed when playing with the extension wing that it was possible for the wing to twist slightly front to back so it could end up non-parallel to the rest of the table. This would require tuning the wing every time i moved it.

The one i looked at was a different model than the 24883 and could have been set up poorly in the store, so maybe it wouldn't be a problem with the one you are looking at.