Starting from scratch...need advice!

[pelligrini]

Quite often the Sears display models are not set up correctly, but you should be able to get a feel of it anyways.

I'm sure you'll be able to get it down your stairs. Some assembly is required if you buy it new. Even assebled, it'll go up & down stairs fairly easily because of the wheels on the stand.

Another thing that I didn't see mentioned was that the 21829 also comes with an accessory table that you can mount a router to. You'll probably want to not use the Sears router fence though. It's not very good.

[wardprobst]

I'm prejudiced toward the BT3 series, I have two of them now, one Craftsman one Ryobi. I worked in a custom furniture shop years ago and have used most of the "big iron" but I really like the BT for the riving knife, accuracy and versatility. You can take the saw anywhere, I'm hauling mine to KC for a class the first part of February. It's a keeper tool and I've learned that waiting until you can buy a keeper is much better than buying cheap and replacing later on. Better to make do than do with cheap.

JMO,
DP

[chopnhack]

Robs, I have done a lot of molding and was very pleased with my "cheapo" miter saw.

Its teamed up with a Freud Diablo 10" 80 tooth ultra finish blade. Makes powder out of wood!



I got it from Lowes about 3 years ago somewhere around $149-189.

[poolhound]

welcome to the forum Rob,

While its always nice to buy something new I would second Jeff's idea and have a scan through your local CL. I have bought all sorts of gems through CL as I think many of us have. If you are patient you can usually find some used BT3XXX saws on sale regularly. I know some folks here have done well with the smaller BTS21, The Bosch Jobsite saw gets pretty good reviews but is pricey new and I would think you can do better spending less money on something used.

I have a DW 10" cms and it works fine although I use it mainly for utility cuts and trimm cutting. Any fine or dead on accurate work I do on the TS or BS.

As far as blades go it depends on how much you want to spend the forrest WW and the Tenryu Gold medal always get the thumbs up (I have a GM) but arnet cheap. If you want to keep to a budget the HD Diablos are good value for money or check out the Oshlun range at Holbren. Brian is a member here and offers discounts to other members. I have the Oshlun 50T in my CMS and it cuts really well.

[LinuxRandal]

Rob, I am going to go against the grain here, and I do own a BT. Since your IN NJ and you have limited space, one more option, that may be local to you, is Eurekazone. It is a guided circular saw system.

[drillman88]

21829 on sale.

I just got an email from sears this morning the 21829 is $100 off the next 3 days.live search was giving 2% off @ sears a while back thats a few extra off if still on.The store here runs specials on new credit cards with discount when you sign up.May be worth looking into as well.

[SARGE..g-47]

No offense to anyone that has one but.. I would not purchase the cheaper Ryobi TS. If you go that route get the one mentioned that is like the BT3100. Frankly.. I would take my circular saw.. mount it under a 2 x 4 piece of ply and cut a rectangular blade hole to use before I purchased the cheaper version.

That is exactly what my first TS was in 1972 and I used it for 2 years before stepping up. A simple piece of wood held at both ends with C clamps was the rip fence. A 3/4" slot cut in the ply from front to back held my home-made miter gauge. And even though not ideal as it had no safety shields.. it produced bread boxes.. end tables.. book-shelves and a coffee table before I moved up to a contractor saw.

My space was extremely limited in small one car garage also used for storage. I had to move boxes outside on the driveway to work. So.. regardless of your space you can make it work if you have the will to do so. Just build and the other tools you need will come as you find the need. A shop full of tools doesn't happen for most over-night.

Good luck...

[JeffG78]

I know this isn't close to you, but I just saw a BT3100 in the Akron, Ohio CL for $100. It might be worth checking out anyway. http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/tls/975142373.html

[robs291]

OK, I saw a new in box BT3100 for sale on Craig's List for $190. Any differences from the Craftsman 21829? Also, I thought the 3100 was discontinued but it now comes up on the Home Depot website. Any thoughts?

Thanks for all the suggestions from everyone. I am a little hesitant to buy a used saw since I do not really know if what I am getting would have any issues even though I am sure there are some good deals out there on used equipment.

[dbhost]

GRAB THAT CRAIGSLIST SAW!

The Home Depot listing appears to be a Database glitch...

[dkerfoot]

OK, I saw a new in box BT3100 for sale on Craig's List for $190. Any differences from the Craftsman 21829? Also, I thought the 3100 was discontinued but it now comes up on the Home Depot website. Any thoughts?

Thanks for all the suggestions from everyone. I am a little hesitant to buy a used saw since I do not really know if what I am getting would have any issues even though I am sure there are some good deals out there on used equipment.

I'd agree on grabbing the BT3 for that price right now. Probably.

I own the 21829 and love it. The folding stand is very, very nice. I consider it worth close to $200 alone, but I have a very small shop and like to fold it away when not in use. The 21829 also has longer rails than the BT3100, comes with the router table upgrade package included, and has a 2nd, "back" position for the sliding miter table, so you can do deeper cross-cuts.

I was going to suggest spending more on the table saw and waiting on the miter saw. After buying my 21829, I rarely use my miter saw any more. Unless you have lots of crown molding to do, you may not need one at all. I used to love mine, but I have learned to hate the way they spew dust everywhere.

With all that said, a NIB BT3100 for $190 is a great deal that you probably won't see again. A different thread was about the BT3100 being listed on the HD website, but apparently it is a database error and they aren't really available.

[gimpy]

I have the Ridgid 12 inch miter saw bought last year at Home Depot. It was, seems like, $20 or $30 cheaper than the similar Dewalt model at Home Depot (could have been even a little more cheaper). Seems like I spent about $270 on it. The main reason I bought it over the Dewalt was for the lifetime warranty that Ridgid provides with their equipment. I don't use it that much, and am not much of a woodworker besides, but, I do like it.

The laser on it does not line up with the saw blade cut, at least with my saw out of the box. I think it is about a sixteenth of an inch or so off? I have not researched it to see if it can be adjusted to better accuracy, though. I might look into that one of these days.

I also have the bt3100 and like it, although I've never had another table saw to compare it to.

best of luck, Frank

[dielectric]

My "big" saws include a BT3000, a Rigid 10" CMS, and a nice Hitachi circular saw with a guide. I mostly work alone, so handling a full sheet of ply on a table saw is not something I'm inclined to do. Plus, the wood shop is in my basement so getting a sheet down the stairs and around the corner is nearly impossible. My typical flow is to unload materials into the garage, cut to rough dimensions ( I call this the butchering step! ) with the circular saw, then carry it down to the BT3000 for finishing. I don't like cross-cutting long pieces on the BT3000, so the CMS is set up semi-permanently for that stuff.

I did put better Freud blades on the circular saw and CMS so the cuts are so much cleaner. Stock blades tend to be house-builder types that cut fast. I'm not in so much of a hurry so I've got finishing blades on both. With some practice, I've gotten quite good with the circular saw on a good guide, so I can often get away with finish cuts right there. I thought long and hard about the Eurekazone system, but ultimately it cost more than a used BT3000 from Craigslist.

Until I get a bandsaw, I have a big honker of a DeWalt jig saw for curvy stuff. It works OK, but I have to be patient or the cuts get off-square as the blade flexes.

I do love the BT3100 though. So smooth, and dead-on accurate. I've had to learn to trust the saw's accuracy, where I used to cut big and plane/chisel to final dimensions. I took a good couple of hours with a dial indicator and digital calipers getting it set, and the very first rip to 1" that I did actually measured 1.000" on the digitals. Pure luck I think, but all long that board it was only off a thou here and there.