Up and Running

[moc]

Last weekend I set up what was probably the last existing mint-in-box BT3100 left in the wild.

In April, I will have been a mostly-lurking member of this forum for 6 years with a boxed bt3100 in my garage for nearly that long. I just never had the combination of time and space to set up a shop until now. I feel like I have learned a lot just reading this forum, though, and am ready to jump in. The saw is aligned and cutting well.

As one of my first projects, I plan to build a mobile cabinet base (my space is still limited). For that, I need a wide table kit (or at least the rails). I see on amazon, someone is selling the kit for around $85 with shipping. While I have read about the rails on these forums, I never paid attention to prices, so I don't know if that is the going rate or a rip off. Opinion?

I have been looking through craigslist and not seeing much (except a complete 3100 that includes the rails - not sure if I'm ready for a frankensaw just yet). Haven't seen anything on eBay.

Are there other sources for rails that I should look out for? And if anyone can let me know what to expect to pay, that would be great.

As an aside, remember when Amazon had frequent great deals on tools about 5-6 years ago? I bought some really nice stuff for really cheap (like a bosch router, a ROS, a nail gun, clamps, and other stuff) that are just now seeing the light of day. They were all steeply discounted for just very brief windows of time, like a few minutes on a friday afternoon. Either I'm not looking correctly, or those deals have dried up.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who contributes, these forums are very helpful and entertaining.

Michael

[wardprobst]

Sometimes you can get a whole saw for almost the same price as a set of rails.
I bought one a few years ago off of Craig's List for $100 complete with a router in the table. I kept the saw for backup/parts, etc.
Deals on Amazon are not what they were in my experience but spring is a good time to score if they do decide to run them.
Glad you posted,
Dale

[pelligrini]

$85 including shipping is on the higher side for a new wide table kit, but not unreasonable. If it also includes the leg kit it's not a bad deal at all.

Here's the manual for the WTK http://dl.owneriq.net/c/c71332c6-625...d3b4d073bb.pdf It includes the rails and connecting hardware, as well as some brackets for mounting an insert.

[LCHIEN]

retail for rails about $100; used they go for about $50 a set I'd say. Leg kit ran about $52 retail. if you're making a base you probably don't need them or can arrange your own.