Newbie

[woodyork]

I got my BT3100 in November and a PC 893 router at Christmas. I've been lurking here and on Woodnet since October. I've painted the red line and got the free expansion kit. I've made my first useful project (valences for the LOML's kitchen windows. But mostly I've been trying to learn how to measure and cut accurately and make a few simple joints. I made a box joint fixture and made some pretty good box joints using the router. But getting to the kind of tolerances that I see in the work done by folks in this forum has me totally in awe. [] My previous experience with woodworking projects have only required tolerances in the 1/8" range. Now I'm trying to do a picture frame with open morter and tennon joints at the corners and it looks like I need tolerances in the .002" range. I haven't made one I consider acceptible yet.

I hooked the ryobi dust collection bag to the outlet side of my genie shop vac so I now have two stage dust collection.

As you can see I've got a long ways to go and I started late. I'll be posting lots of newbie questions. I'm looking forward to learning a lot more from you guys.

Woody

[GeekMom]

Welcome to the forum, Woody! Be sure to post pictures of your work, too.

[mater]

Welcome Woody. As you will find out there is plenty of knowledge here and it is never to late to learn.

[gmack5]

Welcome Woodie,

Congratulations on the acquisition of your BT3100 and welcome to the "family".

One of the first things you need to do, after you get your BT3100 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 preceeding proceedure, 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 take keep you busy for a while. http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/r...ex.php?cat=102

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 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, most of them contain Silicones and they will make your projects difficult to finish.
Silicones repell liquid, making "fish eyes" in your finishes, this will force 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 for the Raising/Lowering and Tilt mechanisms below the table top.
Then 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/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 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. That way either one can be put up against the side of the Saw Blade without touching the saw teeth.

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.

[leehljp]

Welcome Woodie. Join in the fun here!

[Knottscott]

Welcome Woodyork!

[Pappy]

Welcome to the Asylum, <s>Old Timer</s> Woody!

I've been molesting chunks of dead trees off and on for 40 yrs. In that time I may have cut a dozen or so M/T joints that I was that I was truely happy with. yet to try dovetailing![:0]

[monte]

Welcome to the grooup Woody! Stick around and enjoy the forum. There's a lot of information here and if you cannot find it just ask.

[JeffW]

Welcone to the madness.

[blackburn]

Advice for mortise and tennon joints...
Cut your mortise first and remember to make it just a hair deeper the the tennon length(1/16" is plenty) to allow for glue squeeze out. Next make your tennon slightly oversized and use plane, chisel, or maybe sandpaper (I don't know what you have on hand, ideally a shoulder plane is perfect) and remove equal amounts of materials from both sides sneaking up on that great fit ever so slowly until its just right.

[John Hunter]

Welcome Woody!

[Ken Weaver]

Welcome aboard Woody, have fun, make sawdust and be safe!

[woodyork]

Thanks for the welcome guys. And the advice - blackburn. I have finally made a practice M/T joint that fits well and looks good. I'm probably not calling this joint by the the right name since it is in the corner and therefore has the one side and the end of the tenon exposed. I just looked it up in a book and found it called a bridle joint. Anyway I'm ready to proceed from scrap pine to oak and see if I can make four of them today.