New Member...

[Napoleon]

Hello there! I've been lurking around and reading the various forums, and I must say, this is the nicest bunch of people online that I can imagine. The amount of advice, and caring for the members is unbelievable. I am a recent owner of the flagship product the BT3100. The LOML asked me what I'd like for my birthday a couple of years ago and I thought a saw might be the thing. My dad used to say with a saw, hammer, square, and level you could build just about anything. And he did. Our home, several garages, and several furniture projects. I'm sure he would be very approving of our BT3, as he had an early 50's Craftman. I did research on saws, and of course found out what everyone knows, the BT3 is the best value for the money.
I finally was able to put it togeather last fall, and this winter built my first project with it. A child's bed for our grandchild. Turned out pretty good for a first project. The only fly in the ointment is the throat plate. The screw was put in to tight and I stripped the head trying to get it out. An "easy out" I attempted to work in there to get it out broke off as well, so I guess I'll try to use a large diameter drill, drill out the screw's head, take out the plate and try to turn out the nub of the screw with some vice grips. Sound feasable?
I guess I officially got "the bug", as my tool collection has quickly grown to a Skill Jig saw, Ryobi Router, just picked up the 12speed DP from Big Lots, and a few planes from e-bay!
Thanks for all the knowledge that is available to all, and I hope you all have had a happy Easter.

Mark

[Pappy]

Welcome to the Asylum, Mark.

[GeekMom]

Welcome to the forum, and be sure to post pictures of your work!

[Ken Weaver]

Welcome Mark -

[mater]

Welcome to the forum Mark. Glad you decided to join us. Have fun.

[John Hunter]

Napoleon

Welcome aboard.

[gmack5]

Welcome Mark,


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.

Last, but not least, don't forget to paint the RED line!
It's a line that extends the line-of-sight from the saw blade to the front edge of the table to remind you NOT to let your Miter Fence or your FINGERS get in the way of the saw blade. Just put red paint, nail polish, or what ever, in the grove that extends towards the operator from the front edge of the saw blade.

[monte]

Welcome to the group Mark!

[ChrisD]

Welcome, Mark!

[lcm1947]

Yes welcome and while I'm somewhat of a newbie I wanted to welcome you anyway. Look forward to seeing you around and hearing from you.

[Popeye]

Welcome aboard. Pat

[Pop Paw]

Welcome to the forum...when you get the screw out it is a 10-24 thread 3/4 " screw. Many had the same problem...I managed to drill small hole in the middle of the bolt..used a small cold chisel to tap a slot in it...let it soak in wd40 about 15 minutes and used an ez out to remove it...just remember to screw the ez out backwards or you will break it too.

[Roger109]

Welcome! You will probably find like me the tool collection never ends.

[Chuck C]

Welcome Mark, Hope you have fun with the new saw. I still have the BT3000 and still love it. You simply cannot go wrong on this forum.

[Imadunatic]

one trick ive learned in the trade is to use a center punch on flat head cap screws, if you punch a prick mark near the outside edge of the screw (deep enough for your center punch to dig in) and then tilt your punch at a slight angle (so when you hit it, the shock is making it turn CCW) it will almost always break it loose, i know my explanation isnt worth a darn but i hope you get the idea,