Wanted a BT3000 Dust Bag

[Nirmal Jain]

I just bought a used BT3000. It is in good shape but the blade elevates very hard. Any recommendations are appreciated. I am also looking for a new or used dust bag at a reasonable cost. Thank you. nirmaljain@comcast.net

[LCHIEN]

1. clean and lube the elevation screw and gears. lube the locker bracket where the motor and arbor assy go up and down, with johnsons paste wax or other dry lube (lots of posts here on how to do that) Make sure the shims are intact if its a BT3000 and have not fallen out.
2. instead of the bag spend about 30-50 bucks on a small shpvac with a 2.5" hose and connect it to the back port instead of the bag - it will be much better.

[jackellis]

I have a bag I can send you for the cost of shipping but Loring's idea is better. Much better.

[Uncle Cracker]

Waaaay better to use the vac. The saw does not create much air movement on its own. The bag is practically useless because of it.

[LCHIEN]

.... The saw does not create much air movement on its own. ...

that's not entirely true, the saw will shoot dust out for 6 feet behind your saw depeending upon what you cut. But the Vac will still do a considerably better job.

[Uncle Hook]

I just bought a used BT3000. It is in good shape but the blade elevates very hard. [/email]

If lubrication does not make blade elevation easier, then you may have a problem with "shims". You will find many helpful posts if you search this forum for "shims".

[eccentrictinkerer]

I can attest to the use of a shop vac.

I've only had my BT3000 clone for a few months, but I've really enjoyed it.

I recently finished two bookshelf/base units, with eight drawers total, for a client. I used birch plywood and poplar lumber.

When I was finished there was only about a pint of sawdust on the floor! The enclosed blade assembly is awesome.

Good luck.

[Uncle Cracker]

...the saw will shoot dust out for 6 feet behind your saw...

While the other 90% of the dust piles up around the blade... What I meant was that the saw does not have a blower of any kind.

[LCHIEN]

While the other 90% of the dust piles up around the blade... What I meant was that the saw does not have a blower of any kind.

I don't mean to turn this into a debate but my recollections from when I didn't have any dust collectiung means,
the spinning blade ejects quite a bit of dust out the rear port, probably more than 10%... but certainly not 90%.

But a lot of dust stays in the saw, piling up underneath and in all the corners to a depth of several inches.

The addition of a vac will pull a fair amount of air, capturing some of the dust into the shroud that would otherwise float all over the place. A 50 CFM Vac is Not as good as an 800CFM dust collector in this regard, but is a great improvement over doing nothing.

What it collects is probably dependent on the type and depth of cut and obviously I've never measured it but 50% is probably a good estimate.

I now probably get 90%+ with my dust collector plumbed to both a belly pan and the rear dust shroud port using 2, 4-inch hoses. The remainder comes off the top on certain kinds of cuts and I don't yet have a hose connected to the shark guard... with dados and partial cuts it's 100%. The inside of the saw is immaculately clean.

[TheRic]

Pay the money and get a good filter (HEPA) for the vac. If not you will be pumping dust back into the air you breath. Your lungs will thank you!