What did I do wrong

[jx67]

Pardon me if I haven't read the whole thread. I had a somewhat similar experience cutting maple, which I stopped promptly when it becomes difficult to push. I think the rip fence and the blade is not completely aligned. Someone from the thread (sorry, forgot the name) posted a great way to align it so you might want to use it to check. In my incident, my entry cut was not straight, causing a slightly offline cut that got worst as I pushed. My suggestion is that when it happens, you want to pull the wood back out and really do a measurement to see if indeed the cut line is aligned to the rip edge.

Regards,
Joe.

[mikedude]

BT3 and WoodCraft

I have looked for a BT3K and can't find one. Since I posted on this website on and off for a year or I felt that I ought to give them some business if I could. The current Ryobi offerings don't seem to have the 3/4" miter slots or I would for sure go with one of them. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

As far as paying more at Woodcraft I do it and realize that I'm doing it. Don't get me wrong sometimes I order things from Amazon, sometimes I hit HD and Lowes. But I understand business well enough to know that if no one buys things at Woodcraft they will go out of business. Having one 5 miles from work is absolutely awesome! You look on a map where WC's are located I feel very fortunate to have one nearby. The store and the service you get in there are stellar. Compare that to a HD where you better know what you want and where it is or you will be wandering around for a while. Not to mention it's slim pickins for fine woodworking products.

So long story but I intentionally buy things at Woodcraft if at all possible. I don't want them to go out of business near my work. Thanks!

Mike St Augustine, Florida

p.s. I actually put it my prayers every now and then. "Dear God, thank you that there is a Woodcraft store nearby." :-)

[Russianwolf]

I have a similar problem with my table saw. It is a Skill brand. It consistently binds when pushing wood through using the fence and at times kicks back. It regularly messes up the cut pulling the stock away from the fence and burns wood, leaves saw marks, etc. I just about can't stand to use it. It works OK using a sled. I've resorted to using sleds for must all cuts.

Through the powers of logical reasoning I'm pretty sure I have determined the saw is low end, cheap to the lay person; and basically not made for what I want it to do. The fence stinks, the saw is probably meant for rough cutting 2x4's at a job site. So that's my problem for which I think I have a solution.

Currently preparing to sell a generator and some other items on Craigs List to raise money for a new saw. There is a Jet Saw at Woodcraft for $399. I assume this will be a good entry level saw for fine woodworking. Anyone have any experience with one? Thanks!

Mike St Augustine, Florida

you might want to price check around a bit. Woodcraft's prices tend to be a bit high IMO. Also make sure your local HD doesn't have a BT hiding somewhere.

[TheRic]

OK, Greg you get a provisional "A"
in the course for listening attentively and taking good notes but an incomplete as you have not turned in the final project yet.

I think he should get extra credit IFF (if and only if) he convinces the LOML that he needs more tools to fix the problem, and/or a new table saw.

[leehljp]

OK, Greg you get a provisional "A"
in the course for listening attentively and taking good notes but an incomplete as you have not turned in the final project yet.

Shucks, I think he just graduated to "Instructor" or "Teacher". He certainly got enough information, learned it, and practiced it already!

Congratulations Greg! Go get your cap and gown! Make sure it has a sawdust colored stripe.

[Greg in Maryland]

err....so your bt is toast? bummer mate

No, I dodged that bullet.

[siliconbauhaus]

Fortunately, he does not need to convince LOML that a new circuit breaker and line need to be installed, nor that he just fried the new saw and needs to replace it .….

err....so your bt is toast? bummer mate

[LCHIEN]

OK, Greg you get a provisional "A"
in the course for listening attentively and taking good notes but an incomplete as you have not turned in the final project yet.

[Greg in Maryland]

On this episode of what not to do, Greg tries to cut hard maple on his BT3100, with a potentially misaligned saw blade and fence, an inappropriate, dull and “gucky” saw blade, all the while overloading the circuit with both his saw and vacuum. The result? Burned maple, even duller blade, smoke detectors going off and circuit breakers doing what they do best and general mayhem. Fortunately, for him no blood was spilled, the BT3100 did not die and the house is still standing. Very fortunate, indeed.

So, what did Greg learn?

1. The BT3100, while a great saw, does not play well with other tools on the same 15 amp circuit. Keep them apart and everyone will be much happier. Fortunately, he does not need to convince LOML that a new circuit breaker and line need to be installed, nor that he just fried the new saw and needs to replace it .….
2. A clean blade is a good blade. A clean and sharp blade is even better. A clean, sharp rip blade is the best of all. Amazon has the Freud LU87R010 10" x 24-Tooth, 5/8" Arbor Perma-SHIELD Coated Thin Kerf Saw Blade on sale for 34.99 with no shipping and handling. Will get it next week ….
3. While hard maple is inherently “hard” and therefore a bit more difficult to cut, it should not set off smoke detectors and trip circuit breakers. Greg must listen to what his saw is telling him and not be unsafe in his ignorance.
4. Hard maple can tend to burn, so cut a bit larger than needed and sand/plane down if necessary to remove burn marks.
5. Next time something unusual happens, stop what you are doing, turn the saw off and go upstairs to the computer. Someone always is on BT3Central to increase you knowledge and skill. That and stopping you from doing something completely idiotic.

Though I am looking at this episode with humor, I am quite aware of how lucky I was. I greatly appreciate all the thoughtful comments and all the time that went into the many responses. I definitely learned a lot over the weekend.

Happy New Year

Greg

[mikedude]

Similar Saw Fun

I have a similar problem with my table saw. It is a Skill brand. It consistently binds when pushing wood through using the fence and at times kicks back. It regularly messes up the cut pulling the stock away from the fence and burns wood, leaves saw marks, etc. I just about can't stand to use it. It works OK using a sled. I've resorted to using sleds for must all cuts.

Through the powers of logical reasoning I'm pretty sure I have determined the saw is low end, cheap to the lay person; and basically not made for what I want it to do. The fence stinks, the saw is probably meant for rough cutting 2x4's at a job site. So that's my problem for which I think I have a solution.

Currently preparing to sell a generator and some other items on Craigs List to raise money for a new saw. There is a Jet Saw at Woodcraft for $399. I assume this will be a good entry level saw for fine woodworking. Anyone have any experience with one? Thanks!

Mike St Augustine, Florida

[Ed62]

I think he said add a breaker, not change the breaker to a bigger one.

Ooops! Good catch. I wasn't reading what I was seeing! But a discussion on safety never hurts. I've seen quite a few people change a 15 amp fuse to a 20. Not a good thing to do in most cases.

Ed

[Greg.B]

I run my saw on a 20A dedicated outlet. I would advise if you can upgrade to 20A (breaker, outlet and wire) then do so. If the saw is potentially hitting the 15A and you have a tad more resistance over the line, you can and are popping it. That can be due to the length from the panel to the outlet.

Also he stated the vac is on a different circuit a few pages back.

[LCHIEN]

One thing I didn't see mentioned here is about his willingness to change the circuit breaker to a higher load breaker. DO NOT do this unless you have number 12 wire (or heavier) feeding the outlet. The lower the number of the wire, the heavier the load it will safely handle. For instance, a number 14 will not be able to handle as much of a load as a number 12, 10 or heavier. If you replaced the circuit breaker with a larger one, but you are using wiring that will only handle 15 amps, you will start your machines, and everything will seem OK. But when you put a load on them, you might cause a fire in the wiring because the larger circuit breaker will not trip, thereby overloading the wiring. If you're not absolutely sure, ask someone with knowledge before doing electrical changes.

Ed

I think he said add a breaker, not change the breaker to a bigger one.
Adding a breaker would be acceptable, provided a new circuit and outlets were run as well.
Changing a breaker say from 15 to 20A is not recommended, for the safety reasons you suggest, also it still would not provide enough power for a 10A vac + the BT3 (would need 25A).

[Ed62]

One thing I didn't see mentioned here is about his willingness to change the circuit breaker to a higher load breaker. DO NOT do this unless you have number 12 wire (or heavier) feeding the outlet. The lower the number of the wire, the heavier the load it will safely handle. For instance, a number 14 will not be able to handle as much of a load as a number 12, 10 or heavier. If you replaced the circuit breaker with a larger one, but you are using wiring that will only handle 15 amps, you will start your machines, and everything will seem OK. But when you put a load on them, you might cause a fire in the wiring because the larger circuit breaker will not trip, thereby overloading the wiring. If you're not absolutely sure, ask someone with knowledge before doing electrical changes.

Ed

[cabinetman]

I don't think you understand the BT3000/3100 -> Alignment of the fence is in regards to the blade on this machine. The BT does NOT come with a miter slot as standard. The BT3x was designed with everything being made to go into alignment based on the Blades position, or in different words, alignment was intentionaly designed around the blade.

I've seen that sliding miter setup. I worded the reply saying "if your saw has any type of miter slot..."

Some members may not have the saw, or may not be aware of alignment procedures, or use a different brand. So, between us, we covered a lot of ground.



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