Question regarding BT3 arbor spacers

[Im A Little Petunia]

A few days ago I bought a set of Dado 6" blades. I started to get everything ready to do a ZCTP this afternoon and found that the blades were too thick for the arbor when stacked. My question - would it be dangerous to remove the spacer(s)? There are two and Ryobi calls them Small spacer and Large spacer which really, to me, means short and long. I suspect that the spacers have something to do with balance, but do not really know. It also just occurred to me, as I type, that the arbor possibly isn't threaded far enough on the rod to remove even one spacer. I don't want to remove one or both if it would make the saw dangerous. I would return the dado blades to Sears before doing that. I wouldn't even consider leaving off one of the large washers. Chime in all :-) Thanks

Lynn

[pacwind3]

Not dangerous at all. You are supposed to remove them to use a dado blade.

[JR]

Pacwind3 is correct. You should place the spacers as necessary, or meove them entirely, in order to meet the application. Take care to make sure the dado blade will not come into contact with the frame, and also that the arbor nut screws on tightly without bottom out on the unthreaded part of the arbor.

JR

[Pappy]

You may have to play with the spacers until you get familiar with the dado set ups you use the most. As JR said, make sure the nut does not bottom on the threads before snugging up the blade stack. The outside blade shoul be on the unthreaded part of the arbor. If it is on the threads it may get out of balance and damage the arbor, threads, or bearings. At the least, you will get a groove on that side of the dado deeper than the rest of the bottom of the cut.

Do not leave off the 2 large keeper washers on each side of the blade. They are there to spread the pressure of the arbor nut on the blades and prevent them from spinning on the shaft. Also, don't be tempted to He-Man the arbor nut because you have multiple blades. Not necessary in the way TS arbors are designed and could cause damage to the nut or arbor threads.

[cmdang]

Raising the arbor with a 6" stacked dado

I just mounted a set of Freud 6" stacked dado, but could not raise the arbor high enough for the blades to clear the motor housing. Mine is an old BT3000 that needs lots of cleaning & TLC, so suspect that the rails where the motor rides up need cleaning & lubing (haven't done so), but thought I'd post this first to see if I'm missing something.

[LCHIEN]

yes, you have to remove one or the other or both spacers depending on the stack. The idea is to keep the dado stack off the threaded part of the arbor (which will leave the nut little to thread on and also make the dado blades on the threads cut unevenly). And yes you should make sure to put the washers on either side of the stack, and don't overtighten the arbor nut. It's all in the BT3 FAQ...