Darksiders: Any regrets?

[dewi1219]

My wife is encouraging me to start building some projects for profit - children's furniture, entertainment centers, closet organization, etc. I was originally planning to build a cabinet for my BT3 to incorporate two full sets of rails, router table, and so on. But now with the TS3650 deal at HD, I could sell/part out my BT3 and get the TS3650 for about the same net investment as I would put into the cabinet for the BT3. But I think I would really miss the SMT and router table, although I could incorporate something similar into the TS3650.

So my question is, do the darksiders here have any regrets? Is there anything about the BT3 you really miss, or do the advantages of the bigger saw outweigh anything you gave up?

[Knottscott]

You might find that a decent miter gauge with a fence, or a crosscut sled will suffice nicely, but could always part out everything but the SMT and incorporate that on your new cast iron saw. The SMT is one of the few remnants from a BT3k I picked up last summer and have been toying with the idea of adding it to my Shop Fox saw, but I'm starting to think it might be more useful on my router table.

A router table extension is fairly simple to add, and is a common accessory.

[jackellis]

No regrets at all. I kept my BT3100 and still use the router table. I also use the saw for dado cuts so that I don't have to mess with the splitter/guard on my Jet cabinet saw.

I also don't regret having bought the BT3100. Now that I've used a cabinet saw, my only complaints are the size of the table and the table height. Both are fixable by building a custom cabinet for the BT3100 but at the time, buying a saw was a faster way to get where I wanted to be and I could afford the purchase price.

[dewi1219]

I also don't regret having bought the BT3100. Now that I've used a cabinet saw, my only complaints are the size of the table and the table height. Both are fixable by building a custom cabinet for the BT3100 but at the time, buying a saw was a faster way to get where I wanted to be and I could afford the purchase price.

I love my BT3, but it's just not going to be the right tool if I go to a more production-type setup. Just like you said, if I take on these new projects I won't have time to build the cabinet for my BT3. As an added bonus, the 8" dado stack that I bought before I knew better will surely work easier with the TS3650. Purchasing the TS3650 and keeping the BT3 is not an option for me from a space and money standpoint.

[Sawatzky]

I upgraded to the TS3650 and have no regrets at all. To me the mass, large table, standard miter slots, and induction motor make the saw so much better. I did build some nice things with the BT, but hated the small table top and the loud universal motor. I also did not like the SMT much either. I built a cross-cut sled for the Ridgid that works great - and I don't have the SMT slide sticking out in front of the saw. Now that I have the Ridgid I am so much happier. I may be a miniorty here, but I wish I had bought the Ridgid first. It would have been cheaper than buying two saws, and I would have got what I really wanted right off the bat. The BT is a good saw, but it is not anything like a full size cast iron saw in my opinion. I don't miss anything about the BT, and have added a router table to the Ridgid.

[LarryG]

I bought my BT3100 because it was the best saw I could find in the physically small package demanded by the diminutive scale of my previous shop. I would have preferred and could have afforded the TS3650, but there was just no way it would fit.

From the BT I jumped straight to a cabinet saw, and I have no regrets. I always maintained, and still do, that the BT was a very fine table for $300 but it's just not in the same class as a full-size contractor saw or cabinet saw. While much of the difference is measurable, I will admit that some of it is subjective. But that doesn't mean the measurable differences aren't still there, because they are.

One thing I don't miss at all is the SMT. Unlike many here, I was never much of a fan. I soon learned how to properly adjust it and keep it that way, but I never felt like I could trust it.

FWIW, because this falls into the "I'll never know what would have happened if" category ... had my previous shop been big enough to hold a TS3650 and I started with one of those, I would very likely still be happily using it today. I always thought the TS3650 was a phenomenal value for its regular $550 price and would be an even better deal at the current closeout price.

[dewi1219]

I may not have mentioned it explicitly, but most of the projects I build involve sheet goods, so I really think the larger table of a TS3650 or similar would help in that regard. The other option I was contemplating was keeping the BT3 and building or buying a used panel saw. But again, I won't really have time to build one, and buying even a used decent one would be more expensive than the Ridgid.

[cgallery]

I went from a contractor saw to the BT3K, because I wanted something w/ better DC that was light enough to squeeze into my basement. But I am an occasional user.

That said, if I were going to be producing more work and depend on the saw for income, I'd absolutely find a saw that had an induction motor, like a cabinet saw.

[BadeMillsap]

Nary a regret ...

I enjoyed the BT3100 ... it "taught" me many techniques and skills I would not have otherwise acquired (well unless I had found some other equally capable saw for the price) but ... having upgraded to a Griz G1023SL ... I have never looked back ...

[Hellrazor]

No regrets from me. I was happy with the BT3100 for the years I used it. But I recently moved on to the Ridgid 3660. I couldn't turn down the $399 price tag. My big decision right now is whether I am going to part out the BT3100, sell the saw or a combination of the 2. I have a bunch of extras for the saw.

Larry, you aren't the only one who didn't like the SMT. I have an Incra....

[dbhost]

I love my BT3 and haven't gone to it, but a TS3660 with a combination of a BORK / Shark Guard setup would get me to upgrade...

I may be a bit weird about it, but I am a big fan of the riving knife...

[Popeye]

I now have a Griz 1023SLX and the only thing I miss about the BT is the riving knife. I have no regrets about buying the BT and more than got my money's worth out of it, but when I got seriously back into woodworking it just wasn't enough saw. Pat

[BerniePA]

I was happy with my BT3100 until the motor went and I parted it out and got my Grizzly 0575 left tilt and now that I have gotten my BORK (Bolt On Riving Knife) for it, and the Rockler sliding miter table and built a router extension table for my new Freud above table adjusting router and have ordered a Wixey digital fence system for it, I know that if I screw up a cut ---- it was me and not the equipment that caused it!!!! I am very, very happy with my current system.

[Knottscott]

I love my BT3 and haven't gone to it, but a TS3660 with a combination of a BORK / Shark Guard setup would get me to upgrade...

I may be a bit weird about it, but I am a big fan of the riving knife...

I just read where Bob Ross (AKA "BORK" man) is working on a BORK for the 3660....

[dbhost]

I just read where Bob Ross (AKA "BORK" man) is working on a BORK for the 3660....

Now we only need to get Bob and Lee together to build a Shark BORK for the TS3650/TS3660. And sell it at a REASONABLE price... (Bob's BORK is kind of spendy, for that price I could get a Grizz with a factory riving knife, and more power...