Going to the Dark Side

[farkel]

I have been using my bt3100 as a hobbyist for over six years and have built a house full of furniture with it. I am probably moving on to a Bosch 4100 in the next few days, however, for the following reasons:

1. For the past year, the blade routinely refuses to elevate properly, the adjustment wheel is almost stripped as a result, and I have failed miserably numerous times to fix these problems, so, I find myself not using the blade guard or leaving the blade set very high, to limit the number of times I have to raise the blade. DEFINITELY NOT GOOD.

2. I want the safety benefits of a shark guard but don't want to spend $100 plus on an accessory for my aging bt3100.

3. I get easier and better results with a homemade table saw sled than with the BT3100 sliding miter table, so the BT signature feature is no longer relevant.

4. The Bosch is uniformly highly rated and a reconditioned Bosch is a relative bargain for the hobbyist.

Besides having to spend the money on a new saw, my biggest regret will be that I will no longer be a member in good standing of the bt3100 cult.

[Whaler]

There are a few of us dark siders that are still active on here so there is no reason to run away.

[Uncle Cracker]

We still tolerate those of you who have lost your perspective...

[JimD]

You've seen the old post about putting a helicoil into the motor housing so the height adjustment continues working, right? Mine is not too bad yet but I need to clean out the saw and apply some more wax (as lubricant) and see if it starts moving better again. So far, this has resulted in smooth movement. But eventually the aluminum female threads in the housing will be too worn and I will have to look for a helicoil. You should check but I think it's a normal 9/16 coarse thread. You might get a helicoil kit from an automotive parts place but, if not, I'm sure you could find one on-line. It takes some work to get the motor housing out where you can work on it but installing a helicoil seems like it will be easy. It's basically just tapping a special thread for the coil, screwing the helicoil in, and breaking it off and staking it.

I would definitely look at this before buying a new saw. You've probably, like me, got a lot of jigs made for the BT3100. A helicoil kit should be about $50. And the end result is you have steel female threads so you should not need to do this again.

Jim

[Brian G]

Jim, the cost of replacing the motor bracket is considerably less than it used to be.

Several years ago, due to my stupidity, I stripped the threads in the motor bracket. At that time, the helicoil repair was the only economical solution for a fix. The motor bracket wasn't available as a separate part, as I recall. I made the helicoil fix, but didn't get it quite perfect. It worked well enough, but I lost about 1/2" of blade height and couldn't drop the blade below the table.

A few months ago, I decided that the blade height limitation was no longer tolerable. I found that the motor bracket was available at M And D Motor (part number 4800031) for $26.31. I also replaced the elevation shaft (part number 969123001) for $6.84 because the slight mis-alignment in my helicoil fix had caused it to be slightly deformed and the threads were damaged.

I had the parts within three days of ordering them, they fit my BT3100 exactly, and in one afternoon the blade was moving up and down like it was intended.

Now that these parts are available, I'd strongly encourage replacing the parts rather than going with the helicoil fix. It's just so much easier.

I was a little concerned that the description of the motor bracket indicated it was for the BT3000SXI, but it fit my BT3100.

Oh, farkel, you can also get a handwheel (part A181014002) for $7.00, but M and D charges $4 for orders under $25.

All three parts together plus shipping should get you in under the cost of the helicoil kit.

p.s. Nick Lange, the guy on this forum who borrowed my helicoil kit and "disappeared" several years ago without returning it as agreed, shall get another lump of coal in his stocking for Christmas.

[mnmphd]

I completely stripped my bracket about a year ago, and after much searching,
for the somewhat odd size helicoil, I opted to purchase the replacement parts from M&D which as stated was cheaper and worked as smooth as day 1.

[Black wallnut]

Not to hijack, well actually yes, I am hijacking. Although the heli-coil fix may be more money than a simple replacing of the part it is a permanent fix if done right. It is one thing that should have been addressed with the upgrade changes tRyobi made between models. They were aware of the issue even then. It is an improvement, and if several guys go in on the price of a kit the cost is more bearable.

[Hoover]

The Bosch is a good saw, you chose well. However, if you want to keep your Ryobi, repair parts are available, and you would have a great dado saw, etc.

[pacwind3]

I am a Bosch convert myself. I had my BT for 9 years and it served me well. I really don't have anything bad to say about the saw. But from a safety standpoint: that new Bosch blade guard is hard to beat. Easy off and on. The splitter acts as a riving knife. Easy to adjust up and down. Now that the whole thing is so easy to use: I actually do use it. My BT guard was tossed aside my first year.
I had a kickback happen a couple of years ago (my fault) but had I been using a guard or even a riving knife: it wouldn't have happened. Scared me enough to make me want a guard to keep all my fingers while I still had them.
I did like you are thinking: got a reconditioned Bosch from CPOtools.com. I highly recommend them and the saw.

[Charlie]

I don't know how the Bosch saw is now, but I know I was looking at some customer reviews last year and there were a few complaints about plastic gears inside thae saw striping. You may just be buying yourself another headache.

[Norm in Fujino]

You may just be buying yourself another headache.

"Ya pays yer money and ya picks yer poison."