I was reading an article about fasteners the other day.
They mentioned a couple of products I had not heard of before:

EZ-grip and Screw Grab

Apparently if you have a screw that you have a hard time engaging like a worn Phillips, a drop of these products will increase the friction between the screw and the driver 8X it is claimed so that you can back out the screw.

You can find them both at Amazon.
Not cheap 5 oz of EZ-GRIP is $20; 1/2 oz of Screw...

Originally written by Norm Havens and re-posted here.

Editor's Note: The site where this article appeared originally is now gone. I had this article saved as a .pdf file from years ago and resurrected the article from that.

December 3, 2000 I must be totally star-crossed this week . . .

"Trouble comes in threes," didn't someone say? This week I've already dinged the blades of my new planer, nearly dropped my router from the accessory table, and now...

The manual from the old site is out of date and many of the links in it were broken. The downloadable .PDF manuals are attached below.

...

Hi Guys - I haven't been on the forum much lately ... I bought a '55 MGTF-1500 that is taking up space, time, and money that is(was) used by my woodworking shop. The car has a wood frame beneith the body panels, so I guess it counts as woodworking. Thanks for resurrecting my No-Measure alignment thread. I see that it has lost some of the attachments. So I reposted it below. Note - there are a lot of good ways to adjust a BT3K or any other table saw. This is the one that I found is best for...

Since it seems time for my semi-annual maintenance and due to several posts asking how to lately I deciced to take pictures during mine. Keep in mind this is specifically for the BT3000 only.

Step 1: double un-plug saw at outlet and onboard outlet. Remove throat plate, Sharkguard, Big dog clamp, and splitter (or the stock POS []). Remove blade and spacers.



Step 2: remove left side cover and dust shroud.



Step 3: remove the four...

Upgrading the shims avoids the issue of the BT3000 shims dropping out and causing the blade-raising mechanism to bind.





...

So I rushed out and bought my first table saw, than discovered this site and all the helpful information "like how to buy a BT saw). What I didn't know was I had an elevation problem. The screw that runs from the 90 degree bevel gears up through the aluminum motor housing was badly worn. Once I had the two parts out of the saw, the damage to the aluminum threads was worse. After a little help from others on this site, I choose to put in a helicoil. The attachments show the pictures and how to....

Hello everyone,

I just spent an interesting couple of days with my BT3000. I broke a belt and had “one of of those days”.
First I did a search on this site and read just about everything on belt and arbor bearing replacement.
I choose Replacing Arbor Bearings on BT3000 by big tim.

Replacing Arbor Bearings - BT3Central Forums

And Belt Replacement Instructions By Ed Ellickson

Belt Replacement Instructions



Big...

First you'll need to gather a few tools:

1. slotted screwdriver or bit and handle
2. 3/8" SAE socket and driver or ratchet, or nut driver

Then it is time to get started:

1. Double unplug saw (at outlet and built-in switched outlet)
2. Blow off any saw dust
3. Remove SMT right front base clamp screw (see next pic)

So it looks like this:
4. Slide SMT table forward off base 5. Place SMt table on your work bench 6. Note positions of the three eccentric screws and the one non-...

If you are ever in the same boat I was in last week, the following might be of some help.
Last week I posted that my BT3000 had been making an unusual noise for the previous several days and actually seized up last Saturday. Shortly after it first started, I checked the belts, they were not broken, I also removed the brushes, they were ok and after cleaning those as well as the brushholders re-installed them. Doing that did not resolve the problem and I was starting to suspect bearings. ...

Trying to dust of and setup my old, often moved, and rarely used BT3000, I found that it has a crack in the saw table. On the back left side, where the back rail is connected, I found a crack. Can it be effectively repaired? Or should I pay the 80 bucks for a replacement?

Help???

I am trying to get rolling on woodworking after a parent and job induced layoff.

Thanks,

Mike

My 7 year old BT3000 finally refused to raise or lower the blade and I had to do some shim maintenance.

So, I came back to bt3central to review recent articles on shim maintenance.

David Green's article on using the BT3100 parts is part of my long term plan http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=33948 (parts are on order).
Mark Stripes article on shim maintenance was very helpful. http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=27266 I really liked his idea to use...

Zen and the Art of Splitter Shim Making By Mark Guglielmana – A.K.A. “Gugie” I'm a proud owner of a Ryobi BT3000 table saw. When I saw the Ryobi BT3100 update for the first time, I looked carefully for changes. One of the small but useful improvements is the use of splitter guides along with shims for the splitter/blade guard assembly. ...

Below is an e-mail message from Jim Frye to an individual who is considering purchasing a used BT3000. In the e-mail message, Jim does a great job outlining things to look for to determining the overall condition of an “experienced” BT3000.

I think the major things to look for a used BT3000 are as follows, and not necessarily in order of importance. This is the order I thought of them.

1. The lead screw that runs the entire motor and arbor mount (locker bracket) passes through a threaded

...

This approach has three big advantages - it's simple, fast, and it works! I have been using this method successfully for years. Although the following seems "wordy", it's real easy. Everything centers around what I call my "alignment block". It's a piece of 1" thick MDF, 7-13/16" x 5-13/16", with 3/16" chamfers on the short sides of the top face. It's made this size so that when the saw blade is fully...