Official Luthiers Forum!

I have limited space and am looking for a smaller table-saw that will do great work.

Here's some specs. $249.00
107 lbs
15amp
blade speed 4800
belt driven
max depth cut @ 45 deg. 2.5", at 90 degrees 3.5625"
3hp
rip capacity, left 31", right 30"
table length 41", width 22"
Includes stand
Micro adjust rip fence
Does not include Repetitive cut marking system.

Would love andy and all advice,
Bob

Bob, I believe a bunch of OLF members bought this saw at Home Depot a while ago (I noticed they are on sale again). Hopefully, they will chime in and let us know if they are happy with the purchase. I'm considering one myself.

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

I'm assuming it's the BT3100.

I've had one for a couple of years now. It's a fantastic little saw.

First of all, it's not 3 HP. You know that right off from the fact that it's 15
amps @ 110 V. HP ratings are rediculously overstated these days.
However, it *is* a powerful little mug. Only time I have bogged it down
was trying to resaw a fir 2x4. Also, if you throw enough load at it, it
*will* use up 15 amps and more - I've tripped the breaker once. Know
that the universal motor is a screamer. Use hearing protection.

The fence on the saw is really good. It locks down in the front AND back,
making it rock-solid stable. Mine squared up to the blade quite nicely
out of the box, but there are adjustment screws if you need to fix that.

The rails are short, but they're easily unclamped and moved either left or
right if you need more room in either direction. In my case that's a good
thing, because I have a smaller one-car-garage-size shop where space is
at a premium.

It comes with a nice quality blade, actually made by Freud but branded
Ryobi. I use mine for both ripping and crosscutting and haven't replaced
it yet.

A thoughtful safety feature is the riving knife - it prevents a piece from
binding up on the blade like a splitter, but travels up and down with the
blade as you adjust the height and pivots with the blade when you adjust
the angle. So no matter what (through) cut you make, you can use the
riving knife.

The sliding miter table is the best feature of the saw. I use it all the time
for crosscuts. I think the max capacity is about 16". It can be finnicky to
get sliding parallel to the blade, but once you get it dialed in, it's there for
good. It is an INCREDIBLY useful feature.

If you want to use traditional table saw jigs, so many of which rely on a
miter slot, you need to buy the accessory kit.   The table does not have a
slot out of the box (it has the sliding table instead). The accessory kit has
a small table extension that bolts permanently to the saw offering a pair
(?) of miter slots.

Last thing that occurs to me is the dust collection. There is a shroud
around the bottom of the saw that feeds into a dust chute in the back. It
catches 90% or so of the dust in my experience. Far less messy than a
traditional contractor saw.

I build furniture (chests, benches, tables, etc.) and guitars, and it has
proven adequate for furniture and more than adequate for guitars. Like I
said, I've been very very happy with mine. Outstanding value IMHO.

ecklesweb38779.8737731481

Jay,
thank you so much. I did find some reviews and all coincided with your views and I am planning to purchase the $99? acces. kit.
Would you be so kind to informe me of the correct blades I should purchase, what they are for and brands, if possible.

I think I edited my post about a minute after you posted your question
about blades. As I said in my (edited) post, the blade out of the box is
actually quite good. Give it a try and see if it meets your needs.

If you do want a higher quality blade, there are many choices out there.
The "Cadillac" of table saw blades seems to be the Forrest Woodworker II.
If (and that's *if*) I was going to buy blades, I'd buy a dedicated rip blade
and a dedicated cross-cut blade, since you already have a combo blade
out of the box.

Forrest is a top-of-the-line brand. Frued seems to make good quality
mid-priced blades. Woodcraft carries a brand called "Sawyer's Choice",
and I've been pleased with the blade from them that's on my compound
miter saw. It's another mid-priced brand that seems to be good quality.

There are also special-purpose blades. I saw recently where one of our
OLF cohorts made and sold some fret-slotting blades - that's definitely
something to think about.

Good luck.

Jay

Another vote for a great little saw. I think the general consensus is usually to skip the accessory kit at $99, though. Most find some stuff they use, but not enough to justify the cost. Often individual pieces come up for sale on Ebay or over on BT3 Central. If you haven't already done so, be sure and check out the website. Good stuff, good folks over there.

In the past, you sometimes could get a special on the saw with a free accessory kit. Don't know if we'll see that again since they've cut the price.

As far as blades go, I agree the stock blade is well known as a very high quality blade. You'll get lots of good out of that one. Beyond that, everybody has their favorite. One of the most popular tends to be the Forrest WWII. Look for Amazon deals to show up occasionally.

Enjoy your new saw and good luck!

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Wes McMillian
Santo, TX
http://www.wesmcmillian.com

I love my BT3100... And BT3 Central is a really great resource for info about it. They have a lot of articles and plans you can download for various jigs and things that make use of the sliding miter table. I check their "bargains" forum daily, too, for good deals on woodworking related things.

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

Food for thought,

I visit a couple of local Pond Shops in the area and let one of the owners know some of the equipment I was looking for. I did not stop in for a couple of months and when I visited this past week, the owner stated he had been waiting for me. I picked up a Craftsman (old style) band saw, deep throat table top, Crafsman Scroll Saw, and a Ryobi Table saw all for $125.00 total.

Mike
White Oak, Texas

I used to have the Ryobi BT 3000, I no longer have it. For a cheap saw I suppose it is OK but you get what you pay for. Everything is OK but nothing s great and all the little extra's arn't in my opinion worth the sacrifice. Nothing was really good, I spent a lot of time getting it set up but is just wasn't as tight of tolerances as I like (of course I had previously had a 3 phase comersial unit so I was spoiled.) I gave mine away and bought an old 20/10 amp Busy bee saw. Same price (used)and way better.

[QUOTE=arvey] I used to have the Ryobi BT 3000 [/QUOTE]

I have never owned a BT3000 (the predecessor of the BT3100), but my
understanding is that it had several problems that were remedied in the
BT3100. Chief among those problems was the tendency for some pieces
to fall out when raising or lowering the blade! If that happened to me, I
don't think I'd be gracious enough to just call it a "cheap" saw!!!

That being said, it simply does not compare to a cabinet saw. That would
be like comparing a radio flyer wagon to a dump truck. It also has some
disadvantages vis-a-vis a contractor saw. Chief among those are its low
weight and small table area.

It's not the right tool for everyone, but it is for some folks.