Ryobi BT3100 Question

[Bob Kline]

I have the BT 3100 and it has the shim problem big time. I'm not in a position to fix it myself and wonder if there is a resource in or near St. Paul MN who does tune-up work on this saw. Or, is it even worth it as this saw is about 10 years old.
Thanks

[Matt Day]

You might have better luck on the forum specific to this saw, bt3central(dot)com.

[scott spencer]

I don't know of a place near you that'll fix it for you, but my understanding that it's pretty straight forward if you wanted to try it yourself. That saw is pretty easy to work on, and the shims are reasonable.

[Harvey Miller]

OK- the 'official word' is the BT3100 doesn't get the shim problem. (http://upsidedownmoon.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/faq_bt3_rev4_9.pdf)

So- I would think your's is gummed up with sawdust and needs to be blown out with compressed air and the threads cleaned. That would probably happen to your next saw too.

If cleaning doesn't work the shim is probably broken. If you're not willing to fix it yourself, I would part the saw out.

[Harry Niemann]

Want sell the motor?

[Jim Dwight]

You would need to describe your problem for me to be able to be sure but when the blade just doesn't go up and down well on my BT3100, it is time to lube the area the shims ride on. The BT3000, the predecessor of the BT3100, had a different shim design and had more trouble. But normally all that happens on the BT3100 is it needs lubricated. I rub candle wax on mine. I have it on a mobile base that lets me tilt the saw up to get access to the casting that needs lubricated. It is a drawback of this saw that it needs this but it's a nice saw IMHO. Blade goes straight up and down, rip fence stays parallel and locks up securely, 3 1/2 inch rip capacity, etc.. I've built 6 bedroom sets using mine plus many other pieces of furniture.