Ryobi BT3000

[Michael Parker]

Hey guys, I am looking to upgrade to a better table saw than the crappy craftsman hobby saw that I am currently using. I have heard from a couple of people that the older ryobi BT3000 table saws are pretty good and can often be found used at a great price. I was curious to hear some other opinions on this saw. Is it worth looking for one, or should I keep my eye out for something else?

Thanks!

[Bryce Walter]

I would probably pass. I actually have the Craftsman version of that saw (21829).

If tuned properly, it is extremely accurate for the money. The largest limiting factor is how the alignment is done. With most table saws, you true the table to the blade (or vice versa). With the BT3100 (and derivatives), the blade and table are locked in place in relation to each other. The tuning is done by aligning the accessories (fence, sliding miter table) to the blade. It is not possible to align the miter slots to the blade.

Not having miter slots that are truable to the blade becomes very limiting for jigs that you can make/use.

[Richard Coers]

Hard to find a used BT3000 without some broken plastic parts. That was the weak point. The plastic gets brittle with age and then table locks and misc other plastic parts break without a way to replace them.

[Marc Fenneuff]

I can’t disagree. It’s a great little saw but kinda forces you into a certain way of doing things. The sliding miter table is awesome, but I never use it and have frequently wished for a regular miter gauge. Problem is, the miter slots (which are only to the left of the blade and only if you added them from the accessory kit) can’t be reliably aligned to the blade. That means no miter gauge and no crosscut sled.

i have remodeled about 90% of my 1970 split-level house with my BT3100 but it has gotten a bit creaky (at 15 years old I think it’s well past it’s expiration date). But it’s very accurate. I’m replacing it with a cabinet saw.

Pull the trigger only if you need something right now, it’s in good shape, and it’s dirt cheap.

[Charles Lent]

I had one, and wished that I had never bought it. As others have said, the plastics break easily, and aren't available, or they are they are crazy priced. The lack of a miter slot is significant, because without it your shop made jigs as well as purchased jigs that require a miter slot cannot be used with the saw. I ended up epoxying a miter slot extrusion to the side of the sliding table, but could never get it to stay reliably parallel to the blade. The sliding table is also about 1/32" higher than the saw top, so it's difficult to get accurate cut depths as well, since the sliding table also rocks side to side slightly. The design concept of the BT3000 is quite impressive, but Ryobi dropped the ball when it came to manufacturing and cost cutting. It could have been a great saw if they hadn't left out the miter slot and cut production costs by using so much plastic. I ended up finding a relatively clean Unisaw, replaced the bearings and belts, and washed the cabinet. So, for less money, I have the saw that I should have bought years ago. The BT3000 and all of it's accessories was given to my son-in-law.

Charley

[Dan Hulbert]

I had my BT3000 for over 20 years and it always did what I wanted it to do. It was a sad day when it finally gave up the ghost. I truly miss the sliding table for cross cuts. Yes, no miter slot was an issue, but you just have to get creative with your jigs.

[Frank Pratt]

The question you have to ask yourself is whether you need to have the kind of mobility to move the saw from site to site regularly. That's just about the only reason to go with a job site saw. There are just too many compromises to get the light weight & portability. You can get a very good used contractor saw for about the same price as a job site saw.

[Stan Calow]

I had one for a long time. short answer: no, look for something newer and better. Its not really a job site saw. It just looks like one. I think the major components would be too wobbly to survive much transporting.
Advantages: lightweight, true riving knife, sliding table, good dust collection. Disadvantages: very loud, unreliable fence, parts difficult to find, periodic cleaning of ways needed. I had to take it apart every so often to get parts to move again. Sears sold a version of it for awhile under the Craftsman label, so maybe some parts still available through them, if you do some detective work.

Of course it really depends on your budget and what your other options are.
PS there was an add-on optional addition to the table with miter slots, but good luck finding one now.

[Orlando Gonzalez]

+1 on passing. I'm a hobbyist who is now retired, but when I first started to get into woodworking I look hard at the BT3000 because of space and power limitations. I decided to get a Craftsman cabinet hybrid instead until it crapped out (I now have a Grizzly G0833 2hp hybrid). I didn't regret making that choice because it afforded me with a saw that allowed me to do some serious woodworking and at the same time affording me a level of safety that the Ryobi couldn't in my opinion. I would check out CL or auctions for some used Unisaws, PM, Jet, Grizzly, etc., before buying a used Ryobi BT300 or BT3100. But like Stan said, it all depends on your budget, space, and power options.

[John Gustafson]

I've had the Craftsman version for years. Bought it because of portability and space limitations. I was working on some refurb on my sons house and needed something I could wrestle by myself and ran on 120v.

It can do pretty accurate work, but you have to constantly check alignment of the fence. The sliding miter fence is a great idea but execution of the design leaves a lot to be desired. I got the miter slot accessory, but as others have said, aftermarket accessories for standard saws won't fit. Spacing between the blade and the slots are to small. Dust collection is fairly good with a shop vac.

It works well enough that I still keep it as a backup. If I have my Unisaw set up with a dado blade, the Craftsman gets pulled out for the occasional rip or crosscut. Otherwise these days it serves as a router table. I had that attachment as well.

Problems with the blade lift were fairly common, there were a couple of plastic strips in the guide slots for the motor/blade assembly that worked loose and jammed the lift adjustment. Fix wasn't complicated, just tedious since you had to tear the whole saw apart.

Overall, the saw works well if maintained but they have been out of production for years and new parts will not be easy to come by. For me, it's not wort my time to get rid of it and it still serves a useful purpose. Were I looking to replace it, I wouldn't go in that direction unless the saw was really well maintained, had all of the accessories and was almost a gift.

[Jim Dwight]

I used a BT3100 for about 10 years. I built a lot of furniture for myself and my kids using it. I got the extension rails and made a mobile base for it. My rip capacity was about 60 inches. The rip fence is a major plus for this saw. it is easy to align to the blade and once set it stays aligned. it locks at both ends and moves easily. I never liked the sliding table feature and didn't use it for at least the last 5 years I had the saw. I added a miter slot but that didn't work well either. In the end, I just ripped with it. I think it had more power ripping than my PCS 1.75.

I literally threw it away when the height adjustment failed. That is a weakness of the saw. The height mechanism depends on female threads in an aluminum casting. I had a kit to put in a heli coil but I already had the PCS, didn't really have space for two saws and installing the heli coil isn't super simple (you have to take the casting out of the saw). I had to replace the belts once when an off cut fell into them. The switch also failed once. Those parts are cheap.

The BT3100 is preferable in my mind because the shims work better. The shims are part of the height adjustment mechanism and hold two aluminum castings apart while not allowing them to rattle. It was also cheaper. You have to lubricate the area where the shims ride frequently or the height adjustment won't work. And eventually the female threads wear out.

I've never used a portable table saw other than a really cheap Ryobi my ex wife had. My impression is that the Ryobi had advantages over them - but in my opinion only if you cross cut on other tools. If you see one at a good price and that is as much as you have to spend, I think they are a solid alternative. The top is small, like a portable, but the depth of cut is over 3 inches due to the belt drive (with a universal motor). But expect to have to mess with the height adjustment - lubricate it - and make sure it works before you buy it. I think the extension rails also raise the potential usefullness beyond the typical portable. The BT3100 was also cheaper than the 3000, I think it was $400. Might even have been $300. While the 3000 cost more I don't think it is preferable. I would think a BT3100 in good condition is worth $200 or $250. If you can find one for that, and it is in good shape, I cannot think of a table saw for that price I'd rather have. If they have a bunch of extras maybe it would be worth spending a little more. But certainly not more than a new BT3100.

Another nice feature is the dust collection works OK with a shop vac. The chute throws most of the dust out of the saw. It takes a dado stack fine. It has a riving knife. It is surprisingly capable for a cheap saw. But it is not as capable as even a mediocre contractor saw let alone a cabinet saw. The top is too small and it really doesn't have a good cross cut option. But I don't think you will find a mediocre contractor saw for $250.