BT3000 shims

On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 21:10:24 GMT, "Bill Stock" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>I posted this over on the Ryobi forums, but it has not appeared, so I'll try
>here.
>
>My BT3000 has the blade raising issue, lowering seems OK. after doing some
>reading, it seems I'm a victim of the dreaded shims. I tried to remove the
>arbor guide to look at the shims (both present), but stripped two of the
>screw heads. I can probably get them out with an impact screwdriver. I
>cleaned the gears that raise/lower the blade and this helps, but it still
>jams. If I apply upaward pressure to the back of the arbor guide, the blade
>raises OK. The guide seems to have some slop in it from back to front.
>
>Since both shims are still present, is this still likely a shim issue or
>something worse?
>

I used to have the Ryobi and in fact did have the dreaded shim problem
at one point. It's not so much that the shims disappear, it's the
little tabs that are folded over that hold them in place get bent out
of shape and bind up a little bit. I'd highly recommend going over to
www.bt3central.com and follow their instructions for disassembling the
saw. I disassembled mine, cleaned it up, gently bent the shims back
into shape and the problem was fixed.

The one thing you want to be careful with is raising and lowering the
blade from stop to stop. Don't crank it down so tight that it runs
against the stops.

Had that problem once maybe 5 years ago. Same upward pressure allowing it to
move. At that point the shims had creases in them. Flattened them and cleaned
everything. Seem to recall the issue was a precise adjustment on some set
screws, allowing it to slide but without cocking. After doing this, all was
fine. Usually clean it about twice a year, or whenever I feel any resistance,
just using a toothbrush and some simple green, then a light lube. When
properly adjusted, it raises and lowers easily from one stop to the next, and
haven't had any problems since then.

Suggest www.bt3central.com for more detail. If their advice doesn't help you
fix it, send me an email.
GerryG

On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 21:10:24 GMT, "Bill Stock" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I posted this over on the Ryobi forums, but it has not appeared, so I'll try
>here.
>
>My BT3000 has the blade raising issue, lowering seems OK. after doing some
>reading, it seems I'm a victim of the dreaded shims. I tried to remove the
>arbor guide to look at the shims (both present), but stripped two of the
>screw heads. I can probably get them out with an impact screwdriver. I
>cleaned the gears that raise/lower the blade and this helps, but it still
>jams. If I apply upaward pressure to the back of the arbor guide, the blade
>raises OK. The guide seems to have some slop in it from back to front.
>
>Since both shims are still present, is this still likely a shim issue or
>something worse?
>

Mine (which was an old one) did not have any loctite. I added some of the
light stuff after I set them. If screws are binding, try wd40 or some thinner
and let soak a bit first. Also make sure the head are clean first. This was a
big issue with the early BT3k's. I don't know how old yours is, or how it's
been maintained, but jammed screws are going to be a really big problems if
you can't get them loose.

On the www.bt3central.com site, try the articles section, under BT3
maintenance, especially Jim Frye's articles.

GerryG

On Thu, 23 Sep 2004 00:53:53 GMT, "Bill Stock" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"GerryG" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> Had that problem once maybe 5 years ago. Same upward pressure allowing it
>to
>> move. At that point the shims had creases in them. Flattened them and
>cleaned
>> everything. Seem to recall the issue was a precise adjustment on some set
>> screws, allowing it to slide but without cocking. After doing this, all
>was
>> fine. Usually clean it about twice a year, or whenever I feel any
>resistance,
>> just using a toothbrush and some simple green, then a light lube. When
>> properly adjusted, it raises and lowers easily from one stop to the next,
>and
>> haven't had any problems since then.
>
>Thanks Gerry, the cocking describes my problem.
>
>Do the set screws have loctite on them too? I had trouble getting the arbor
>screws loose.
>
>
>
>
>> Suggest www.bt3central.com for more detail. If their advice doesn't help
>you
>> fix it, send me an email.
>> GerryG
>>
>> On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 21:10:24 GMT, "Bill Stock" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> >I posted this over on the Ryobi forums, but it has not appeared, so I'll
>try
>> >here.
>> >
>> >My BT3000 has the blade raising issue, lowering seems OK. after doing
>some
>> >reading, it seems I'm a victim of the dreaded shims. I tried to remove
>the
>> >arbor guide to look at the shims (both present), but stripped two of the
>> >screw heads. I can probably get them out with an impact screwdriver. I
>> >cleaned the gears that raise/lower the blade and this helps, but it still
>> >jams. If I apply upaward pressure to the back of the arbor guide, the
>blade
>> >raises OK. The guide seems to have some slop in it from back to front.
>> >
>> >Since both shims are still present, is this still likely a shim issue or
>> >something worse?
>> >
>

"GerryG" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Had that problem once maybe 5 years ago. Same upward pressure allowing it
to
> move. At that point the shims had creases in them. Flattened them and
cleaned
> everything. Seem to recall the issue was a precise adjustment on some set
> screws, allowing it to slide but without cocking. After doing this, all
was
> fine. Usually clean it about twice a year, or whenever I feel any
resistance,
> just using a toothbrush and some simple green, then a light lube. When
> properly adjusted, it raises and lowers easily from one stop to the next,
and
> haven't had any problems since then.

Thanks Gerry, the cocking describes my problem.

Do the set screws have loctite on them too? I had trouble getting the arbor
screws loose.




> Suggest www.bt3central.com for more detail. If their advice doesn't help
you
> fix it, send me an email.
> GerryG
>
> On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 21:10:24 GMT, "Bill Stock" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >I posted this over on the Ryobi forums, but it has not appeared, so I'll
try
> >here.
> >
> >My BT3000 has the blade raising issue, lowering seems OK. after doing
some
> >reading, it seems I'm a victim of the dreaded shims. I tried to remove
the
> >arbor guide to look at the shims (both present), but stripped two of the
> >screw heads. I can probably get them out with an impact screwdriver. I
> >cleaned the gears that raise/lower the blade and this helps, but it still
> >jams. If I apply upaward pressure to the back of the arbor guide, the
blade
> >raises OK. The guide seems to have some slop in it from back to front.
> >
> >Since both shims are still present, is this still likely a shim issue or
> >something worse?
> >