I am an owner of a ryobi BT-3000 table saw with the factory base. I like the table saw, but I don’t like the base. The base consists of a set of stamped steel that are bolted together. The frame makes the table saw light weight and more portable. However, because of its design the saw is more susceptible to vibration when cutting stock.
Generally what I want to accomplish is to ‘bolt down’ the table saw and frame to the shop floor. The heavy duty commercial cabinet saws are constructed with a lot of mass. The top is typically constructed from cast iron and the base is made from heavy gauge steel. This effectively anchors the saw to the floor and any vibration from the motor, arbor assembly or saw blade does not allow the table saw to vibrate very much. Granted the more expensive contractor and cabinet saws’ trunions and arbor assemblies are better balanced.
Vibration is caused by the motor, arbor assembly, and saw blade being out of balance. Even if one of them is ever so slightly out of balance will produce some amount of vibration. In my opinion the biggest contributor to blade vibration is the saw blade. For my main table saw blade, I have switched from a no name brand carbide blade to a Freud 10” 50 tooth blade.
Ok, back to table saw base vibration. There are a couple of solutions to minimize the saw vibration. A quick solution is to weight down the frame with some sort of ballast. For the Ryobi BT-3000 reinforce the base with two 3/4” pieces of plywood. Then stack on top of the plywood ballast, such as paver stones, concrete blocks, or bags of sand. Paver stones are nice because they allow you to control how much weight you want to stack on the base. The draw back is it can be a lot of pavers to load and unload. Especially if your shop is in the garage and portability is a must. You know, the wife wants to park her car in the garage every night.
Note: Depending on how the table saw frame is designed, you might have to strengthen the base.
Another option is to cast your own concrete slabs. Depending on how much weight you need three or four slabs should be enough. This translates into fewer number of ballast to load and unload when the saw needs to be moved.
A third option is to build your own portable table saw base. When I purchased my Ryobi BT-3000 table saw it came with the extension rails and table. Unfortunately when the extension rails are bolted onto the table saw makes the saw much less portable. The base I am planning to build will have retractable wheels, and will be wide enough to hold the table saw and the extension rails permanently mounted to the base. The under the saw and under the extension rail will be built out with storage cabinets. If I needed I may put additional ballast into the base.
Quick tip: Make sure that all of the fasteners on the frame are tight. If any of them are loose the more vibration you will get. Use lock washers, or lock nuts. I like the nylon lock nuts. If you are not planning on taking the frame apart, consider using locktite or some other thread locking adhesive.
December 1st, 2006 at 1:53 pm
Good stuff… You’ve given me some excellent ideas. As a BT3000 owner I plan to implement some of them. Thanks a million and good luck. Later…
December 1st, 2006 at 2:13 pm
Loved your comments about the Freud blade. I’m definitely gonna check that out. Went all around your blog. Man, we are a lot alike you & I. For example, I only do wood working as a hobby, too. I am a computer software engineer by day… artisan by night. And I just had the idea to build myself a shop in my backyard. Planning a 16 X 20 foot “shed” with a barn (gambrel) style roof for extra storage. Then I too make stuff for my friends and family. I usually just give this stuff away. I’m not talking about nickel and dime stuff… Some of the stuff has near $100.00 worth of wood in them. Finally… I also am a Texan… live in the home of the Dallas Cowboys, i.e. Arlington, TX.
Later friend… Enjoying your blog.
December 1st, 2006 at 11:39 pm
Don, Great to hear from a fellow hobby woodworker from Texas! I am glad to hear that your enjoying the blog. Let me know if there is something you would like me to blog about.
September 19th, 2007 at 8:18 am
Vibration–me too! I have an old Craftsman 10″ table saw. I’ve been working on my vibration problem for about a year. Initially, I replaced the arbor bearings — didn’t help; then installed a link-type anti-vibration belt — didn’t do much; a few days ago, I bought an expensive 50-tooth Freud saw blade; yesterday I added stiffners on each side of the blade. Still a lot of vibration. Sounds terrible.
I have the stand mounted atop a 3/4″e with wheels for moving it around.
Based on what I just read, the only thing left for me to do is to tighten up all the nuts/bolts and add ballast onto my plywood base to help dampen the vibration.
When I remove the belt and run the motor, there is not much vibration. I am ay a loss — don’t know what to do next … maybe buy a new table saw, but I do like this total cast iron machine — except for the stand.
Any more thoughts out there?
PS. The saw still makes acurate cuts. it’s justb that the vibration is annoying. If I leave a piece of wood on the table, it will soon “walk” off.
Gene, hobbyist, in Virginia
September 22nd, 2007 at 4:22 am
Glen, Since you have already tested just the motor and have replaced the arbor bearings that leaves the arbor itself. Try running the saw with out the blade, nut and washer. This test will eliminate the saw blade, although the Freud saw blades are really well balanced. If you are still getting a lot of vibration, then it has to be either the arbor or the bearings.
Good luck with tracking down the source of the vibration.