# Ryobi BTS12S table saw



## daviddoria (Dec 18, 2007)

I got one of these http://www.ryobitools.com/catalog/power_tools/table_saws/BTS12S# (because it was the cheapest and smallest). I'm pretty new to table saws, and I have a few basic questions:

1) The Miter gauge seems "loose", that is it wiggles maybe an 1/8 inch in the slot that you push it in. This results in a few nice big blade shaped marks in the piece. Is this just a result of it being such a cheap saw? Or is there a way to fix it (build your own Miter gauge?). Does anyone else have this problem with other saws?

2) When ripping 1/4 pieces, should I do it with the blade on the side of the stock near the cut or away from the cut. If the blade is away from the cut, I have to move the fence 1/4 inch after each cut. If the blade is near the cut, I can make many cuts without moving the fence, but the small piece that is cut off sometimes gets wedges between the anti-kickback pawls and the fence. I overcame this (maybe not to wisely?) by raising the pawls for these cuts - is this a bad idea? Any comments on these choices?

Thanks!

Dave


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

First, the miter gage should have an adjustment mechanism that allows you to snug up the gage in the miter slot.

To rip 1/4" strips there are two safe methods. First you build a push stick that rides on the rip fence and clears the table by 1/32". Use this narrow push stick to feed the stock through the cut.

The second safe method is to position a measurement block to the left side of the blade and 1/4" away. (BUT NOT NEXT TO THE BLADE.) The stock must be ripped so that both edges are parallel for this to work. Put your stock next to the block. Position the rip fence next to the stock. Complete the cut as a normal rip cut using push sticks as necessary. The 1/4" piece is the off fall from the cut. 
* C * A * U * T * I * O * N *
The measurement block should NOT be in an area where the off fall could be pinched next to the blade.

If you are trying to edge plywood, there is an even safer method to accomplish this task. First cut the plywood to a bit over approximate size. Glue a few inch wide piece of edging to the plywood. (Or glue two pieces of plywood to the edging, one on each edge of the edging material.) After the glue drys, rip the edging down to the desired thickness (1/4"). Then cut the plywood to final size.


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## daviddoria (Dec 18, 2007)

Rich,

Thanks for the reply! I'll have to check on the miter gauge to see if there is an adjustment. I also read that you typically want to screw a longer push block onto the gauge, but I didn't see holes for that - There were some slots but I didn't know how I was supposed to get screws in there... I'll take a picture and upload it tonight.

As for the measurement block method - is that the same as using a featherboard? If that's the case, I don't think that will prevent the cut off piece from getting wedged between the anti-kickback pawl and the fence? I can take a picture of this too so you can see what I mean.

Dave


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

Rich pretty much answered your questions. I did want to add, and I am trying to speak carefully here as to not unfairly slam your saw, but it IS a very inexpensive bench top table saw. The miter gauge on this saw if I recall correctly has no adjustment to it. It is simply a bar, a pointer, a knob to lock it down, and the miter gauge head. No holes for extended fences either...

You might want to take a caliper to the slot and measure to make sure it is a standard size (3/4" wide x 3/8" deep) and that it is consistent in width. There are a LOT of upgrade miter gauges on the market out there. Of course with as inexpensive as that saw was, you could very easily triple the cost of the saw by adding a good miter gauge... It will run you about $50.00, but look into an Incra V27. That is a fairly decent gauge that shouldn't hurt the wallet any more than say a sheet of good oak veneer plywood...


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## daviddoria (Dec 18, 2007)

Haha dbhost, no offence taken. My first sentence was hinting at "I know I know it's a cheap saw, but I can still probably get it to work a little bit better than this!". That's a good plan - I'll pick up a new miter gauge and call it done.


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

Just make sure the slot is the right size and even first... A new gauge won't do you a lick of good if you have a bad slot...

In all fairness, I own and am very happy with a Ryobi table saw. However it is the now discontinued BT3100. My miter slots are right on, however I use the sliding miter table WAY more than the slot base miter gauge since my miter gauge is the POS that came with my Central Machinery band saw...

FWIW, an Incra V27 is an upgrade I am planning...


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## adpanko (Jun 25, 2009)

The other posters seemed to address your issues quite thoroughly already. But I just wanted to chime in myself and also say NEVER do a thin rip where the thin part is to the right of the blade (sandwiched between the blade and the fence). Doing so with almost certainly launch the cut piece directly back and if you're standing there, it can easily impale your body. Always thin rip so the thin part is to the left of the blade. And you're right, you'll likely have to take off the pawl on that side of the way, and a zero clearance insert would be helpful too if the piece your cutting is thinner than opening in your standard insert plate.


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## garryswf (Aug 17, 2009)

*small table saw*

I have a TS just like that one, i am looking fora better saw. The reason is because-you can't put a dado head on it because the spindle is to short, the direct drive motor has horrible vibration,and on and on and on. look at Dewalts small saws. they have a couple of small direct drive TS that work OK. Just my opinion.


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