I own 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 lightweight and more portable. However, due to its design, the saw is more susceptible to vibration when cutting material.

In general, what I want to achieve is to ‘bolt’ the table saw and frame to the shop floor. Heavy-duty commercial cabinet saws are built with a lot of mass. The top is usually constructed of cast iron and the base is made of heavy-gauge steel. This effectively anchors the saw to the floor and any vibration from the motor, spindle assembly or saw blade does not allow the table saw to vibrate much. Of course, the trunnion and arbor assemblies of more expensive cabinet and contractor saws are better balanced.

Vibration is caused by imbalance in the motor, arbor assembly, and saw blade. Even if one of them is slightly out of balance, it will produce a certain amount of vibration. In my opinion, the biggest contributor to blade chatter is the saw blade. For my main table saw blade, I have switched from a non-brand carbide blade to a Freud 10″ 50 tooth blade.

Ok, back to the vibration of the table saw base. There are a couple of solutions to minimize the vibration of the saw. A quick fix is ​​to load the frame with some sort of ballast. For the Ryobi BT-3000, reinforce the base with two pieces of 3/4″ plywood. Then stack on top of the plywood ballast, such as pavers, concrete blocks, or sandbags. Pavers are good because they allow you to control how much weight you want to stack on the base. The downside is that there can be a lot of pavers to load and unload. Especially if your tent 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 may need 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 means less 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 bought my Ryobi BT-3000 table saw, it came with the extension rails and the table. Unfortunately, when the extension rails are bolted to the table saw, the saw is much less portable. The base I plan to build will have retractable casters and be wide enough to hold the table saw and extension rails permanently mounted to the base. The bottom of the saw and the bottom of the extension rail will be built with storage cabinets. If you needed to, you could put extra ballast on the base.

Quick Tip: Make sure all frame fasteners are tight. If any of them are loose, the more vibration you will get. Use lock washers or lock nuts. I like the nylon locknuts. If you don’t plan on taking the frame apart, consider using locktite or some other thread-locking adhesive.