Blade Tension | Powermatic PM1500 manual

4.Adjust upper and lower blade guides away from blade (see sections 8.13 and 8.15).

Figure 18

5.Move quick tension lever to “Full Release (Blade Change)” position.

6.Open upper and lower doors by rotating door catches.

7.Carefully remove blade from top wheel, then from between upper and lower blade guides and lower wheel. Slide blade out through slot in table.

8.Guide new blade through table slot. Place blade loosely in upper and lower blade guides. Make sure blade teeth point down toward table, and toward front of saw. (If the teeth will not point down, no matter how you orient blade, then blade is twisted inside-out. Twist it into correct position and re-install it.)

9.Position blade at center of upper and lower wheels.

10.Reinstall table insert (F) and table pin (G).

11.Before operating band saw, the new blade must be tensioned and tracked, in that order. Find instructions for tensioning and tracking the blade in sections 8.11 and 8.12. The blade guides must also be set properly according to instructions in sections 8.13 through 8.16.

8.11Blade Tension

Refer to Figure 19.

1.Disconnect machine from power source.

2.Back off upper and lower guide bearings to eliminate any contact with blade.

3.With blade centered on wheels, move quick tension lever to “Full Tension” position, as shown in Figure 19. NOTE: You should feel tension lever settle into each of its three positions.

Figure 19

4.Open upper door.

5.Rotate tension handwheel (A, Figure 20) until scale pointer (B) indicates width of installed blade.

TIP: Use the band saw’s gauge setting initially. As you become familiar with the machine and with different properties of band saw blades, you may find it necessary to change blade tension from initial setting. Keep in mind that not only changes in blade width, but also type of material being cut will have an effect on blade tension. Too little or too much blade tension can cause blade breakage and/or poor cutting performance.

Figure 20

6.Make a note of the specific tension setting for a particular blade. Tension can then be re-set quickly when that blade is reinstalled.

IMPORTANT: When band saw is not being used, move quick tension lever to “Partial Tension-Idle/Tracking” position. This will prolong the life of blade and tires, and reduce load on wheels, bearings and other components.