Remove Old Blade

• 1). Turn off the band saw and unplug it from its power source. Wrap a length of electrician's tape around the prongs of the power cord to identify the plug and prevent it from accidentally being plugged back in.
  
  
• 2). Retract the blade guide blocks by loosening each with an allen wrench. There are two sets: a pair above the table and a pair below the table. Remove the table insert and the table alignment screw, which seals the slot at the front edge of the table.
  
  
• 3). Release the tension on the blade by releasing the tension lock knob and then turning the blade tension adjusting knob (on the top of the saw) counterclockwise. Remove the side cover and the upper blade guard.
  
  
• 4). Slip the blade off the wheels and carefully guide it out of the slot in the table.
  
  

Install New Blade

• 1). Guide the replacement blade through the slot and over the wheels. Be certain that the teeth point down, toward the table. Tighten blade tension by turning the tension adjusting knob clockwise until the blade deflects slightly when pressed firmly between the two wheels at the bottom of the saw.
  
  
• 2). Check blade tracking by rotating the wheels by hand. The blade should track centered on the rubber tires on the wheels. Adjust the tracking, if necessary, with slight turns of the tracking adjustment screw, which can be reached through an access hole beside the tension lock knob. Once you have adjusted the tracking, tighten the tension lock knob.
  
  
• 3). Reinstall the upper blade guard and side cover. Reset all four blade guides so that they almost touch the blade (use a dollar bill folded once to gauge the proper gap). Adjust the thrust bearing so that it sits approximately 1/32 inch behind the blade (fold a dollar bill twice for a thickness gauge). Reinstall the table alignment screw and table insert.
  
  
• 4). Square the table to the blade with a small carpenter's square. Plug the saw in and turn on the power. Check blade drift and confirm that the blade is square with a piece of scrap wood.