Installing Blade; Tensioning Blade - Oliver 4650 Owner's Manual

Installing Blade

WARNING
Bandsaw blades are sharp so be very careful
while handling. Failure to comply may cause
serious injury!
1. Disconnect machine from power source.
2. Open upper and lower doors.
3. Remove fence and fence rail.
4. Remove table pin (A, Figure 5).
5. Put on leather gloves to protect your hands
from the sharp teeth of blade.
6. Slide blade through table slot, ensuring that
the teeth are pointing down toward the table.
7. Center the blade (B, Figure 5) on both the
upper and lower wheels. Carefully thread
the blade through the upper and lower blade
guides (C & D) as shown in Figure 5. Note:
It may help to move the upper wheel down.
This can be accomplished by rotating the
handwheel (E, Figure 5).

Tensioning Blade

Proper blade tension is essential to any cutting
operation on a bandsaw. Too little, or too much
blade tension can cause blade breakage and/or
poor cutting performance.
depending the blade being used and the type of
material being cut.
1. Disconnect machine from power source.
2. At this point the blade should be properly
positioned, but slack. Increase tension on
the blade by rotating tensioning handwheel
(E, Figure 5).
3. Move the upper guide assembly (C, Figure
5) and lower guide assembly (D, Figure 5) if
they interfere with
tensioning.
4. A reference gauge (Figure 6) indicates the
approximate tension setting for the width of
blade being used.
handwheel until the indicator falls on the
appropriate mark. Keep in mind that blades
will last longer if you release tension when
not in use. Also, new blades will often
stretch with use, and not all blades will be
exactly the same length.
5. When not using the saw, release the blade
tension to minimize over-stretching.
Tension will very
the blade during
Turn the tensioning
Figure 6
8
Figure 5