Changing a bandsaw blade.

Most bandsaws, from benchtop to floor-standing machines, change blades in the same order. What differs is how the tension is released, how the guides adjust and which settings the manufacturer gives. This page explains that order so your manual is easier to follow. Where your manual says something different, the manual is right.

Before you start.

• The right blade. The loop length for your exact machine and configuration, and a width and thickness within the range it is documented for. Look up your machine.
• Your machine’s manual. Our machine pages link the manufacturer’s copy where we have one.
• Gloves and eye protection. Blades are sharp, and a folded blade springs open when you uncoil it. Take the gloves off before you switch the saw on.

The usual sequence.

1. Make the machine safe. Switch it off and unplug it, or remove the battery. Wait until the wheels have stopped completely.
2. Open up. Open the wheel covers. Remove the table insert and, if your saw has one, the pin or bolt that closes the slot in the table, so the blade can pass out through the slot.
3. Back off the guides. Move the upper and lower blade guides and the thrust bearings away from the blade, so they do not catch the new one as you fit it.
4. Release the tension. Turn the tension handle or flip the quick-release lever until the blade is slack. Lift the blade off the wheels and guide it out through the guides and the table slot.
5. Fit the new blade the right way round. Where the blade passes through the table, the teeth must point down towards the table and face the front of the saw. If they point up, turn the blade inside out. Place it around both wheels and through the guides and the table slot.
6. Tension it. Bring the tension up to the setting your manual gives for this blade width. Many saws have a tension scale, but treat it as a guide and follow the manual’s method. Do not copy a setting from another machine.
7. Track it. Turn the upper wheel slowly by hand and adjust the tracking control until the blade runs where your manual says it should on the wheels and stays there. Many manuals then ask you to close the covers, run the saw briefly, switch off and check again.
8. Set the guides. Bring the guide blocks or bearings and the thrust bearings back to the clearances in your manual. The guides must never touch the teeth.
9. Close up and test. Refit the table insert and slot pin, close and secure the covers, reconnect the power and make a test cut in scrap wood or material.

Portable and metal-cutting bandsaws.

The order is similar, but the blade path, guide bearings and tension lever are specific to each design. Follow the blade path shown in the manual. Many machines also mark the blade’s direction of travel on the housing; the teeth must point the same way.

After the change.

Some manufacturers recommend releasing the blade tension when the saw stands unused for a while. Check whether yours does. Keep a note of the blade you fitted; a size card in “My Workshop” stores the length for next time.