Bandsaw blade snapped mid-shift on a pork belly, watch your tension gauge

Was breaking down a 40 pound belly around 2pm yesterday and the 1 inch blade let go on the downstroke, threw a chunk of guide block across the cutting room. Took me 45 minutes to swap in a spare and recalibrate because the tracking wheel had shifted from the jolt. Anyone else had tension gauges lie to them after a full day of bone-in work, or should I just replace the tension spring outright?

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1 Comment

graceblack12d ago

Check the drive belt too, not just the spring... a stretched belt can make the gauge read fine while the blade slips under load. I had that happen after a long day and swapped everything but the belt, wasted a whole shift. If the tension gauge still wobbles after a fresh belt, then yeah, replace the spring.