Horizontal band saw blade

[smalltown]

Tying to use a used to me JET 5x6 band saw.
After replacing some incorrect sized nuts and bolts to get it back to where it should be I bought a new Starret (could not find a Lennox locally) blade.

Every thing is running as it should except the blade keeps popping of the wheels when I start to cut. All I am trying to cut is 1" EMT conduit. I adjusted the tracking so the blade is running just near the back edge of the wheels.

I am worried that if I tighten the tension too much I will break the new blade. After additional tightening I did get it to cut half way through the conduit, before the blade popped off again. Do I really need to crank on the tension adjuster ?

 

[smalltown]

Today I tried tightening the tension more than I thought the blade could handle. The blade now "twangs" when I flip my finger across it. I could not have imagined that it needed to be that tight.

The blade cut the conduit, but slowed and stopped at the very end of the cut.
On the second attempt it would cut all the way through if I held up the bow a little while it sawed.
Taking a look under the motor, I saw that the motor tensioner bracket was separated from the motor bracket. The two small welds had cleanly separated.
I guess that keeps the tension on the belt that must be slipping at the end of the cut.

Getting there.