Bandsaw, Dust Collector and stuff #3: Bandsaw Blade size issue?

Today I tried to put on the Timberwolf 1/2” 3 TPI blade, it is supposed to be 111”. First go around I couldn’t get the blade on, it seemed to be to short. Went back and ensured I had the blade tensioner in the released position-check. Verified that I had all the tension removed from the tension adjusting knob-check, guides were set back-check. WTF!, this blade was not going on, the OEM blade went on and off with no issues and plenty of room. My wife and I measured the blades, the OEM blade was 111.5 ” and the Timberwolf was exactly 111”. Unfortunately that left no room to slide the blade over the wheels and allow for tensioning.

Keep in mind that this is my first bandsaw, so I reviewed several technical documents to ensure I wasn’t missing something or doing a newbie mistake. Nope, I have everything correct. Damn, what’s a sailor to do?
I know, I’ll just force it on while the spinning the wheel, yeah, that’s the ticket! Okay it’s on without snapping off, but I cannot use the blade tensioner handle, there just isn’t room for an adjustment. I was able to tension the blade using the tension knob ontop of the Bandaw. I readjust all the guides and make a test cut in the same piece that I had cut yesterday using the OEM blade, here is the result:

What a big difference, you can definitely tell which blade cut which board. Then I decided I would try some hard wood next and pushed thru a piece of Bubinga. The picture shows a slice just a hair over 3/32”, not to bad in my book:

I sanded down the right side of the Bubinga with 150 grit, then 220 grit to see how long it would take to get from resawing to finish ready. Only took about 45-60 seconds with each grit to make it smooth again.

I think I am going to like my new toy ;o)

-- "You get what you inspect, not what you expect"