My Jet band saw has a toothed plastic knob on top that must be turned, and turned, and turned to apply or release tension on the blade. It's a pain, no doubt about it. At 80, I'm not getting any younger.

So I backed out the threaded shaft on which the knob is mounted, traced the outline of the knob on a piece of one-inch MDF, measuring about four inches wide and about 10 inches long. Then I cut out the knob hole on my jig saw, drilled a half-inch hole through the MDF's other end, and glued a three-inch peg into that hole. I returned the threaded rod into its proper place and slipped this MDF jig over the knob. Result: I can tension or de-tension the blade in about 1/10th the effort and time. This simple jig should work on any band saw with the same mechanism.