I've tried to top feed my Hawk, I just can't seem to get the blade holder tight enough on the bottom. So I just bottom feed now. And I agree, blade tension is tough, I don't try using the lever thing at the back, I get up from the saw , walk around to the back with the new blade in, pluck the blade, if it doesn't sound right I release the tension, just spin the tension connector rod, reset the tension lever and pluck the blade. Repeat this until I have the blade tension right.