4x6 Band saw feedrate

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Hey yall...Well, I bought myself a new HF 4x6 band saw yesterday (happy early birthday to myself  ) And I got it home, and set up, and cutting pretty dang square.It is however SLOW as crap. I clocked it at 19 mins the first time I cut this piece of tubing with it, so I loosened the feed rate adjustment by a lot and then it made the same cut in 9 mins. Haha. Getting there.But, I dont really have any prior band saw experience, and so Im hoping that maybe theres some rule of thumb to follow, to know when youre cutting too fast or too slow. The manual basically says that if you cut too fast, you'll eat blades, and if you cut too slow, you'll eat blades. Not too helpful.That little voice in the back of my head says that maybe I should just unhook the spring-tension feed system on the saw and let gravity do its thing, atleast on thin stock. I also have to get a good blade for this, Im running the stock one currently, but I picked up a 24 TPI bosch at lowes too... Whats a good blade for these things? Thanks everyone [Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:I do not have ther info you need, but there is a 4x6 bandsaw group on yahoo with any and everything you would need to know on that band saw. When you sing up for the group it could take a few days or may be a week for a reply but they will get you in.
Reply:I just let gravity work with no spring tension on the thinner walled tubing.  On heavier stuff like what you're cutting, I will even put down pressure to get through the top and bottom of the cut, but let it go back to gravity while it's in the middle of the cut.  I just use HF blades, the ones with a "wave" pattern on the teeth cut straight, while I have found the "flat" blades tend to walk out of square.
Reply:Hey Lanse,I went from around 9 minutes cutting extruded aluminum (the 1"x3" 8020 stuff) with the stock blade to around 3 minutes with the USA made BiMetal blade that HF sells for around $17. I'm not sure its listed on the website, but it comes in a yellow package.-ScottESAB Heliarc 252
Reply:For 90 degree cuts, you can move your rear bearing guide up closer to the rear jaw of the vise.  You will have better blade support.
Reply:Do you have it set on the medium or low or fast set of pulleys ?
Reply:Well Blue, I played around with it today. I got a scrap chunk of angle, probably 3/8" thick and put it in the vise, and un-hooked the spring tensioner. I found that without that thing hooked up, the blade goes WAYYYY off, like atleast 1/4" out of square. Not good...I tried cutting without the tensioner at all 3 speeds, and they all went wayyy off. So, I hooked it back up.I then found that you can move the top blade guide in closer to the vise by like 4 inches, so I did that. And I swear, it cuts faster now. I dont know how that would make a difference.Oh well... I really like the saw. I used it to cut another chunk of angle, and was way off. I guess that I bumped the vise and it was off, not really the saws fault (I moved the saw around). But lesson learned, always check that vise. There are some degree measurements on the back of the saw, but I dont trust them. Ill stick to my speed square.No big loss tho, just a 3.5" piece of angle from my salvage pile...Plus, I also quieted down the saw. When I first got it out of its box, the blade guard rattled like no other, so I cut out a pair of little pieces of cardboard and put them between the guard and the main casting, problem solved. After a few cuts, that area wasn't even warm to the touch, so I guess its all good.Well, thanks guys. More pictures, and a video, to come [Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:Machines, Tools, and Cutting Methods...... harbor freight IS exciting!!