Vertical Bandsaw crash course

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So I got myself a vertical band saw but I can't seem to make good, clean, straight cuts. It would be awesome if I could get a vise that fits in the groove on the table and has angle markings like the black thing there. Here's something that I'm trying to cut. It's 3.5" diameter .065" wall 6061 tubing. I've tried all sorts of hand clamps but they always seem to slip/move and can't get a square cut. Any ideas or suggestions?
Reply:A quick way to stabilize the piece being cut is to add a wooden fence face to the miter gauge and then glue emery paper to the wood. the larger wooden surface makes it way easier to stabilize the piece and the emery paper helps get a grip onn the metal We do this all the time in woodworking and it helps a bunch. I have used it in our race car shops on metal cutting bandsaws as well.Tom Hintz, publisherwww.newmetalworker.comLincoln Pro Mig 180Lincoln AC 255Determination
Reply:For holding round material for cutting, you can take a couple pieces of angle iron and make a jig. Take the 1st piece and lay it so both legs are down and it sits like this ^. Then take the second piece and tack it so it lays like this <.If you want to get fancy, the slot in many tables is 3/4" or 3/8". Drill and counter sink a strip for a bolt and hand wheel and drill a hole in the angle iron assembly. Use your angle square to set the angle and make a few test cuts to make sure it's cutting the way you want and then mark both pieces with that angle for resetability..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:There are a couple of things you can do to make this cut easier.  I usually make a wooden block (sacrificial) and put a V in it that is perpendicular to the blade.  Place the tube in this V and position it so the block is put through the blade and supporting the tube on both sides (left and right) of the blade.   Round material tends to roll if it catches on the blade teeth.  This will ruin your cut and possibly the material if it's thin enough to crush.   If it's really thin, I will cut out a round piece of wood that is inserted in the tube to support it's structure.  I've done this to cut stove pipe on a bandsaw. Having your bandsaw tuned up is important to the cut.  Alignment of the bandsaw wheels so the blade tracks properly and proper blade tension is important to the cut. (six inches of blade between the guide blocks should be difficult to deflect by pressing with your thumb.) Properly set upper and lower guide bearings make a difference.  A sharp blade is also important.  Finally, if you are forcing the material through the blade, the blade will wander and your cut will be off it's line.  Slowing down and letting the blade do the work usually makes a big difference.I found a picture of the V block.  You would be using it perpendicular to the blade for a cross cut on the pipe.. Attached ImagesLast edited by villageboatshop; 02-24-2012 at 08:44 AM.Reason: added a picture
Reply:One thing I found even with horizontal band saws is the blade may have lose it set. meaning the teeth are not equal this causes the blade to wonder off to one side.get a new blade.  Use a dry lub too like a wax based lub to keep the aluminum from gumming up the teeth.have funTom
Reply:One thing that will help is to lubricate your blade with wax if you are cutting aluminum. Also a blade with a wider rake in the teeth will help keep metal from bunching up in between the teeth, which causes them to move off center and not cut well or straight. The wax we use is just a canning paraffin from the grocery store, it works great and costs less than cutting wax. Aluminum is a bit different and other metals and must be approached in the right manner or it is hard to get good results.
Reply:having the wrong tension on the blade will cause all kinds of hell if your trying to cut straight. You would be amazed how much tension you need on some of these blades for them to work as designed. I work with a guy who does wood work on the side and his bandsaw blade required 20,000lbs of tension to run properly, he built a stretch gauge and does a little math to figure out when its tight enough
Reply:I've adjusted the blade per the manual but from what people are saying it may still be very loose. It's a Starrett Intenss PRO-DIE blade I got from McMaster. While its a lot better than what the saw had before, it seems the only way it will cut is at max speed and firm pressure. At slower "proper" speeds and light pressure all it does is scratch the surface. That's on mild and aluminum, I haven't tried it on stainless but I imagine it isn't any better. Either it's a crap blade or I did something wrong and crapped up the blade.Any recommendations for a good replacement? I mostly cut 16 gauge tubing in stainless, aluminium, and mild. Occasionally I'll need to cut some schedule 10 stainless pipe where the wall thickness is around 1/8" max. Either way, I'll try adjusting the blade some more, try some cutting wax, and some ideas for clamps/fixtures.
Reply:Are you using a metal cutting bandsaw (slow speed) or wood cutting (fast speed)? It is possible to put a bandsaw blade on backwards.  They come coiled up and when you uncoil them they can be inside out. If that's the case, and you put it on the saw, the teeth will all be pointing up.  You would be able to scratch stuff and that's about it.  I've had blades set on the wheels and then noticed this.  It's pretty easy to see with a 4-6 tpi wood blade, but I could see how you could miss it with 18 tpi metal blade.  It might be worth checking.
Reply:Is that the Jet 414500K ?Hypertherm Powermax45Miller auto 140 migMiller Econotig Watercooledwith wp24w TorchLincoln Power255XTNew(Lincoln V205 ac/dc)Miller Elite Helmet
Reply:rmz632, you are correct. I had to look it up since I know it as J-8201K.villageboatshop, I wish it were just a backwards blade but it's on there correctly. It's for both wood and metal. I can set blade speed from 39-3,300 SFM. Going by what the chart in the manual says, aluminium should be cut at 3,000 SFM and that's what I have the speed set to.
Reply:If your saw came with a wood blade, put that on there and try a test cut.  You may need a wooden plug in the tube with that aggressive of a blade.  I cut some 1/4 aluminum the other day on my old wood cutting bandsaw with a blade getting toward the end of it's woodworking life and it cuts right through aluminum. I get my blades from Grizzly.  They are a good source for the 113" size I need for my old 16" saw.  They are about $15 a piece. As far as the Starrett blade, I can't imagine it wouldn't cut well.  The only thing I can think of from your picture is that the guide blocks look like they are completely covering the blade.  If the teeth are running through the guide blocks you may dull the blade and mess up the set.  The blocks should guide the smooth part of the blade and then the bearing should be set to keep the teeth from being pushed back into the blocks.   Good luck.
Reply:Tried the wood cutting blade the saw came with and got some good results. I didn't have anything to use as a plug so I just cut the tubing as is. It cut through fairly easily, not having to press the material against the blade allowed it to cut a lot straighter. I tweaked the guide blocks and can get a fairly consistent cut but it still not square. After flipping through the manual it says I can use up to a 3/4" wide blade. I only use the band saw for making straight cuts and since it seems like my metal cutting blade is dull, I'm gonna give it a shot.