New HF bandsaw. Tips?

I order my blades from McMaster-Carr... they are Morse brand blades. I buy 14 tpi carbon steel blades... @ $14 each. They cut well.

-Bear
 
Starrett blades are half the price of amazon on there website just fyi.
 
I am going to use yhe blades i bought at hf for bow but i will get better ones as i go.
 
Lots of improvements you can make:
Reinforce the wobbly stand (I used bedframe pieces)
Add a tray to catch chips (I used a plastic shoe storage box)
Add a screw stud to back of vise jaws for holding small workpieces
Make a better table for vertical cutting
Build a hydraulic downfeed device
-Mark
I've done all except #3
 
I had a Bimba pneumatic cylinder so I used that, plus some pvc pieces and a couple valves from Ebay
Looks kludgy but works good. Pull the pin and it swings up for vertical cutting
-Mark
 

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Made my first cut tonight cuts pretty well will know on the next cut on tuesday how square it is. My problem i had was that it took 40 minutes to cut thru. The stock is 3/4 steel of some sort. Could be stainless not sure. It is magnetic. I tried turning up the feed rate but it didnt seem to help much with the system. Can someone explain how that system works? I feel like when i turn it it may go faster but then if i turn to far then the feed just bumps back down? I will be upgrading this system at some point but wont be for a little while. Also does anyone use and cutting fluids?
 
The spring is there to counteract the weight of the saw, so you adjust it so the saw doesn't put it's full weight on the blade/workpiece. You can try different settings but around 5 to 7 pounds downforce should cut pretty well with a good blade
The weakness of the spring device is that it's not linear
I use oil when cutting steel, messy but makes the blade last longer
The factory blade is pretty horrible I have heard, replace it asap
-M
 
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I will do that tmr then. i have a 24 18 and 10 blade. I will prob go with a 18. Once these blades get used up a bit im gonna get starrett ones.
 
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