So frustrated with my new HF 4x6 band saw

[GunsOfNavarone]

I just bought the same saw a couple weeks ago. I had a new blade for it before I did anything else. Starrett Bimetal. Anyway, putting a magnet on the blade with a scale (ruler) to make sure it was perpendicular helped a lot. The bearings it rolls on are a bit tricky, I found I wanted to have them tight so I could get the blade angled correctly. This is bad, you should be able to stop them turning when it's running by stopping it with you finger. Careful, that's dangerous.
Have your belt on the loose side while trying it get it perpendicular, otherwise you're fighting its tension while trying to get the blade adjusted with the guides. There are a lot of great videos on Youtube on this machine and getting it cutting square. I'm very impressed on how it works now, but there was a lot of setup prior to actually using it.

 

[homebrewed]

I just bought the same saw a couple weeks ago. I had a new blade for it before I did anything else. Starrett Bimetal. Anyway, putting a magnet on the blade with a scale (ruler) to make sure it was perpendicular helped a lot. The bearings it rolls on are a bit tricky, I found I wanted to have them tight so I could get the blade angled correctly. This is bad, you should be able to stop them turning when it's running by stopping it with you finger. Careful, that's dangerous.
Have your belt on the loose side while trying it get it perpendicular, otherwise you're fighting its tension while trying to get the blade adjusted with the guides. There are a lot of great videos on Youtube on this machine and getting it cutting square. I'm very impressed on how it works now, but there was a lot of setup prior to actually using it.

The recommended adjustment for the side bearings leaves a small gap on one side (the side _not_ responsible for correcting the twist). This to avoid premature bearing failure when bits of swarf get between the blade and bearing. This apparently can lead to early bearing failure due to the large transient forces that occur in this situation.

I have heard of a modification to the guide assembly that offsets the two bearings so both can be in contact with the blade without damaging them, but I haven't seen any specifics on exactly how it's done. Basically the blade describes a small "S" trajectory around the bearings, and debris just pushes the blade a little ways away from the bearing without overloading the opposite one. This may be how "real" bandsaws do it. I'd think a bandsaw thus modified would cut a little straighter as well.

Another possible solution would be to add a reliable brush setup to knock swarf off before it gets into the guides. Note the "reliable" part . There IS online info on this kind of mod.