Need to cut 2 angles.

[Round in circles]

To me it seems that if you make the two holes big enough and the centre of them to the waste side of the line so that the diameter just kisses the wanted line you could use a single cut on the band saw. Do make the cut at least 1/16 th on the waste side of the block so you have " meat " left to machine up after cutting .

As you say you are a beginner in then black arts of metal working here's something that may be of use to you .

I've recently cut 8 billets off a 2 & 1/2 x 2 & 1/2 square aluminium bar from a 43 inch long stock bar , then cut them along their length after turning large holes in each billet using my lathe & then through drilling three 6 mm counter bored holes on the drill press.

The band saw I have is very similar to yours wood & soft metals .It will do steel bar dry if treated gently.

Use the lower speed arrangement ( smallest pulley on the motor and biggest on the drive wheel. Mine gave me 438 feet per minute ( FPM ) cutting speed against nearly 800 FPM on the other pulleys .

The blade I used is a 1/2" wide BI Metallic Raker ( soft metal hacksaw ) with 9 teeth per inch , it leaves a coarse finish across the cut material , the teeth are set wider than most other blades ) ideally 3 teeth per inch thickness in contact with the metal when cutting is good. The wider tooth set clears out the swarf , so long as you take it nice and easy. Do wear ear & eye protectors as bits do come out and it is noisy when cutting. There was no need to use any lube and in any case I didn't want the resulting mess around from using it .

It was heart in my mouth when I made the first cut as I had to make & use a temporary side table extension to the saw bed when I cut the first few billets off the length .
I've set up a 20 watt LED flood light above the saw so I could see the scribed lines & blade easily ,there's now't worse than losing the line whilst you're free hand cutting something that's cost you an arm and a leg to buy .

A nice even gentle push is needed to feed the ally into the blade , don't just shove it in to the blade incase it grabs into the soft metal . Once it's cutting , the noise and vibrations you hear & feel should be soft and consistent, take it steady and you'll soon get the hang of it and have your cuts .
You can then mill up the rough faces on the aluminium on your mill .


Ha ha, whilst I was typing and posting I notice you slipped your post mid way .

Before I completed my 15 yr. contract ( donkey's years ago ) I used to have a responsibility in looking after the health and safety of 90 mechanics, electricians ,machinists & electronic engineers in a military armoured & fighting vehicle workshop

One thing I noticed that is dangerous to you is that you tried to use the fence ( guide ) when making your first cut and then found you couldn't make the angled turn cut.
So you stopped the machine and tried to take the material off the blade. Then moved the fence back and I suspect started the machine up with the blade in the metal . That's not good practice the blade can grab into the metal and break if the weld join is in the vicinity of the grab point ..
You can actually gently slide the metal back from the saw cut whilst the blade is moving if you are careful and don't try and pull the blade away from the guides.
Sometimes cutting free hand is much safer than using the guide fences especially when you have several angles to negotiate..

Secondly and really the most important for your safety and to be able to die with everything you were born with including fingers & eyes ( the aim of every good engineer ) .

:talktogod: Never have the fence or anything else on the saw table unless you are using it & holding the work with both hands whilst the machine is running.

For you had to look to the left to see what was stopping you turning the material & then take one hand off the material whilst the saw was running to try & move the fence .

That can be very , very dangerous no matter how skilled you think you are and that applies to everyone who uses powered saws or cutters .

Ps . g
I'm glad you found that the machine runs better when you plugged it in.

 

[defcon]

Im having drift issues with the band saw. Im getting crooked cuts

 

[Round in circles]

You need to check out the way you set & adjust the band saw tension and the blade guides above & below the table top , also it could be that unless the blade was a new one that there has been some loss of tooth set on one side of the blade.
Also check that the table is at 90 degrees to the blade with a square or machined block .

Check that the table is flat , using a feeler blade or something about 1.5 thousandth of an inch thick in three places east to west axis x3 , north to south axis x3 and then on both diagonals with a good true straight edge that's longer then the bit your checking for there is a tendency for the RH Front edge to be slightly dropped on the cast aluminium alloy beds .

If it is bent sometimes you can use a 3 x 3 baton of timber to support a slightly raised edge and then give a quick press down on the saw body to ease it back true but don't go hammering or jumping on it .


there should alsoi be a table setting screw ( some times two ) that you adjust to lock the angle after you set it. Some times these have been incorrectly set after the table had been tightened on the hand wheel adjusters and this induces a cup into the bed from the back LH corner /side .

Always set the angle adjuster &7 angle before tightening the hand wheels that lock the platform , never the other way round as the table will be under tension if it' s raised or liable to flex down if its set too short .

On the right hand side to the blade there is the slot that you use to feed in a new blade .. On the table edge where this slot is there should be a round hole that runs in the table towards the saw blade , in it there should be a round tapered plug about 1& 1/2 inches long by 5 /16 dia ( usually looks like a tapered thread less bolt) . This plug is very important for it holds either side of the split table in the same plane check for distortion .here , to cure any remove r the plug clamp table top split area edge to a strong flat bar & reinsert the plug giving it a very gentle tap to set it in place . Remove the clamps & bar & check again for true . Slight adjustments with a big block of wood or a heavy rubber hammer are sometimes needed .

I dare say there are some reasonable You tube vids on setting & checking the guide and blade tension..
Do look at four or five different ones to get a reasonable overview of it all , for sometimes some the people who put such clips on the www. up are a danger to the human race with what they are broadcasting .

 

[defcon]

Can I use a scroll saw or a portable jig saw to cut out these large holes on a 1 inch thick aluminum stock?

 

[defcon]

Some more progress.

It's getting thin.