New Saw- How to cut angle

[havnfun]

Just acquired a 4 x 6 Harbor Freight type bandsaw. I have cut square steel tubing and have produced some nice square cuts. I now have to cut some angle. With the price of steel I do not want to waste any material. How should I orient the angle in the saw vice to obtain square cuts? Or does it matter? Thanks.

 

[joebiplane]

Just acquired a 4 x 6 Harbor Freight type bandsaw. I have cut square steel tubing and have produced some nice square cuts. I now have to cut some angle. With the price of steel I do not want to waste any material. How should I orient the angle in the saw vice to obtain square cuts? Or does it matter? Thanks.

My guess would be to block up the piece in the vise at the angle you want and let her rip..
As perhaps a beter choice, I would suggest that you lift the saw to verticle position and mark your material and hand feed it through the blade .. I have a 30 year old HF saw and the blade tends to slant away if you attempt the first method I suggested.
There is an article on a fellow who made a table plate to use the saw in verticle... you will have to search for it but shouldn't be hard to find.
good luck with the saw....It sure does go a long way towards taking a hard day off a man's back...Doesn't it !

 

[Hawkeye]

I recently welded up some shelves for my new work van. I clamped six pieces in the vise as Ed shows. Saved a lot of setup time and made all the pieces the same length. That only works for square cuts, of course.

 

[havnfun]

Thanks for all the responses. I will try to cut the angle with the v up. Looks like it will be easier to clamp in vise. Yes I do need to make a table for vertical cutting. Saw didn't come with one.

 

[Hawkeye]

For cutting angle on an angle (confused yet?), I set the angle of the vise, then use a piece of 2x2 or square tubing as a filler to clamp the stock in the vise. Keeps the angle iron flat on the bed of the saw.

I don't have the ability to use mine as a vertical saw - its too big. The blade is 1" wide, so it cuts pretty straight. Setting the vise angle takes a bit of time, but for multiple cuts, ends up saving time. For one-off cuts, the 4" portable is the best bet.

 

[havnfun]

Sorry for the confusion. I want to cut angle square(perpendicular to the length of the steel angle). I tried orienting a piece of angle with the v up and the outcome was a nice square cut. Also cut three other pieces of angle with same result. Great for my cheapy saw. Thanks.

 

[gaston]

like the others have said cut with the botton of v pointed up
a google search on 4x6 saw mods will bring up a bunch of things people have done to "dial in" these saws
I've had mine (a Union) 25 yrs and its still going strong