Connecting Aluminum Angle using Screws

I'm not an authority, but start with this:

1. Keep the bit inline with the screw's direction of penetration. Most times I see newbies struggle with that. If the drill/chuck is cocked in relation to the axis of the screw, it creates all kinds of trouble.

2. Firmly push inward, not letting the bit slip back out of the screwhead.

3. Bits are consumable. They don't last forever. Are you trying to use a bit that's too worn? Once a bit has slipped badly even a few times, it's probably toast.

4. Slower, steady power is your general best bet, the only exception being when you need a BURST of torque, whereby you time your pushing/pressure effort with a burst of speed on the drill. But that's seldom needed, and you'd still use the low range.

Cheaper bandsaws tend to drift in the cut more, but any bandsaw can suffer from it. You can watch the line it is cutting along, and adjust to it, or you can try to resolve the problem. There are a few issues.

If you need to push the material through the cut too hard, then it tends to twist the blade. This will cause the cut to go at a angle. Why might you be pushing?

• A dull blade
• Thicker material than normal to cut
• Impatience

Another factor is the blade tension. A bandsaw has a spring that you tighten to keep the blade under tension. Your saw will probably have instructions for how tight to make the blade. This spring can loose its ability to properly tension the blade after some time, allowing the blade to twist in the cut. Replacing the spring can thus help you to bring your saw back to optimum cutting performance. A sign that it is time to do this is if your saw tends to drift when it did not do so in the past on a similar cut, with a good blade installed.

Next, check the blade guides. If your blade guides are damaged, then they may be allowing the blade to drift off line. Most saws have a set of lower and upper guides. Some are small rolling bearings (on more expensive saws) but on a tabletop saw these are probably metal, held in place with a set screw.

The blade can actually wear the guides away from friction. The metal guides can often be reversed before they need to be replaced, but they are inexpensive to replace. You can usually find a non-metallic (slippery) replacement for those guides, which runs a bit cooler. This is good because less heat means your blade will run more cooly, so live longer before it dulls.

Finally, check the tires. Your saw has rubber (or plastic/polyurethane) tires that the blade runs on. There will be either two or three such tires. After a few years time, these tires dry out. The saw will then start to behave poorly. Those tires can be pulled from the wheels and replaced.