Lonnie-S wrote:
. . . <snip> . . .
I tried all the cutting methods; abrasive cut off saw; hand-held bandsaw; hand held hack saw; etc., etc. In the end, I bought a nice, used Grizzly metal-cutting bandsaw and a HF horizontal bandsaw and they work very well. . . .<snip>
I'm glad to see Kurt chimed in since he is the "Worlds Leading Expert" on the Midlana.
I'm also glad to hear that he agrees with the Grizzly bandsaw. Buying mine took my cuts and fitting to a new level and that made me very happy. I should have added to the text of my first post that I bought the HF horizontal saw (item #93762) first, thinking it would do for cutting angles too since it has an angle-adjustable vise built in. DUMB!
It was not practical enough, or accurate enough, in that mode, especially for compound angle cuts. However, it fits a purpose, which is cutting manageable chunks from the steel as delivered into something you can use with the Grizzly bandsaw. Steel tube and RHS comes in 20' foot lengths in the USA. Most suppliers will cut it into 2, 10' lengths for you for a small charge so you can manage and store it in a home garage/shop.
But 10' is not suitable for final cutting in a bandsaw. It's way too big, so you'll need to cut out a chunk large enough to get the final piece you need, with all it's angled cuts taken out on the vertical bandsaw. In truth, you could cut your "chunks" with a hand hacksaw. However, you'll have square butt joints in places and the HF horizontal does that very well indeed.
Cheers,