I would definitely go with a band saw over a chop saw. We have a 13"
Jet horizontal band saw and I haven't yet experienced a (severe) non-
straight cut yet (that wasn't caused by an employee). We have tried
Starrett blades and a Lenox blades. They perform virtually the same,
price was nearly the same (the Lenox blade was a $1 higher), but I
would go with the Lenox blade over the Starrett because of their
warranty. I have had blades break (mainly due to employees fault) and
they will repair them (we are talking about $150+ blades), Once you
get the hang of it, you might want to go from bi-metal to carbide.
It's like the infomercial phrase "you set it and forget it". But
that's another topic.

Some of the vendors we get stuff from if you have questions:

Jet Bandsaw Machine -- www.jettools.com

Lenox Blades -- You have to go through a vendor. In the last four
months we have used two. www.spectrumsupply.com /
www,bandsawbladedirect.com. We used to buy only from
bandsawbladedirect.com, but their prices are getting high. We have
recently begun buying from spectrum since they clearly state their
warranty (that why I like Lenox over Starrett now) and from what I
found out is that they actually are a welding center for lenox (i.e.
other bandsaw shops send orders to them to produce). Plus after one
order you can ask for credit terms.

Starrett Blades -- www.ohvanhorn.com. They are pretty good. The seem
to take their time though.

-Mike