Metal cutting bandsaw problem

Anybody here have any experience with one of these critters? I bought a
Jet 1/2 HP last month for cutting aluminum. The saw looks to be of
exceptional quality for being Taiwanese and I'm overall pleased with how
it's made but assembling it was less than fun (getting the legs on was a
bitch...)

My aluminum supplier recommended a 4-6 variable pitch blade but the
closest blade I could was was a 6-8 pitch. Well it cuts like crazy now
rather than loading up but the problem I'm having is the shavings from
cutting get into the wheels of the saw and jam it up. So far I've been
able to blow the shavings away with a stream of air from an air nozzle.
Any one know of a better way to solve this problem or any other tips
for cutting aluminum with this saw?

Tony