[mjderstine]

i too have cut many many things just with the hack saw. i built my SC truck completely with hand tools.

i found that when just holding onto the saw wearing a thick pair of work gloves on the saw hand works wonders for grip. and it also works better to flip the teeth and do the cutting on the pull stoke. since the blade is free it tends to bend a lot when pushing.

i also clamped angle stock to all my long cuts to keep straight lines.