Rule of thumb for pitch is to always have three teeth engaged in the part at all times. Ex: cutting 1/8” a 24 pitch would be best. If you are cutting 1/4 a 12 pitch would work well. There’s no problems using a fine blade on thicker material, it will just take longer to cut. If you use too course of a blade to cut thin material you may end up ripping out teeth if you overfeed the tooth.
As for cutting speed for steel, you will stay at low to medium speeds. For aluminum you can run it at top speed. Harder steels run very slow.
Blade thickness, .025-.035 should be fine For your needs.
For steel, I usually go with a Raker style tooth, but a wavy or hook would work. I would probably stay away from skip blades in your situation.
Blade width is all about how tight of a radius that you want to cut. If you are going to be doing mostly straight cuts go with the widest blade you can. If you’re going to be cutting a lot of tight curves you want a narrower blade. I generally run a 1/2 inch blade On our vertical bandsaws. Sort of a happy medium for my needs.
Another sidenote. Use a dab of cutting oil as you are cutting steel. It will make your blade last longer, and generally the material will cut a little easier.
It sounds like a nice saw. Remember, these are only general suggestions. There are always exceptions to the rule.
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