Dry cut chop saw

tjkubota93 · Mar 3, 2016

Anybody heard of the Evolution Rage 2 saw?
I bought one online.
Reviews were good everywhere. There are a couple u-tube videos on similar products.
This one could be had cheaper than the equivalent at northern tools.
I was shopping for an abrasive chop saw after borrowing a friends for a couple projects. I like the low rpm and less sparks idea better. All the sparks from an abrasive chop saw had me wondering if i was going to catch my little garage on fire. They show the metal being cool to the touch after a cut.

Ed of all trades · Mar 3, 2016

I have used big ones in the shop of the company where I worked. They were great and a lot cooler than the abrasive saws but still hot to the touch after a cut. I don't know about the Rage saw but I think you will like that type of saw. Ed

Underdog57 · Mar 3, 2016

tjkubota93 said:
View attachment 459365

Anybody heard of the Evolution Rage 2 saw?
I bought one online.
Reviews were good everywhere. There are a couple u-tube videos on similar products.
This one could be had cheaper than the equivalent at northern tools.
I was shopping for an abrasive chop saw after borrowing a friends for a couple projects. I like the low rpm and less sparks idea better. All the sparks from an abrasive chop saw had me wondering if i was going to catch my little garage on fire. They show the metal being cool to the touch after a cut.

I have the Evolution Rage 2 also, bought it online. Haven't used it a whole lot but it worked very good, cut 1/2" plate easily just don't force it, let the blade do the work. The only thing I don't like about mine is the vertical handle (horizontal is much more comfortable). This saw is reasonably priced for a part time user like me.

tjkubota93 · Mar 3, 2016

Underdog57 said:
I have the Evolution Rage 2 also, bought it online. Haven't used it a whole lot but it worked very good, cut 1/2" plate easily just don't force it, let the blade do the work. The only thing I don't like about mine is the vertical handle (horizontal is much more comfortable). This saw is reasonably priced for a part time user like me.

Cool, thanks. I'm an occasional user as well.

tjkubota93 · Mar 3, 2016

tjkubota93 said:
Cool, thanks. I'm an occasional user as well.

An occasional user of metal fabrication tools! That was a little too open ended.

bigtiller · Mar 3, 2016

I bought one for my boy at Christmas a few years ago from Menards. They were on sale for $140, I should have bought myself one back then also. Now they cost a lot more. We tried it out before he went home with it and it worked great. The bad thing is the blades are expensive.

Oldpath05 · Mar 3, 2016

"Anybody heard of the Evolution Rage 2 saw? "............No, but I'll go look it up. I'm thinking of getting metal band cutting machine so I could cut harder steel. I have the standard Dewalt chop-saw, ok but that don't like hard steel either and has a lot of sparks.

bamboozled · Mar 3, 2016

I have a Makita dry cut saw, I love it, had it for probably 12 years. I've gone through two blades (I'm due for a new one) and cut a lot of steel with it. I've damaged both blades by not clamping material tight enough when cutting on an angle and the blade pulls the metal in and chips teeth.

While a dry cut saw doesn't spark like an abrasive blade mine still sparks a little bit and the filings or cuttings or whatever you want to call them come off red hot and are uncomfortable to the skin so you want to keep your arms covered. They also get EVERYWHERE so watch tracking them into your house on your shoes.

It's not a true coldsaw, but they get the job done a lot better than an abrasive saw.

Rustyiron · Mar 3, 2016

I'm sold on them. I got a "refrubished" DeWalt saw a good 15 years ago from Northern, at first I did not use it much because as much "schrapnel" it threw, I didn't think the blade would last long and at that time, they were close to $200. I was stingy to say the least with it's use. I just replaced the blade with an Evolution blade for well under $100, I think $70-$80 (cheap enough to not remember) and it's smooth as silk cuts are sweet. My old Makita (like 20 years) abrasive chop saw sits under the bench.
Like the guy's here said, clamp your "work" tight and let the blade do the work.

sd455dan · Mar 5, 2016

tjkubota93 said:
View attachment 459365

Anybody heard of the Evolution Rage 2 saw?
I bought one online.
Reviews were good everywhere. There are a couple u-tube videos on similar products.
This one could be had cheaper than the equivalent at northern tools.
I was shopping for an abrasive chop saw after borrowing a friends for a couple projects. I like the low rpm and less sparks idea better. All the sparks from an abrasive chop saw had me wondering if i was going to catch my little garage on fire. They show the metal being cool to the touch after a cut.

I have one and use it for wood mainly, have cut plastic aluminum and some sheet metal.
Afraid it will wipe the blade out to cut thicker steel, so have been using the HF 14 inch cut off saw or plasma for any thicker material.

It is real handy for fast cuts especially angles.

sd455dan · Mar 5, 2016

tjkubota93 said:
View attachment 459365

Anybody heard of the Evolution Rage 2 saw?
I bought one online.
Reviews were good everywhere. There are a couple u-tube videos on similar products.
This one could be had cheaper than the equivalent at northern tools.
I was shopping for an abrasive chop saw after borrowing a friends for a couple projects. I like the low rpm and less sparks idea better. All the sparks from an abrasive chop saw had me wondering if i was going to catch my little garage on fire. They show the metal being cool to the touch after a cut.

I have one (sliding miter- not chop saw version) and use it for wood mainly, have cut plastic aluminum and some sheet metal.
Afraid it will wipe the blade out to cut thicker steel, so have been using the HF 14 inch cut off saw or plasma for any thicker material.

It is real handy for fast cuts especially angles.

rgr33 · Mar 5, 2016

I have the Rage 3, sliding compound mitre. Cuts metal, plastic and wood. Really like it for metal and wood cutting, hardly ever use my Dewalt anymore, and it was a go to tool for many many years. I have had the Rage for just over 2 years, cutting mostly metal, and the blade is still in good shape. The sliding compound feature makes it a lot more versatile.

Oldpath05 · Mar 5, 2016

If I couldn't cut a bunch of 1/4" steel angel bar with the (Evolution Rage 2 saw) I'd go on a rage.

tjkubota93 · Mar 5, 2016

Oldpath05 said:
If I couldn't cut a bunch of 1/4" steel angel bar with the (Evolution Rage 2 saw) I'd go on a rage.

Nice!
I was somewhat turned off by the stupid name, but $100 cheaper than the Northern "ironton" and I'm sold. "Rage" sounds more like a female haircare product.
Also brings back bad memories of sanding bondo on cars for the 3 years I did body work.

tjkubota93 · Mar 6, 2016

JKR · Mar 6, 2016

I just order one. After using a Dewalt chop saw fiber blade that burn out after cutting 10 cut on 1" steel rod.

Jim Timber · Mar 6, 2016

I've had a Dewalt for 7-8 years and it's a good saw, but the blades are expensive. I just got an evolution blade for it and that works like a new one should (the old blade can probably be sharpened, but is missing a few teeth from cutting too hard of metal. I don't know if the saw shops around here will touch it without fixing what's missing and I'm not sure what that'd cost. New blade was $65 with damaged package from Amazon's warehouse deals.

They're faster than a bandsaw, cleaner than a chopsaw, and more expensive than both of them. Time is money! But the cut doesn't need much dressing (I do get more burr with the Evolution blade than I did with Dewalt's geometry), and it's nowhere near the fire hazard. They all have their place when it comes down to it. Bandsaw blades are creeping up there price wise now, so this is getting more competitive by the year.

I absolutely LOVE my 8" Milwaukee metal cutting circ saw though. That thing is a beast and leaves a razor sharp edge. I'll sell my kid before I sell that saw (he's a teenager now, it's an easy decision! :laughing: ). Still gotta watch out for the chips off it - they'll burn ya too.

JKR · Mar 6, 2016

I absolutely LOVE my 8" Milwaukee metal cutting circ saw though. That thing is a beast and leaves a razor sharp edge.

Me too. My 8" Milwaukee metal saw is the best thing seance slice bread.

Xfaxman · Mar 6, 2016

JKR said:
I just order one. After using a Dewalt chop saw fiber blade that burn out after cutting 10 cut on 1" steel rod.

Was the steel rod hardened?

I ruined a metal cutting blade on a sucker rod.

Note, "Mild Steel".

Jim Timber · Mar 6, 2016

Even A500 puts up a fight on a dry cut saw. I'm pretty sure the structural shapes I cut are why my blades go dull so fast. The 14" Dewalt has been one of my worst purchases for cutting only second to my plasma cutter (too dirty for my needs and extremely expensive for inches cut per consumable using dry air). The plasma and Dewalt both have their places, I just don't like the cost associated with their performance. Speed wise, they're awesome.

I did get better edges out of the Dewalt 66T blades. The evolution blade is the only one which has left a burr out of the three (Milwaukee, Dewalt, Evolution).

This is the Evolution blade I'm talking about btw: Evolution Power Tools 14BLADEST Steel Cutting Saw Blade, 14-Inch x 66-Tooth - Metal Cutting Saw Blades - Amazon.com

All of these were cut in a couple hours with the Dewalt: