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Anyone else have an Evolution Rage2 chop saw? I have made ~40 cuts in steel tube between .065 and .095 wall. The cuts are super clean, and the chips are somehow not sharp. The only thing I don't like is the miter gauge clamp combo which had a tendency to wander between cuts.
I think I can improve the miter gauge by loosening the bolts that hold the saw, then adjusting the saw blade angle until it is square with the 45 and 90 stops on the clamp bracket. Right now if I adjust the bracket to the end of its travel (indicated at 45 or 90) the cut is off by a few degrees. Not having support from the end of the bracket travel is probably contributing to the miter setting wandering.
Anyone else have an Evolution Rage2 chop saw? I have made ~40 cuts in steel tube between .065 and .095 wall. The cuts are super clean, and the chips are somehow not sharp. The only thing I don't like is the miter gauge clamp combo which had a tendency to wander between cuts.
I think I can improve the miter gauge by loosening the bolts that hold the saw, then adjusting the saw blade angle until it is square with the 45 and 90 stops on the clamp bracket. Right now if I adjust the bracket to the end of its travel (indicated at 45 or 90) the cut is off by a few degrees. Not having support from the end of the bracket travel is probably contributing to the miter setting wandering.
I've been looking for a 'reasonably' priced, non-abrasive blade for mild steel... looks like this might fit the bill if you're getting clean cuts and good life out of it.
I've got one. The blade killer IS the clamping. If anything moves during the cut, you're at risk of catching a carbide tip and losing it. It seems to go downhill after that. IMO the best approach is to buy two different blades specific to the metal rather than the all-in-one. I'm considering picking up an HF circular sharpener at this point to reclaim some of these worn Rage blades. Though the HF sharpener seems to have similar issues with precision while sharpening.
3/16" tube for motormounts:
I am still using the blade that came with it and am probably over 60 cuts now. My carbide tips show no signs of wear.
The clamp has a few design flaws, the rounded edge of the corner of the angle stock doesn't do a great job holding small tubing down close to the base. I have been putting a little bit of downward hand pressure on the tubing as I tighten the clamp.
They sell a much more expensive saw for cutting steel. Also a 14" chop saw, but the base and clamp look like a better design. At $400ish for their steel cutting saw, there are plenty of other options for similar chop saws from other manufacturers.
I was hoping to retrofit a laser line onto the saw but I can't find one for a 1" arbor. That would really help with cut accuracy and the less than perfect clamping. I have 100lb of steel showing up today and I am going to build a rolling chop saw stand with a sliding out feed measuring stop.
I've been using a slightly beefier one of those, the clamp is terrible and is on my list of things to fix. The sliding clamp jaw isn't tight on the table and will rock when cutting weird material shapes. I swap blades for aluminum and steel, but if I remember right I counted more teeth on the steel blade, that doesn't really make much sense to me. Someone who isn't me tried to cut a too small piece that decided to let loose, lost a lot of carbide that day. Still buzzes through aluminum halfway decently though.
My new clamp block will have some sort of adjustable stop for making multiple repeated cuts, something else I wish this thing had. The saw blade will flex on the arm a bit which makes swinging it down and measuring and trying to nail repeated finish cuts an exceptional pain in the ***. If I had a fixed stop I could load the thing against one side and just chop, chop, chop. Now I've got to pull it one way, down, measure, adjust, clamp, measure, unclamp, adjust. ******* sucks...
I've cut down many full solid bars of aluminum and 304 with the thing after I initially just laughed at it. Not perfect out of the box but still really impressive for less than $300.
I wish I had the room for a table like that because it'd work perfect, hopefully we'll be moving to a bigger shop next year. I have clamped it down to the welding table for a base to clamp stops on, it usually takes more time to clear the table than freehanding a few cuts lol.
I just looked at the specs on the thing and I apparently shouldn't be cutting solid bar like I am, though it does do it. I've cut at least 20 cuts in 1-1/4" and 1" square 303, each. Still wish we had room for a proper bandsaw though...
My concern with your catch can location is that with a Begi/FM manifold there might be fitment issues. Those are the majority of manifolds in the US so it might be limiting.
My concern with your catch can location is that with a Begi/FM manifold there might be fitment issues. Those are the majority of manifolds in the US so it might be limiting.
Got a picture from the front of the rail looking back?
Got a picture from the front of the rail looking back?
I don't right now and I am out of town at the moment. I do know that is the part of the shelf that you have to cut/bend back to fit with the Begi/FM manifolds. I may be able to get you some pictures later this week.
06-29-2016, 05:02 PM
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