Best Chop saw?...any advice...

[Stevebod]

My old "refurbished", chop saw is on its last legs having built a couple of sheds and various other odds and sods over the years, so have decided to look for a new one..can anybody recommend the best make? I had a look at the Charnwood yesterday (and the saw stand) as it seems to have quite a large capacity, but the "sliding" / bearing gear looked to be a bit too small (not very robust) and the saw "moved around" quit a bit?

The "rage" evolution seems to come up when I google, but wondered what the quality ws like compared to Makita which I have also seen some good reviews on?..(would rather pay a bit extra for quality)...any advise appreciated..

many thanks,

 

[Wuffles]

Take a look at the Hitachi ones, I have the RSH 12 something or other and I like it a lot.

What size are you looking at? How portable do you want it? The one I have isn't very portable at all.

 

[MBcarpentry]

It depends on your budget but I have both the Festool Kapex (250mm blade) and Dewalt 718 (305mm blade) both are sliding compound mitre saws, I have been more than happy with the Dewalt which I'v had for about 8 years (although dust extraction is rubbish if that's a concern for you) and only recently picked up the Kapex (about 6months ago) but have found it excellent it's very accurate, dust extraction is excellent and It has a bunch of other plus's on ease of use and portability for me. Having the luxury of owning 2 saws I find I now use the Dewalt for framing/decking/studwork etc and anything where I may be stuck out in the weather and use the Kapex for more precise/detailed work like kitchens, fitted furniture, hardwood staircase work etc and anywhere where precise exact cuts are required.
I would recommend either of these saws but there lots of others on the market I think makita,hitachi and even Bosch now all make good saws.

 

[MusicMan]

I like the Evolution saw. Had the sliding compound mitre for a few years, used it on wood, aluminium, mild steel successfully, but it didn't like stainless steel. Put a new blade on and now keeping the for wood, and bought a cheaper Evolution chop saw (no slider) to do the metal cutting. Very happy with it.

Keith

 

[Bm101]

I have the Evolution saw too. Paid £150 for the saw and the stand (which makes it a lot easier to use with any decent length wood), on a Screwfix 'deal'.
No expert here but I've used a fair range over the years. I think it's a reasonable tool at a good price point. It's never going to compete with higher grade saws for accuracy etc. For example, the laser is shoddy on mine, but you can compensate. I lower the blade to check cuts anyway. There's some wobble in the handle, you need to make sure you're not bending the cut by bringing the handle down without stressing it left or right. A higher grade saw will do that for you. The angle alignment on the bed is not perfect, on mine at least 90 degree cuts, are a fraction off the home set. Not an issue if you know and you own a decent engineers square.
For my use and price range I think its a great bit of kit. Don't let me put you off. But will it compare with a mid market saw from the likes of dewalt or makita or whoever. No. Of course not.
Does it do a great amount of what you need from a basic chop saw if you don't require fine accuracy everytime? Yeh, pretty much. Would I love a £700 bit of kit instead? Course I would.
Am I happy with the evo? Yeh, mostly.
Am I going to ask any more questions?
Who knows?

 

[shed9]

I got one of the Evolution non-slider chop saws a few days back to cut metal. I actually went to get a metal cutting blade to fit in one of my miter saws but it only worked out an extra £15 on top of the blade price to get a blade and the Evolution saw itself. Screwfix had the complete saw for under £50.

I appreciate this is the bottom end of their range but it really is built to a very tight budget. It has a lot of play in most of the moving parts and the materials themselves are cheap - however it does what its meant to do quite well.

In response to the query of quality comparative to branded saws like Makita, I'd say Evolution is not in the same league but then its priced accordingly.

That said, ironically, I have a Kapex and a Dewalt and have to say the Dewalt seems better made to me.

 

[Doingupthehouse]

Hi,

I can recommend the DeWalt 717XPS. I've had mine for nearly 2 years. The XPS shadow line system works really well and unlike a laser system doesn't need any setting up or adjustment. Other than a little tweak to the stops when I first got it, it's remained perfectly true ever since. The only criticism I have of it really is the blade takes a bit too long to stop.

If money were no object though, I'd have the Kapex or the articulated Bosch one, as the DeWalt, like most sliding saws, does have to be quite a long way out from the wall

Cheers
Simon