Evolution rage mitre saw

[screwpainting]

Advice please. I bought an evolution rage mitre saw a few years ago (http://www.screwfix.com/p/evolution-rag ... 110v/21252) I think it is this one, to cut up angle iron etc for a ram press I was building and it did a very good job of doing this, I have no complaints at all about it for that purpose, a great light use saw. However it is sitting around hardly used and even though my son (borrowed it for a job he was doing with a lot of involved stud work) put a new blade in it, it still gives a very agricultural cut on wood.
I have given it a bit of a tune up and got it it cutting as best I can but it is still no match for my lovely old Elu TGS 172 flip saw. The thing is, the Elu is a bit of a faff and heavy to hump outside (which is where I do most of my cutting) and I would like a lighter weight mitre saw for small jobs. What I am asking is, has anyone managed to get one of these evolution saws cutting to any decent standard on wood and whether this was due to a better blade. It seems a shame that I don't use it, but as I said, it leaves a lot to be desired when cutting wood.

 

[Dee J]

Very strange... Used my evolution rage on various materials (though not much on thicker steel) for several years now and it still cuts wood to a very acceptable standard with the original blade. And if you've changed the blade then how is the machine responsible? Some care is needed to set up angles and square..... but it's a cheap saw, what do you expect. What do you mean 'agricultural cut' ? mine cuts cls studwork cleanly and with minimal splintering.

 

[curtisrider]

See my thread:

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums...t-table-saw-mitre-saw-and-bandsaw-t98783.html

To summarise, they can do a good cut with some decent fettling and set up time, a blade adaptor (25.4-30mm) and a decent quality high tooth count blade (such as the Freud I fitted). Since getting my larger Einhell for construction stuff I would not go back to an Evolution saw, even though that is still a crappy saw comparative to the bigger brands! I have a Dewalt 8" SCMS and the difference between all of them is like night and day, you really do get what you pay for.

 

[screwpainting]

Yes its just about okay for studwork but for anything like a super accurate mitre is useless. I did knacker the original blade by cutting a good quality stainless, mega hard steel wallpaper scraper in half of all things, sparks everywhere and it took forever and that was that blade shagged out. I just trimmed up a coffee table top with oak, and just about got away with it because it was being painted. It would be nice to be able to get a decent cut with it but when I say agricultural, I mean a rough surface on the face of the cut, like the blade is wobbling or not fine enough.

 

[screwpainting]

See my thread:

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums...t-table-saw-mitre-saw-and-bandsaw-t98783.html

To summarise, they can do a good cut with some decent fettling and set up time, a blade adaptor (25.4-30mm) and a decent quality high tooth count blade (such as the Freud I fitted). Since getting my larger Einhell for construction stuff I would not go back to an Evolution saw, even though that is still a crappy saw comparative to the bigger brands! I have a Dewalt 8" SCMS and the difference between all of them is like night and day, you really do get what you pay for.

Thanks for that mate, a brilliant thread.
How good can you get one of these machines? I only bought it to cut some metal for a one off project. It has had minimal use and now I don't know whether to sell it and buy a more accurate machine.
Hence the thread.

 

[Hot stuff]

I've got Freud blades on most of my saws now, got fed up with rough cuts from bargain blades.

Table saw, RAS, chop saw, all the same diameter and arbour size so I can have different numbers of teeth on each and swap them about if necessary. Circular saw has a Makita blade on it which is as good if not slightly better but much and such price wise.

I know what you mean about the ELU saws, I've got a 20 odd year old PS174 and it cuts better than any of them. No substitute for well made gear.

 

[YorkshireMartin]

Advice please. I bought an evolution rage mitre saw a few years ago (http://www.screwfix.com/p/evolution-rag ... 110v/21252) I think it is this one, to cut up angle iron etc for a ram press I was building and it did a very good job of doing this, I have no complaints at all about it for that purpose, a great light use saw. However it is sitting around hardly used and even though my son (borrowed it for a job he was doing with a lot of involved stud work) put a new blade in it, it still gives a very agricultural cut on wood.
I have given it a bit of a tune up and got it it cutting as best I can but it is still no match for my lovely old Elu TGS 172 flip saw. The thing is, the Elu is a bit of a faff and heavy to hump outside (which is where I do most of my cutting) and I would like a lighter weight mitre saw for small jobs. What I am asking is, has anyone managed to get one of these evolution saws cutting to any decent standard on wood and whether this was due to a better blade. It seems a shame that I don't use it, but as I said, it leaves a lot to be desired when cutting wood.

My experience is that you can get a reasonable finish on cuts but they are not accurate enough for mitres. I tried for months, wasted a ton of time before leaving it for rough cutting (and metal) and buying a decent mitre saw (4x the price mind you).

 

[curtisrider]

I actually got mine very accurate on both straight and mitre cuts but then it melted the brush caps and I gave up on it. It's hit or miss it seems if you get a machine that has minimal play or more wobble than Kim Kardashians derriere. By all means spend 30mins setting it up, but don't get your hopes up if you plan to use it for fine joinery!