[p40whk]

Not having seen these Dry Cut saws I will say I'm impressed, I've been looking at the Portaband saws with the Swag Offroad table and now think one of these would be a better option.

For those of you that have used the Evolution brand They have a Rage2 for around $189 and the Evosaw380 (old Rage3) for around $400. Do you really get that much better saw for the extra $200 or is the Rage2 sufficient for the hobbyist?

I also noticed that Northern Tool has one for $300 that has a cast base but stamped fence http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200641810

I didn't want to start a new thread since much of the info is here, just wondering if anyone could compare the different saws?

[Revocide]

To the OP

Having a Makita cold cut saw as seen in the demo video I gotta say that it is a no brainer to get one of these. The price is kind of off putting but the quality of work it does is amazing. The blade wont wear down on you either.

This machine has a 12" blade (305mm down here in OZ), solid frame, solid clamping set up, quick fence angle adjustment.

Since buying this beastie I have cut my way through about 500kg of 25mm square tube, 40 x 5 flat bar and the odd piece of 120 x 80 x 5 angle. Cuts mitres perfectly, little or no clean up to make good joints.

Tips to the new user, ensure the piece you have cut off is nowhere near the blade when you lift the saw out of the cut. Very interesting things happen when one of those 60 carbide teeth bite into an off cut. My blade has 57 teeth now, still cuts fine though.

And those blue chips from the cut metal will easily stick to soft skin or polyester clothing

My 2 cents

Revo

[Antorcha]

Not having seen these Dry Cut saws I will say I'm impressed, I've been looking at the Portaband saws with the Swag Offroad table and now think one of these would be a better option.

For those of you that have used the Evolution brand They have a Rage2 for around $189 and the Evosaw380 (old Rage3) for around $400. Do you really get that much better saw for the extra $200 or is the Rage2 sufficient for the hobbyist?

I also noticed that Northern Tool has one for $300 that has a cast base but stamped fence http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200641810

I didn't want to start a new thread since much of the info is here, just wondering if anyone could compare the different saws?

The portaband and table has it's place too. Small parts with curves.

[p40whk]

Not having seen these Dry Cut saws I will say I'm impressed, I've been looking at the Portaband saws with the Swag Offroad table and now think one of these would be a better option.

For those of you that have used the Evolution brand They have a Rage2 for around $189 and the Evosaw380 (old Rage3) for around $400. Do you really get that much better saw for the extra $200 or is the Rage2 sufficient for the hobbyist?

I also noticed that Northern Tool has one for $300 that has a cast base but stamped fence http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200641810

I didn't want to start a new thread since much of the info is here, just wondering if anyone could compare the different saws?

The portaband and table has it's place too. Small parts with curves.

Is that the Harbor Freight model? If it is, I saw that they got great reviews but haven't seen any from people using them for metal cutting. If they are decent I may go with both saws since these can be had relatively cheap.

[AKweldshop]

Well here's a few pics.

I'm sure I have more tho.

Can't beat the accuracy and solid base for cutting miters. Amazing that it's still on the original blade, being that it's cut lot of 3/8" and 1/2" flatbar.

Any more then that, you'll just have to take my word as a professional fabricator that it's a good saw.

[sedanman]

You can't do this with an abrasive chopsaw. This is 2" square tubing 1/4" wall.

[sedanman]

I have no idea why the picture is upside down.

[C7Z]

If you decide on a chop saw the "Carbide-tipped blade" saws, although more expensive, are superior to the abrasive blade saws. I have a Makita LC1230 that I recently used to build a pipe fence around some properity I own. It cut 2" sched 40 pipe like it was butter and very accurately.
http://makitatools.com/en-us/Modules/To ... ame=LC1230

[AKweldshop]

That Evolution saw did all the cutting on This welding cart......

[LtBadd]

That Evolution saw did all the cutting on This welding cart......

Now that's quite the welding cart, well done!

[AKweldshop]

That Evolution saw did all the cutting on This welding cart......

Now that's quite the welding cart, well done!

Thanks, it turned out ok.

[AKweldshop]

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[AKweldshop]

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[AKweldshop]

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[AKweldshop]

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[AKweldshop]

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[AKweldshop]

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[AKweldshop]

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[AKweldshop]

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[LtBadd]

Making chips and taking names, sweet.

[subwayrocket]

I have the DeWalt DW872 saw . It's decent . I tried an evolution blade and it started loosing teeth. If you're gona spend 4-500 , ask around about the Morse saw , I think it's just a little bit more but may be better . The base on the Dewalt although better than flimsy ones at harbor freight, it's not as thick as i'd like . The clamping mechanism is decent . It's a good saw for the money ...looking back I think I would have gotten the Morse . As for the abrasive saws, I went thru two of them. The second one was a Dewalt, it burned out after only about 20 cuts, sparks shot out the motor vents. I got a Rigid R41421 and it is a very solid, very good abrasive saw. I don't use it much since the DW872 . Good luck

[Kriky]

I just bought the IronTon. The price was right. $299 out the door with free shipping from Northern Tools. I haven't really started using it much. I made two cuts with it on piece of steel a friend gave to to weld on a post for him. It seems to cut pretty good. The cuts but up pretty nicely. I wouldn't say amazing but for $299 not a bad buy. The base seems heavy enough and the clamp seems ok for what I will be using it for.

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[NHDanO]

I just recently purchased an Evolution EVO380. Got it for under $400 at my LWS. Worth every penny. As to the poster who questioned if the 380 is worth the extra money I would say yes. It's just a much more solid machine.

[RRweld]

A lot of guys like Makita saws, see reviews. However I personally don't like pistol grip on this type of saw, just a personal preference.