dry/cold chop saw for mild steel

[rattle_snake]

My 15 yr. old HF abrasive 14" chop saw was tired with worn out bushings, sloppy at best. Looked into dry/cold 'toothed' choppers and ended up getting a 14" Evolution rage2. It's made in China, about 1/2 the price of a Dewalt or other name brand (also not made in USA).
http://www.evolutionpowertools.com/us/build/rage2.php

Works like expected, which is WAY BETTER than an abrasive saw. clean cuts, low heat. Can directly weld pieces without cleanup. I cut 6" x 1/4" plate on its face, which my abrasive saw simple would not do (must be vertical or just melts/hardens metal). Big time saver. It's basically like using a wood chop saw cutting hardwood, you can get great accuracy/precision with some care and patience.
Waste material is different, as they are curled peels from each tooth more like a drill shavings. Sharp and hot but not as dangerous to skin/eyeballs/car windows as molten metal + disc material from an abrasive saw.

Go get one even if wife says no.

 

[bcradio]

I have no desire to get the Rage saw, but the Makita cold cut saw will likely be one of my next purchases. I am stoked to get one after hearing all the good stuff about them. It should compliment my porta-band well. Glad you like yours as it makes me want one that much more.

 

[zkling]

I really want one, but have 0 true need for it over the bandsaws. I saw one at a used equipment sale for $50? But it looked like it had been drug behind the truck for a few hundred miles. For someone that does a bunch of tube fab they would be awesome.

 

[ebonyswan]

I've not had good luck with my makita lc1230 cutting flat ba (3/8" thick) r or thicker angle.

 

[shoot summ]

I have the Fury2, it has worked as expected. My issue is that the thing throws chips EVERYWHERE. So cutting something turns into a planned event where I can set up outside, with a cap, long pants, etc. Even then I have to sweep carefully as I've picked up a chip in my bare foot and it was miserable.

I saw the Femi bench band saws a couple of years, wanted one, but was put off by the $1200 price. Turns out one showed up on CL yesterday for a great price, I pick it up tomorrow, and will have the Fury2 listed on CL when I get home...

 

[kxlexus]

I bought the Rage2 also. I think it is a great tool. Much better than any abrasive chop saw I ever used

 

[tarbellb]

I have had or used many of the dry cut saws on the market including the Dewalt, Hitachi, Milwaukee, and Evolution. I will say that the best overall saw was the Evolution. Others have strong points inducing my Hitachi that I currently own, but the Evo is a great deal on a good saw.
The worst was the Milwaukee....

 

[ADSR]

cold cuts are 3K+

Dry cuts are under 750.

 

[dogdog]

I am just about neutral on this....

The rage blades are expensive....very expensive.... per cut...wise. There is a number of cut expected life out of those blades that equates to about $1.50 per cut.........and when cutting harder stainless material, blade still deflects like any other saw even with their stainless blades (BTW cost $120 and up)....

The first few cut on the saw blade is almost machine routed like no burs, then cuts are not as good as the carbid dulls out.... very nice on 1" squares... when cutting 2" squares tubes that is 1/16 or 1/8 wall it started to get sloppy.
only thing I don't like about it is the clamping , really needs improvement, its awkward to clamp odd shaped pieces. ... . if you want to chop off a small square / round stocks.... it won't do it. It's fine if you chop large pieces to small, but small pieces the clamps don't hold them in place and you'll needed a tune up after a few heavy uses... to make sure it is still square and true. the biggest thing is just the cost per cut is pretty high....... Not sure if they have improved their clamping system or not... I just have the older model they manufacture back in 2008 or so.... only few uses...

They have their commercial/industrial lines think they used to be called raptor, basically the same as the rage but better motor and better bearing (at least that is what I was told when I called them) and probably better clamping system (this I am not sure).

this...
http://www.evolutionpowertools.com/us/steel/evosaw380.php

 

[tarbellb]

I have run through probably 10+ blades over the lifetime of my saws, and can say that equaled easily 2000+ plus cuts if not double.
So my experience is more like <50¢ per cut.

Plus if you have a local shop that will sharpen a blade before it's trashed it only cost $25 to do.

But I will agree that you can chew up a blade really quickly if you cut something beyond the blades ability or if you don't clamp the piece properly. Proper technique, like any tool is mandatory.

 

[dogdog]

They used to post those data the number of cuts in their datasheet on the saw blades.... now they don't... probably some one from sales office see that data as negative use. If you can get 2000+, Great....... which is about 2X more on their specification on expected cuts, I think I might still be able to find that in the packaging on one of the blades maybe. Like I said only things I don't like about this saw is the clamping system compare to the Ridgid or Milwaukee....and the blade life for an expensive blade.....

 

[243]

I went through a few Diablo Demon metal cutting blades on my standard chop saw and circular saw, they worked exceptionally well but the blades do not last as long as I would have expected. I recall looking up the max. rpm on the blades and comparing the rpm with the Hitachi saws and I was close to max but not over.

I would love to have a true cold cut saw but they are incredibly expensive.

I gave up chop-grinders years ago, but the 4x6 horizontal bandsaw is slow and takes up too much room in my current space.

 

[bcradio]

I am just about neutral on this....

The rage blades are expensive....very expensive.... per cut...wise. There is a number of cut expected life out of those blades that equates to about $1.50 per cut.........and when cutting harder stainless material, blade still deflects like any other saw even with their stainless blades (BTW cost $120 and up)....

For this reason alone I would not get a Rage saw then. Makita claims 50x the blade life vs abrasive blades and they only cost $110. That is likely a few pennies per cut.

 

[dogdog]

For this reason alone I would not get a Rage saw then. Makita claims 50x the blade life vs abrasive blades and they only cost $110. That is likely a few pennies per cut.

price of blade wise its about the same.....between these two.... the evolution line have few choices.....I just have the stainless steel (yellow) and the regular multipurpose orange one.

http://www.evolutionpowertools.com/us/steel/blades.php



..not sure about the Makita 50X claim. Evolution also claim 20X vs abrasive disc in their website.... but they used to give the actual tested data about the avg number of cuts before the blades is not acceptable. Now probably marketing took it away, just like any other brand sales and marketing strategy ..... there are some truth to what tarbellb say about how you cut the material. Spin the blade full speed first, then go slow and don't force the cut like the abrasive blades... but in reality..... I think it' get dull out pretty fast if you cut any heavy gauged or hard metal even with the Makita is probably the same... if you cut thinner gauge material, probably it would out last 500000 (just a wild guess) cuts. But either case, I get no way near 2000+ cuts on these blades......But it does cut nice when blade is nice and new. Definitely not a fan of the clamping system. so hence my thing is neutral.... neither love'em or hate them.

 

[Jlarson]

As long as you treat the blades well, use stick lube and use the right blade for the material you get good cuts and good blade life.

Find a local shop that can sharpen and re-tooth, we rotate blades and send them out regularly.

 

[rattle_snake]

Used the evo quite a bit this weekend. Cut lots of sch40 fence tubing among other things. Looks like the 1st round of 1/4" plate dulled the teeth some (as expected) but no change in blade performance after all the tubing.
Also did some tube notching and the saw did excellent. No blade deflection, I was able to take a 1/2 a curf (~0.050") additional material off, which was simple not possible with old saw.
Overall very happy with the machine given it's price and how I use it.

The fence/vice on this machine has an issue with thin material. The fence pieces are stamped and have a radius edge, which allows them to ride up over the material to be cut (just like my HF saw). This is fixable with a little weld-n-grind to make them a hard 90, and a shim on the pin that holds it down to the deck.
As mentioned in other reviews, the deck is stamped (original version had cast) and flexes a little. For long, heavy material a block on the far end is needed. For a good cut on a 20' piece you would have to do this anyway, even with a cast deck. Of course the flex can be reduced with bracing underneath if desired.
Yes I could have bought a more expensive unit without these drawbacks, but I don't mind spending a little time to save a few hundred bucks.

 

[rattle_snake]

I finally replaced the original blade that came on this saw. It lasted 17 months. I use this saw almost daily and it has made hundreds of cuts. I cut mainly mild steel 1/8 to 1/4 thick. I have done lots of sch40 horse fencing that require tube notching and this saw does well for that purpose. I have not used my abrasive saw since. Even with a dull blade it is huge improvement over abrasive. I expected half the life it provided.

I replaced the rage multipurpose blade with the Evolution 66 tooth steel blade ($85).

The only mod I did to this saw was to add a nylon shim to the clamp swivel to take out the slack so it doesn't ride up over thin material.

 

[ovrrdrive]

To say that using a rage2 is $1.50 a cut is borderline retarded. I have hundreds of cuts on mine and it's still cutting like it did when I took it out of the box. I think the replacement blades are about $60 on amazon last time I looked. If anyone is only getting 40 cuts out of one of them you're doing it wrong.

I love mine. It cuts perfectly straight and gives weld ready edges without any prep. I let the blade do the work with very little extra pressure. They're great saws. Just don't try to cut like it's a cold saw and the blade should last a while.

edit. Just realized this thread is 1.5 years old. Maybe the price of the blades has come down and quality has gone up. Who knows... Still they are great saws for the price.

 

[PeterT]

I get about 150 cuts of 1/2 rebar on a brand new rage2 saw blade,, then its new blade time. Got too expensive after the 2nd blade so now I use torch, but that is messier

I am not exactly sure what a cold saw cut vs a 'non' cold saw cut,, but I put the rebard in parallel to the blade and pull the handle down,, trying to to exert too much pressure downwards. Maybe somebody can enlighten me,, my assumption is the saw & blade were just not meant to cut excessive amounts of 1/2 thick rebar!

 

[rattle_snake]

My experience is that the blade gives some feedback on how you use it, and also how to use it.
Too much pressure/feed speed results in fine, burnt filling/chips and sparks. The right feed speed make large curly ones and you can hear the motor rpm drop slightly as it cleanly cuts.

Make sure you always wear hearing protection.... MF'r is loud!

 

[Loscaldazar]

I get about 150 cuts of 1/2 rebar on a brand new rage2 saw blade,, then its new blade time. Got too expensive after the 2nd blade so now I use torch, but that is messier

I am not exactly sure what a cold saw cut vs a 'non' cold saw cut,, but I put the rebard in parallel to the blade and pull the handle down,, trying to to exert too much pressure downwards. Maybe somebody can enlighten me,, my assumption is the saw & blade were just not meant to cut excessive amounts of 1/2 thick rebar!

What RPM does your saw spin at?