OP
flingwing1969
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Thanks. Good news that.
Dry Cut Saw vs. Abrasive Blade Chop Saw
- Thread starter flingwing1969
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Thanks. Good news that.
texasranger556
Platinum Member
I have the rage 2 saw and it's so much better than an abrasive saw. I paid $220 through Lowe's with a coupon, wasn't a whole lot more than the Milwaukee abrasive I was considering at the time. Biggest issue is I lost some teeth on the blade when the steel I was cutting came loose, replacement blades are spendy.
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flingwing1969
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Yes on that. It is critical to keep the work tight against the fence. I plan on buying another blade to have and then send the one I'm using out for sharpening when it starts to slow down. All the user evals I've seen, however, say they curt miles of steel without a burp.
There are different evolution saws and the Rage2 isn't the way to go if what you want is a dedicated metal chop saw. The Northern is a good value but several have had trueness issues including myself. It cuts PDG using 2" square tube as supports as the blade isn't quite perpendicular with the bed on mine. So good I haven't bothered to true it at where the motor pivots. That Trajan seems ridiculously expensive for what it is. One of Chucke's monorail projects...
rustyshakelford
Veteran Member
I don’t think so. I was going so slow in easy material to conserve the blade as long as possible. I think it wasn’t just torqued a little and not true
Brett
crazyal
Super Member
The Rage 2 is their lower end saw. If you want the nice one you have to get the EVO380. It's more expensive than the Northern Tool saw but it's also made better. I looked at them all and most of them the base wasn't that strong. But the 380 both the base and the clamp are thick cast steel and are machined flat. The DeWalt I looked at seamed like it was just stamped steel. I'm not saying the NT Ironton is junk, it looks like a good saw for the money. It's just that the first part about a cut is how well you can clamp the material. For occasional use where you are welding and can fill a little bit of a gap if things aren't as exact after years of use that's fine. I'm hoping I get decades of use out of this saw and it cuts as good then as it does now.
crazyal
Super Member
These saws are all about the clamp. If it's not accurate or can't clamp with enough force you will not be happy with the cut and could damage the blade. They are also very narrow. My sliding compound miter saw is about 24" wide on a stand that can go out to 16'. These things are maybe 10" wide. When you have a stock length of metal you are trying to cut a foot off of it takes some effort to get the steel flat on the saw. Other than occasional use the saw really needs to be mounted on table that's parallel and level to the saw.
Dadnatron
Veteran Member
I've been researching this for several months, as there is a high likelihood that I will be building multiple horse stall enclosures. All in all, the things I've found in almost all cases, is that the fence/clamp provided on most is weak to almost laughable. The one which I have found which has the best 'IMO' is the Morse MK (same as the Fein Slugger and probably a couple other branding versions.) But, with the Morse, you can purchase larger gripping jaws. It is definitely more expensive than the $200-270 saws which are available. But all in all, given I am going to have multiple repeated cuts which necessarily need to be as close to 'perfect' as possible, I think the stability issue of the fence will be well worth the extra $200. I'd likely spend far more time clamping and altering off center/off square cuts.
Here is a video which I encourage everyone with a cold cut saw to watch. It is by Morse, and he is actually just talking about HOW to cut with a saw, in the most efficient and 'blade saving' manner. It is definitely different than cutting wood, so I would highly encourage you to take the time and maybe learn a trick you didn't know.
The M. K. Morse Company: 14" Metal Devil Training - YouTube
Here is a video which I encourage everyone with a cold cut saw to watch. It is by Morse, and he is actually just talking about HOW to cut with a saw, in the most efficient and 'blade saving' manner. It is definitely different than cutting wood, so I would highly encourage you to take the time and maybe learn a trick you didn't know.
The M. K. Morse Company: 14" Metal Devil Training - YouTube
crazyal
Super Member
Te Morse looks like a nice saw. The only thing I didn't like was that the clamp doesn't appear to be quick release/ adjustable. Not a huge deal but pretty much every other saw on the market has it. I also couldn't see one in person so I didn't know if the base was aluminum or steel. If I'm cutting steel then I wanted a steel base for durability.
/pine
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With 14" abrasive blades...trying to cut just a shave or slight angle from the very end of a piece of stock...the blade will tend to flex away from the end and cause a distorted cut...it also tends to round off the inside edge of the blade that just compounds the issue of trying to cut a little off an end...