I have ordered the Evo S14cps as a first chopsaw for my new business. I had the first one for a few months and only used it for a few cuts, I was well past the Amazon return when I finally used it on a larger job. Come to find that the arbor seemed to have some wobble causing the blade to wobble as well. I tried a new blade and it still wobbled so I sent it back and they sent me a new saw this weekend. The new saw arrived and before I even cut with it I noticed that it wobbles as well. I checked the arbor with a magnetic dial indicator and it definitely seems wonky to me. This isn’t normal right? Tried this new one with a fresh blade and it’s definitely something with the arbor, not the blade. Seems like the same issue on two new saws.. anyone else seen something like this?
I wonder as I have used these dry cut saw’s since they where first created I think porter cable was the first if this is just a low end consumer grade product issue. I realize you paid solid hundereds for it and compared to the cold saws that are probably realistically the norm in the industry these dry cut saws are chump change. Therefore i query you this have you put a machinest square on the cut edge to see the quality of the cut. I feel I have noticed this same wobble over the years you spoke of and being that I was always busy as heck I never questioned what i was when the cut quality was excellent. Truthfully evolution is a lower end brand to which I have there 15" dry cut it works great when I use it but only for very specific needs as the blades dont hold up and are expensive! compared to the cost to the saw. Which I think I gave maybe $600 for and the blades are always over 100 bucks unless you find a super deal somewhere which is rare. Point is do you expect machining quality arbor run out on a mass produced consumer grade tool? I dont I save my fun tickets for the high end stuff or look for the deals as they come and the throw away equipment is just that do the best job with what you got and use the money saved and earned with that lower end equip to by the stuff that you did your research on and know it is the more expensive for a reason. I would say yes the wobble you see the wonkey in it is distinctive of that gradient equipment. Find yourself a quality used scotchman coldsaw or something equivalent you will feel it. not chinsey sheet metal and potmetal castings but quality material, components, and craftsmanship.
While I do agree with you to an extent, I have made some pretty accurate cuts and parts over the years with a cold cut saw. I’ve mainly used the DeWalt and Fein - both were great and produced accurate cuts with some practice. I do a lot of miters for my handrails and pride myself in accuracy.
After further testing, I have come to the conclusion that the arbor does indeed have some wonkiness to it. After speaking with Evolution, they admitted that there they changed factories in the last few months and that this saw was made in the new factory. They have now compared it against a saw made in the previous factory and see that there is some error in manufacturing. They are sending me a saw made in their previous factory and will address the issue.
If you are in it for the long haul a cold saw is the only way to go, the cuts are comparable in quality but the cold saw will be quieter and the best part, the blades are far cheaper and last longer and can be sharpened indefinitely. Since you are spending the money to do it right you will likely have a Fireball table and if you do why not feed it with quality material and add a Tigerstop saw fence to make the most accurate parts possible as fast as possible. The savings in cutting and setup will pay for all this in a few years or less if you have a high volume shop.
My saw is a non ferrous Kalamazoo since I focus on aluminum but the same concept applies, it was mind blowing that we found ourselves tapping the last 1/64" of slop out of our frames on the table after throwing the parts on and realizing we are wasting our time even looking before welding it out.
I found most of my larger equipment on auctions, craigslist or Ebay
The Burgmaster is set up to tie into the Tigerstop to drill parts on a programmed pattern, I just put a pusher on the stop when I need to push past the saw.
I haven’t been impressed with Evolution metal cutting saws. I ended up buying a Fein Slugger 9" metal cutting saw. The Fein was able to cut 24’ lin. ft. of 3/4" mild steel without a problem. I did take a few breaks to let things cool down but all one the same blade. I originally started this with the Evolution 8 1/2" metal cutting saw which was in a constant state of blade binding & didn’t make maybe 18" before I gave up.
I hate it since there’s no way to return it now, I’m just out the money.
I also had good luck with Milwaukee tool metal cutting saw, but it finally died on me a couple months ago after years of use. However I couldn’t find a replacement so I tried other brands, live & learn I guess, YMMV…
Evolution has been awesome to work with and seems to really care about their customers. So far despite the issues I like the saw a lot more than the Fein Slugger I have used for years before it died. This was my first time buying buying a cut-off saw for my newly formed business - and as a new business owner, it’s been nice to work with a company that is easy to get a hold of and wants to make it right immediately!
I believe each type of metal working calls for a specific saw that will be great for each person’s unique scenario. My favorite saw in the last few years has actually been a DeWalt 7 1/4" battery powered miter saw. When paired with a Diablo 7 1/4" metal blade it can make amazing compound miter cuts.
Sounds like they are going to make good on it. I’ve had a Northern Tool dry saw for about 10 years and the arbor runs true to .0005" last time I checked. I can always tell when the blade gets a tweak in it as you can feel the vibration in the cut. Pop in a new blade and smooth as glass again.
For many years I had a Scotchman cold saw in a production shop and it would cut chrome molly tube plus or minus .001 all day long. We made thousands of engine pushrods with it.
While not in the same league, the dry cut saw is a fantastic bang for the buck, and I would never go back to an abrasive saw again.
I ordered the S14MCS recently not only did I noticed the wobble you’re talking about but my chops table was not flat. My 3’ starrett ruler was rocking back and forth . Evolution sent me new chop saw. The new saw wobble was not as drastic but still wobbled. Cuts were straight. They need to improve the quality.
