With the upcoming project on building my plasma water table, I didn’t have a real efficient means to cutting metal. I had a Porter Cable abrasive chop saw, but that was not even close to what I needed. And adding another tool to the shop is a delight! So I did research and found a lot of saws out there. But none had the power, features, nor warranty that the Evolution S380 CPS had. When I say this saw is a beast, that is an understatement. It literally chops through metal like butter. You need very little effort pushing down on this saw to cut mild steel. I have angle iron and flat stock that need be cut to size for the plasma water table. Using my angle grinder to do this was an option, but it seems insane now that I think about it. Abrasive blades can emit lots of cancerous dust and be expensive if you have a large amount of metal to cut. The Evolution S380 CPS fits the bill!
Starting with the base we have a cast aluminum base which will not warp like cast iron does. It’s a little over 50Lbs, so it will be stable and have minimal vibration when cutting. There are bolt holes for mounting on your workbench. The steel plate is used for clamping reinforcement. The clamping threads are ACME and will have better torque for clamping. Don’t let the blue handles fool you. They are aluminum not plastic.
There is a chip catcher right behind the blade slot so that some of the chips will be confined. The chip catcher tray is spring loaded to prevent the tray from rattling around when cutting. This saw throws out a lot of small chips and I need to work on a chip shroud solution to keep the chips together.
The provided hex wrench has a rubber grommet that it sits in to also prevent it from coming out or rattling. They provide a 10Ft power cord that has a heat protected rubber sheath. I appreciate the length of the cord due to outlets being scarce in my shop.
There are three fence positions depending on what size stock you are cutting. Each position has a 90°, 15°, 30°, and 45° indicator. The provided clamping bracket slides over the swivel clamp face and can move up or down depending on the size of the stock. The bracket is used especially for round or square stock.
The fence is very robust and swivels very well. There is a locking pin to rest in the preset position holes. There is also a gauge for precise angles. The clamping bolt handle is also aluminum and can be repositioned by simply lifting up and moved after tightening so it doesn’t interfere with the blade. They have thought of everything just about. The is a silver pin on the base support that can be pushed in and folded when the tool is stowed away for non-use. This also allows the user to move it around without it being lopsided.
The handles are beefy and robust. There is also a locking safety feature on the motor handle to prevent accidental or premature operation.
The plastic acrylic guard prevents chips from hitting the users face and eyes. There is a black button that locks the motors arbor to install or change the saw blade. On the motor casing there is access to two motor brushes compartments. The motor is a 15AMP low RPM motor and is very powerful.
There is a blade guard that automatically rises and lowers when used. The blade shroud itself is stamped for better reinforcement. The 14″ 66 tooth mild steel cutting blade itself is made in Japan and is one of the finest I’ve seen. The 14″ blade comes with the tool and you can add a 15″ blade for larger stock. Evolution makes a variety of blades for different types of materials. In addition to mild steel there are stainless steel, aluminum, wood, diamond, and thin steel blades. There is a shield covering the arbor bolt that needs to be loosened to install or change the blade.
Speaking of the blade, it cut quite well and compared to the abrasive saw it didn’t even penetrate through. As you can see in the photo below the rounded attempt of a cut took about 10 mins and didn’t even touch the piece. The pieces that I cut ended up with a mirror like finish as if they were milled.
All in all I highly recommend this saw and have released a YouTube Episode on a un-boxing, setup, and review of it. It will make an excellent edition to your work flow. Adding efficiency and keeping your lungs safe from abrasive dust like other tools. I hope this article was helpful and have a great day!
YouTube Episode:
