So, I have been eying up a carbide chop saw for a while now, and I read about the Evolution, the DeWalt, and several others. The main reason that I went with the DeWalt over the others was the fact that it was the only one Enco sold, and of course the coupon. I am a fairly busy hobbyist and in the past I have used many band saws, abrasive chop saws, but never a carbide chop saw. So, I can't compare the DeWalt specifically to other carbide saws.
When I got the saw it was completely assembled and ready to go right out of the box. I did take a few minutes to double check all of the fasteners, and everything was good. I also spent a few minutes to review the instructions and everything really was self-explanatory. To date I have made about 50-60 cuts with the saw. Everything that I have cut has been 11 gauge to date, mostly 2x3 tubing, and some angle and flat stock.
The cuts with the carbide blade are great. Clean, square, cool and easily repeatable. Obviously with only 50'ish cuts on the blade I shouldn't even have put a dent on the claimed life span for the blade. So I can't give a reliability observation yet. I did read many reviews about carbide saws before I purchased and there were a handful of bad reviews based on poor blade life. I believe that it would be easy to tear up the blade quickly by leaning on the saw hard while cutting. I will try to keep track of my usage and report back later.
The only concern that I have had with the saw has been the vise. I find the quick release acme nut annoying. The thread on the vise is about 4" long, and for me I could spin that in and out many, many times before it would bother me. So, a quick release isn't much of a selling feature to me, and I find it clunky. But as I said before, I am a hobbyist and I am not using this saw 10 times a day every day like many might, so I can see why some would want this feature. As I have used the vise more I have been accustomed to the screw and I haven't had any real problems with it, it just takes some time to get used to. As for the back jaw of the vise that moves for angled cuts, it has a friction lock to hold the jaw in place. The friction lock seems to hold well and the release lever is easy to operate. There is a gauge for multiple angles, but I haven't found it useful at all. I have had to make several different angle cuts so far, and to set up the vise I marked the angle that I needed on a wood 2x4 and lined up the blade, locked the jaw and then made a quick test cut wit the 2x4. Overall, the feel of the vise did not impress me from the beginning, but that being said it has done everything that I have asked of it. So the more I use it the more comfortable that I am with it.
Overall I am very happy with the saw and would recommend it for a hobbyist. I most enjoy the speed and the clean repeatable results. One item that I plan to add to the saw is a laser guide at some point soon. If anyone has any suggestions for aftermarket laser guides please let me know.
Thanks for reading and let me know if I can answer any questions. And thanks for the product review section. Great idea.
R.J.
