Wow! It's like pornography only more real.

mod's, pls move this thread to underconstruction

Done !!!

Back after a side trip
 

Well I finally got back to my MM project. Cut and ground my rails this weekend. Instead of 1.1" rails I set them at 1.3". Cannot see any reason that would be a problem.
Steel saw was fast cutting but really put a strain on the saw. Had to let it cool off a few times.

How happy have you been with the Evolution saw. I tried one of the Harbor Freight steel saws. It did not last a foot of cutting 1/4 inch steel before the shaft sheared on it. Of course being from HF, that is not too surprising.

So far it has been good to me. The skill saw version is a little light weight. The blades don't last nearly as long as I think they should. I think the chop saw version will be much better. They claim that the blade will outlast 20 abrasive blades. I just picked up the 15" chop saw. Have not used it yet. Plan to chop my MM cross members tonight.

That ones going to come back and bite you! - All the clearances are carefully worked out and with 1.3" (33mm) as apposed to 1.1" (28mm) the swing plates holding the motors will not be able to swing low enough and you will not be able to get the motors in to engage the rack. You may be forced to drill another pivot hole a bit lower on the side plates to get things to work - as Yoda would say "Instructions he did not read!! sorry he will be" :-)

Tokamaks Build
 

The motor angle looks within the normal adjustment range with a 1.3" rail.

Cut Cross Members
 

Cut and beveled my cross members last night. Chop saw worked great. Wait and see how long the blade lasts.

Cross Members Drilled and Tapped
 

Finished drilling and tapping the cross members for the back up board.

Weekend Progress
 

Made some progress on the frame this weekend. Clamped both halves together to get as much of a matched set as possible while welding.

Nice!!

Nice work! Nice saws!
Just wondering if the cold saws do 9~10mm (3/8") thick M.S. plates.

Cuts thick MS
 

The handheld didin't like the long runs of 1/4" but that may be due to blade vs base shoe skew. I need to check on that.

It does fine on short runs. 1 inch is the thickest I've cut so far. Pretty amazing and you can touch the cut end after your done without getting burned.

Is that steel or alu ? Pretty amazing if that is steel. Too bad they don't sell them over here.

Amazingly it is Mild Steel.

http://www.evolutionpowertools.com/u.../evosaw355.php

Wow,

I think I need to add those to my shop. Bet the blades are $$$$$ !!!

$83 for the 14" chop saw and $31 for the 7" circular saw blade. If they last 20 times longer than the abrasive blades, like they claim, it will be worth it. Time will tell.

AMAZING CUT!!!
Consider the cut quality, I'm sold if the blades can last 2X of abrasive disc.

Been wanting to have one of these puppy for so long,
Lately, Evolution came to the local market but Makita has traditional strong local present
Makita Chop saw
Makita Hand held circular saw
itchy.....

Ken,
The Makita chop saw looks pretty nice. Have not seen that before. I suspect everyone will start making them now that they have proven to work.

The cut quality is excellent and takes very little machining to clean up on machined parts.

Here the cost of the Makita LC1230 12-Inch Metal Cutting Saw is a little more than the Evolution 15" saw.
John

Metal Devil also makes one...I had looked into it as well. They make the saw and blades. I had wondered if it could be used on a table saw. I think it is designed as a low RPM saw, I thought using a VFD on a table might work out. With the fence guide, could do long cuts??
Mark

The blades run from 3000 to 5000 rpm. On a table saw the back of the blade can throw sparks up toward you.

John, Here, the Evolution 15" is about 60% more expensive than 12" Makita... Its really a tough decision to make, everyone would love to have a 15" over a 12"... but I need to persuade myself over the long term after sales support... & the cast aluminum Makita base is soooooo sexy...

The 7 1/4" hand held on the other hand is a different story. Its gonna revolutionize local steel fabrication norm. i.e. cutting thick M.S. sheets with a hand held power circular saw is mind boggling!

Ken,
For that price difference the Makita is the winner. In a year or two they will all be 15 inch.
John

Here (in Aus) the 230mm Evolution saw is $980.00!! http://justtools.com.au/evolution-23...saw-evo230-hdx. You others around the world are so lucky being able to buy them so cheap.

G'day Bruce,
Seems like everything is more expensive in Australia. I just spent a month in Canberra, working out at Tidbinbilla in February. Really expensive. Still love it down there.

Can't you order direct from the US or does shipping and taxes negate that.

DB, different voltages - 240V here, 115V there...

Shipping is expensive, even Malaysia to Australia & vice verse.
BTW, we share the same electricity specifications.