Of all the tools in the woodworker’s workshop, the table saw is clearly the most important stationary power tool and might be considered the most important tool of all.
The workshop I grew up in, my dad’s workshop, only had one stationary power tool, an old table saw. But my dad was able to do a lot with that saw, to the point where he apparently didn’t miss the other “big” power tools.
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I’ve had a portable contractor’s table saw for a number of years. So, when I look at Evolution’s saw, which is also considered to be a portable contractor’s table saw, that’s what I’m comparing it to.
But even though that’s supposedly an apples-to-apples comparison, it really comes out as if I’m comparing a bruised old apple, to a golden delicious. The features on this saw make it at least a couple orders of magnitude better than the one I had before.
Unboxing the Saw
I thought there was something wrong when I unboxed the Evolution Rage 5-S Table Saw, as it was upside-down in the box. But there was a good reason for it to be upside-down, in that you need it that way to attach the stand/cart to it. This shows the attention to detail that the engineers have put into the design of this saw.
Having the saw upside-down afforded me the opportunity to take a look at its construction. While the saw’s body is plastic, that’s not the important part. The important part is that the table itself is cast aluminum, with a honeycomb structure molded onto the bottom side, giving it added strength.
They used aluminum to save on weight; after all, this is supposed to be a portable saw. I also noticed that the saw’s blade was fully shrouded as part of the dust collection system.
The only thing that actually has to be assembled on the saw is the stand, which is made of steel tubing. Everything fit together well, even with the normal confusion that goes with trying to figure out which tube is which and interpreting the drawings in a three-dimensional world.
The stand opens and collapses easily and has two-wheels, making it easy to move around. That’s a huge improvement over my previous saw, which had a separate stand that needed to be set up for the saw to be put on top of.
Saw Features
What sells this saw is its features, which are plentiful. I’m not even going to bother with the smaller features that one would expect to find on any table saw. Rather, I want to focus on what makes this saw stand out from others on the market.
Dimensions
I’ve already mentioned the table, which is cast aluminum. I checked it with a straight-edge and found it to be perfectly flat, as is to be expected. There are extensions on both the left and right sides of the table, taking it from 29-1/4” x 25-3/16” up to 47-1/4” x 25-3/16” That gives 25-1/2” of rip space to the right of the blade; enough room to rip a 4’ x 8’ sheet of plywood, right down the middle.
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Fence
To me, the most important part of a table saw is the fence. My previous saw had as much as ¼”:of wobble at the far end of the fence, when moving it. There was no measurable wobble on the Evolution table saw. The fence slides smoothly in the track and remains perfectly parallel to the blade all along its length.
When I ripped board on the, there was very little in the way of tooth marks on the edge, a sign of a straight fence. If the fence is crooked, it tends to create more tooth marks, as well as potentially causing the board to climb up, as it travels past the blade.
A nice addition to the fence is an auxiliary fence, which attaches to the side of the regular fence, allowing thin material to be cut, without having to build your own auxiliary fence. This attachment is made of extruded aluminum, allowing the auxiliary to be positioned where needed for the cut.
Sliding Feature
Probably the most surprising feature of this saw is the sliding portion of the table. Sliding table saws are normally only found in larger cabinet shops and furniture factories, and are priced accordingly. Yet the left portion of the fixed table on this saw has a sliding inset, which can be locked in place or allowed to move, by simply turning a quarter-turn fastener, located in easy reach, underneath the table.
Having a sliding table pretty much eliminates the need to build a crosscut slider or even a miter slider for the saw, the solution many woodworkers have adopted to make up for the poor quality of most table saws’ poor quality miter gauges.
Miter Gauge
Evolution’s miter gauge is designed and manufactured in keeping with the overall quality of this saw. To start with, it is cast aluminum, like the table. My previous table saw and my bandsaw both came with plastic-bodied miter gauges. The evolution miter gauge also comes with a fence, long enough to extend all the way to the blade, providing support for the piece being cut.
The miter gauge is designed to work in conjunction with the slider, being able to be locked down to it with a threaded knob. The miter gauge also comes with a work hold-down, allowing the workpiece being cut to be clamped to the miter gauge and through that to the slider, ensuring that it will remain properly positioned throughout the cut stroke. When used, this combination pretty much guarantees precision cuts, as long as the miter angle is set correctly.
On that, one thing I noticed as I was using the saw, is that the miter gauge, with the fence attached, sits close enough to the edge of the table to use a speed square, hooked over the table’s edge, to set it to both 45 and 90 degrees.
That makes more much more accurate setup and cutting. For other angles, a digital protractor, set against the side of the blade is best.
Dust Collection
Finally, the on-board dust collection setup is a nice addition. Between the shroud around the blade on the underside and the dust capture by the blade guard on the top side, there is little room for dust to escape. Simply attaching a small shop vac to the outlet port on the back side of the saw greatly reduces the amount of sawdust that has to be cleaned up.
Unfortunately, the dust collection system needs the blade guard in place, to work on the top side. There are some cuts where the blade guard has to be removed, as it gets in the way. That reduces the dust collection capability somewhat; but it is still being captured on the bottom side of the blade.
Functional Testing
I had the saw setup in my workshop for a couple of weeks, using it in place of my previous table saw. I found it extremely easy to work with, with all controls operating smoothly. The only “issue” I had was that I kept missing the power on button, when I reached for it, instead hitting the power off button. But if I have to have that sort of “error,” I’d rather it be that way, instead of the opposite, for safety.
The sliding portion of the saw and miter gauge were extremely intuitive to work with. I had expected to have a little trouble getting used to them; but didn’t encounter any. Once I started using it, it was as if I had been using it for years; a testament to the thought that has gone into the design.
Evolution claims that the Rage5-S can be used to cut a wide variety of materials, including both ferrous and non-ferrous metals. A lot of that is due to the included blade, which is carbide tipped. But it also attests to the motor, which draws 15 amps; obviously enough power to cut through ¼” thick cold-rolled steel.
The current method of rating consumer-grade power tools power by giving the motor’s current draw in the specifications doesn’t really give us much idea of just how much power the saw produces, as would normally be measured in horsepower or torque.
It is only good as a comparative measure. But by comparison, my old table saw drew 12 amps; which indicates that the Rage5-S should produce 25% more power than my old saw. From what I could see in my cutting tests, it didn’t lack for power at all, even when cutting through pressure-treated 2×6 lumber or steel.
I tested the saw, cutting a variety of materials, including 2” aluminum tubing and cold-rolled steel strap. In all cases, the saw cut through the material easily, without the motor bogging down in any way. In fact, it cut the steel so quickly that I had to slow myself down, out of concern for safety. In reality, there was no reason for that concern.
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Conclusion
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Overall, I give the Evolution RAGE 5-S very high marks in all categories. I was amazed that they could fit so many features into a saw which was intended to be portable and selling at this price. I had been casually looking for a saw to replace my old table saw and the ones I was looking at, were considerably more expensive.
Even so, while they were shop saws, they didn’t have the features that this one offers. This has now become my shop saw and I expect to be using it for many years to come.
Rich is a second-generation woodworker, having grown up in his dad’s workshop, “making sawdust.” Fifty years later, he’s still studying and working on improving his own woodworking skills, while also helping new woodworkers “catch the bug” for the smell of fresh sawdust. While Rich has done some custom woodworking projects, his greatest thrill is helping the next generation of woodworkers along, regardless of their age. His background as an engineer and a writer just adds to his ability to teach his true passion, woodworking.
