Evolution Power Tools R185CCSX+ Multi-Material Circular Saw, 1600 W, 230 V-Domestic

I have an electric evolution circular saw, and a electric evolution bench saw, now the battery version. Got an extra battery 4a pack also needed. Not as heavy as the electric or so noisy. Simple and easy to work with for jobs where you don't need the power of the electric. The saw was a broken box reduced one, box ,saw, contents as new, with money off, which paid for the new spare battery. Bargain. Just what I needed.

The saw came well packaged and in the pristine condition you would expect from a brand new purchase. Out of the box it looks well made. It feels robust and it has that reassuring weight you associate with quality. After quick and easy installation of the blade, I did initial checks with a ruler and square. All angles seem set correctly from factory. I just needed to adjust the little orange indicator very slightly to read zero. First use will determine how accurate it is. The cord has ample length and the saw fired up as expected when plugged in and tested. Fitting onto the track is a simple task. I did find that the cams used to take up the slack of the saw, are quite tight to adjust. This may be by design, but I found that if you get a hex key and just loosen them off slightly it helps them turn while adjusting them. When set correctly, the saw should glide easily along the track with no lateral play. The bag is made from, what seems to be, a sturdy canvas material. It adopts the same Velcro fastening solution that Evolution use on their track bags. As I said in a separate track review, a zipper would be preferable. That being said, the bag stores the saw and accessories adequately and only time will tell how it holds up in general use. With the added caveat of me not actually testing it on any sheet materials yet, it seems like a good bit of kit. I'll update my review once I've actually tried it out. Provisionally a solid 4 stars. Update... Tested and made the sacrificial cut with the tracks today. Easy set up. One of the track clamps does not slide into track. I think It needs to be filed down a bit to fit. I have seen other reviews mention this. Despite this, the evolution multi blade cut smoothly through 18mm ply and left a fairly clean, perfectly square edge. With an upgraded blade it should be ample for achieving fine cuts. I didn't bother hooking up my vac this time, so can't comment much on dust collection. Let's just say, it's got to be better than not having any.

I got this with some of the Evolution track system as well. The two work very well together and with nothing to compare to (first circular saw) it seems pretty good. First things first. This is NOT a plunge saw. Regular circular saw with a sweep away guard. When using with the track it can catch a bit so be aware and adjust your technique accordingly but stay safe. Depth of cut is set before cutting starts and there is no way I have found to be able to plunge this in to a specified depth so no cut outs for worktops really. Quality of cut. With the supplied all singing and dancing blade it's not terrible but there is some breakout and chipping to melamine when not used with the track (or a fence) and this is clear on the waste side of the cut. S make sure the tack is on the good side of the cut. I am ordering a spare blade with a lot more teeth for when I need better cuts but for now the stock one is fine. CHECK. when supplied the saw may not have had the angles set properly. The little grub screws to set the angle for 90* and 45* were not quite spot on. I went to YouTube to find ways to check this without a protractor.... it can be done provided you have a square to check it against. It's not hard to adjust but do take a bit of time on this before you start any actual job cutting. I've seen some criticism of the bag for carrying this about. Well it's sturdy enough and shouldn't fall apart this year. Or the next. One issue. It's a bit small. If I'm using a power tool over and over I most often leave the last bit or disk in it whether this is screwdrivers or grinders or even occasionally drills. With the blade in the tool this saw will not fit in the bag. Got to keep taking the blade off and when packing it away swing the guard up out of the way to the soleplate sits flat against the floor of the bag. Then it will close over. I daresay it's very good practice to always remove the cutting bit/blade/disk from a tool when storing and if you are fabulous enough to do this then you won't even see this as an issue. As soon as you have resolved to work this way then the issue disappears. Overall? A budget option but I'm no cabinet maker so it does the job for me. Do I recommend? Yes. For what it is, it does the job.

A “must have” tool.

The saw does the job perfectly. The cut it's precise when using the tracks. Only the blade let me down. As I was reading reviews before buying the bundle, they claim this blade can cut almost any material this include metal. I never cut metal, I used the saw to do furniture cutting. Chipboard and MDF board. I managed to do only one kitchen job and I'm surprised as the cut it's not good anymore, the blade damage the edges. Need new one already. 5 stars for the saw. 2 starts for blade.