I am buying an evolution circular saw and the two models I can afford are very similar except the base on one is steel and on the other aluminium, is there any advantage other than weight? I will be fitting new internal doors so will use the saw for trimming the doors.
The two saws are evolution R185CCSL240 & R175CCSL only a £4 price difference. Any advice appreciated
As others have well said, both base materials have their advantages and disavantages...
But my comment will verse more on the DESIGN and EXECUTION of the sole plate and base, because I have found, in the worst possible way, that a supposedly reputable brand would sell "well designed and well built" products, so my surprise was not small when I used my MAKITA 5008MG circular saw for the first time: that beautifully finished saw, with the much overtouted "Magnesium Base" (the "MG" in their branding), is a truly BAD and LOUSY model... as even while the sole plate is acceptably flat and rigid, the structure that allows you to raise and lower the saw to alter the depth of cut is WAY TOO FLIMSY; being weak and too flexible.
As far as I can see, the very long screw that holds the height adjustment, has a too loose kind of tube spacer, and the holding point is too far from the axis of the saw handle, so that ANY amount of reasonable downward pressure that you apply in order to keep the saw in contact against the wood, will cause a flex, producing a noticeable deviation of the blade from the vertical (or any other cutting angle for that matter!)... This attractive looking saw is of the 8 1/4" size, and I bought it thinking of using it under a table, so that the larger than the usual 7 1/4" standard hand saw disc size was going to be useful, but find this saw unusable for any other than crude log cutting uses.
Therefore, my warning is directed toward checking that in addition to the base material, its rigidity needs to be evaluated if you want to get consistent 90 or 45 degree or whatever angle of cut to be uniform!
By the way; this model is not made in japan, but in China, and it appears that MAKITA has subcontracted not only the manufacture, but the entire design to others... could be, I am not certain; but the product is badly designed and lacks all the precision that is supposed to be present in a quality tool. As the store that sold me the saw does not accept any returns, I will try to somehow "fix" it... As a first attempt to fix the excessive flex, I will replace the pipe spacer with a better one turned from solid bar, trying to remove the excessive clearance between the inside of the spacer and the long locking bolt; if not effective, I will have to heavily modify the mechanism entirely.
