Evolution Rage 5 S table saw. unboxing, set up and first impressions.

Is the Evolution Rage 5s the best value budget table saw? Should I buy a Rage 5S?
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It was time to update my cheap table saw made by FAR and bought from the supermarket.
I have my eye on an Evolution Rage 5 - S for a while. Due to COVID-19 pandemic they seemed never to be is stock, and companies who claimed they had them on Amazon they were crazily expensive - up to £750!
For a while I considered locating My DeWalt table saw to workshop 2.

[@2logj]

Hi thanks for the video.I am in UK and I wanted to shortlist some Table saws.I think Evolution Rage 5 will be one .The other being De Walt. I thought I should inform readers some Health and safety issues. Wear eye protection goggles Wear mask to prevent inhalation of Saw dust. Wear ear protection ear plugs or those like ear phones. Use Grr-ipper to feed the wood. Support the wood on the other end with some additional tables to prevent timber falling and causing damage to blade Do not be distracted. Wear an apron with saying "Do not disturb" These are some Health and safety issues .Discard these at your peril. Table saw is unforgiving. So treat the baby with great respect.

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

Hi. If you watch this video it compares the Rage 5 and the DeWalt The Best Small Workshop Table Saw: Evolution Rage 5s Vs DeWalt DWE7485 kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqCplZ15i96ErKM

[@chemchemchemacky]

If you haven't discovered it yet, you can lift the riving knife quite a bit higher than is shown in this video and that will bring the whole blade guard assembly up quite a bit higher. That will bring the knob above the height of the fence and allow you to get the fence much closer to the blade for very thin cuts.

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

Thank you. I have discovered since by playing with it. Thank you for the tip thoughit adds to the community 👍 Regards JP

[@alheeley]

You got a good price - they are all £315 - £325 at the moment round here (including Screwfix). Only had mine a week and its the best features I could find for my budget. Love the sliding carriage and extending worktop. Love the really firm fence that is easy to true and secures at both ends. Love the fact it folds up for easy storage as I have very little room in my garage. Dont like the poor and wobbly mitre gauge with no locking zero or 45 degree point, and far-too-short mitre gauge fence. I'll make a better track and wooden fence for it soon or use a cross-cut sled. Dont like the really violent start-up, I will fit a soft start module when it arrives. Dont like the saw blade guard - if you have the blade any lower than 20mm the blade guard will jam the wood you feed into it. Helps with dust collection though. Also not sure about the extra small fence you can bolt on to the main one - not sure what purpose this has? Other than that a good value table saw and a game changer for my projects.

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

For the money it'd a bargain. I'm really happy with mine. I do agree with your appraisal 👍

[@TheEssexSpurs]

I bought a second hand one for 170 quid a few weeks ago and can't wait to use it.It's my first table saw so am a little bit wary of the fact it is a dangerous tool!!! Great video by the way.

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

Thank you. Sounds like you’ve got a bargain ? Keep your guards on (despite what you see on KZbin ) and use a push stick.

[@smallspacecreation5768]

I have used a friend one and I was very impressed to. For the money you can’t bet it 👍👍👍

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

Great value for money. I can't think where my DeWalt beats it. And it was twice the price.

[@Bocccs]

Great video, good detail, answers all the questions I had.

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

Glad it was helpful Ben. Regards JP

[@tim_biller]

What a great little saw. Screwfix have these for £249, which has to be a real bargain for all the features. Thanks for the video.

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

For the money, I think it is a bargain. They were out of stock everywhere during the lockdown periods I am now happy to own one.

[@alheeley]

do you mean the smaller R255? Screwfix have the Rage 5 at mid-£300 level

[@johngratton467]

I have been using my Rage 5S for a couple of years now and found it to be a great tool, a couple of upgrades I've done which I think are essential: (1) paddle type stop switch, saves fumbling about underneath the table trying to find the small stop switch (2) soft start module as it does tend to start a bit violently (3) zero clearance insert plate, stops all the small offcuts falling into the blade well, also vastly reduces tear out (4) a decent Saxton blade, I use a 40T one and the cuts are incredibly smooth (5) if you are using it to nibble out dado's the Saxton flat top grind blade is magic, very little, if any clean up work after. you can also fit a router in the extension to make it into a router table, Casual DIY is a good source for info on these machines. I also have the Evo track saw and 255 mitre saw (Saxton 80T blade fitted, very clean cuts btw), both of which I'm very happy with.

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

Thanks John. I’m planning of adding the Saxton blade myself. Seen some of Casual DIYs stuff. Not come across the soft start though, so will investigate. I have the small version if the evolution mitre saw. Thank you for your comments. Regards JP 👍

[@johngratton467]

@@Smallbarnworkshop Got my softstart module from Amazon Germany, Cas DIY shows the fitting but tbh he makes a bit of a pig's ear of it, with a bit of thought it can be fitted without any cutting of wires etc. and can be returned to standard in case of a warranty claim

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

Thanks. I will find that video 👍

[@GTOOtt]

I think you need to level up the rail that the fence clamps to with the end of the table extension. Where your left hand is at 6:55

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

Thanks Miller. It’s now all level 👍

[@russellking201]

I am not sure if anyone has told you that you have the handles UPSIDE DOWN

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

Hi. Yes many times. I purposefully fitted them like this to create on saw storage. I explained this in my follow up video. People either think it’s crazy or genius! Regards JP

[@stevejohnman68]

Great video. Could i cut a piece of 6ft scaffold board lengthways ? Looks like the guard might be in the way.

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

Yes you can! Max cut depth is 80mm (3 1/4) The guards is removable but comes with all the safety warnings! Regards JP

[@stevejohnman68]

@@Smallbarnworkshop thanks .im undecided between this or a lumberjack which has same sort of features and about same price. Does the rage 5 have standard three pin uk plug? Thanks

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

@@stevejohnman68 Yes. If you buy it in the UK. Regards JP

[@essentialhandyman]

Great review.

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

Glad you enjoyed it. Regards JP

[@johnvodopija]

I have had a Rage5S for a few years now and think it was a great investment. You can’t beat bang for buck features especially the sliding table which is fantastic. A few things: - I use Bosch blades on my Rage5S without any issues. They come with spacers to reduce the 30mm bore to the correct size and fit very tightly so completely safe to use. - it looks like you have installed the handle rails for the fold-up trolley upside down. I have to say I struggled assembling the thing when I first got it and it took me a couple of tries. - check out The Casual DIY channel. Thomas has great videos on setup and tuning the Rage5S. Highly recommended. Thank you for the interesting content. Cheers 👍😎🇦🇺

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

John thanks for your comments. I will look into those blade. regarding the handles - whoops. I will reread the manual and check out the video. 👍

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

John. Your right just had a look. 🙈 However. I've been using the upturned bar area to hold my fence and bits of timber. So maybe I will leave it as is 🤔

[@johnsweekendworkshops4100]

Interested in your thoughts on the Rage 5s compared to the Dewalt. I have one of these but thinking upgrading to the latest Dewalt as it’s starting to have one or two issues with it

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

The DeWalt is much more robust than the R5. They were around twice the money though. I have then 9” DeWalt and the R5 is 10”. I don’t cut much 3” so I do not miss the extra capacity. I got a great deal on the smaller saw. I paid around 330 . At the time the 10” D was around £600 (DW745) Most of the DeWalt is metal or alloy. The R5 does have a lot of plastic. Some of the features that people upgrade on the R5- such as bigger stop switch and better diving knife - is standards on the D. The dust extraction is better, it has a canvas like interior that shroud the blade. The arbour is 30mm so there is a bigger choice of blade. Where the R5 Scores highly for me is the wheels and the sliding table. Regards JP

[@johnsweekendworkshops4100]

@@Smallbarnworkshop thanks for the feedback. When the weather improves a bit I am going to try to see if I can maybe iron out some of the issues I have but will keep the Dewalt in mind.

[@chrisybradshaw8594]

What is so dam annoying about this saw,is the Mitre slots,you cant get the alloy sliders of the shelf as wont fit ,so have to put up with crap plastic or wood ones ,if contacted evolution about this but got no reply, think they need to upgrade there table saw top to accommodate standard slider,otherwise when this goes to heaven, wont buy another one 😁

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

Your right. I’ve just made a taper jig using old laminate flooring as runners as the grooves are very shallow. I have off shelf ones for my DeWalt. Regards JP

[@peterchessell28]

I got mine for 180 quid chucked the trolley awful made one out of timber with draws for all the bits and added out feed easy start panic stop and infeed table oh and a router plate on the right extension .

[@MrSnookerballs]

think you have put the handles on upside down, should be pointing down when unfolded.

[@Smallbarnworkshop]

Hi. I have but it’s so I could create extra work piece storage when cutting pieces. Can’t think why evolution didn’t think of it! Regards JP