GMC LSTSAW Tile Cutting Saw: Discontinued — What to Buy Instead
A budget tile saw from GMC, which went into receivership in 2008. Tile saws are a category where cheap costs you tiles.
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The LSTSAW was GMC’s tile cutting saw. GMC’s Australian business went into receivership in 2008 and the brand disappeared, taking parts and warranty with it.
Wet versus dry
A tile saw should be wet. Water cools the diamond rim, carries away the slurry, and — the part people underestimate — keeps the silica dust down. Dry-cutting tile with an angle grinder produces respirable crystalline silica, which is genuinely dangerous and not something a dust mask casually handles.
If you are cutting more than two or three tiles, use a wet saw.
What makes a tile saw usable
A flat, rigid table. Tile is unforgiving: a table that flexes gives you a cut that is not straight and a tile that chips.
A fence that locks square. Most budget saw complaints are fence complaints.
Blade quality. As with every saw, the blade does the work. A worn diamond rim glazes over and stops cutting, which people read as a weak motor. A fresh continuous-rim blade cuts ceramic cleanly; porcelain wants a better one again.
Water delivery that actually reaches the blade. Pumps clog with slurry. Clean the reservoir every session.
What to buy
The SKIL 3540-02, linked below, is the standard entry-level wet tile saw: a 7 in diamond blade, a stainless top and a water reservoir, at a price that makes sense for a bathroom’s worth of tiling.
For a large floor, or for porcelain, hiring a bigger saw for a weekend is often the better call than buying — the cut quality and the capacity are in a different class and you do not store it afterwards.