GMC MX355C Metal Cutting Saw: Discontinued — What to Buy Instead
A 355mm metal chop saw from a brand that went into receivership in 2008. And the abrasive versus dry-cut question.
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The MX355C was GMC’s 355mm metal cutting chop saw. GMC went into receivership in 2008 and the brand left the market; there has been no support since.
Abrasive or dry cut
These are two different machines that get the same name, and the difference matters more than the brand.
An abrasive chop saw spins a resin-bonded disc that grinds through the steel. It cuts anything, it is cheap, and it produces a spark shower, a glowing hot cut end, heavy burrs and a disc that visibly shrinks with use. In a workshop with sawdust in it, the sparks are a real fire risk.
A dry-cut saw uses a carbide-tipped blade at low rpm and cuts the metal properly, producing chips. The cut end is cool enough to handle, there is almost no spark, the burr is minimal and the blade lasts hundreds of cuts.
The running cost flips
A carbide blade costs many times an abrasive disc and outlasts dozens of them. Over one project the abrasive saw is cheaper; over a year of regular steel work the dry-cut saw wins on consumables alone, before counting the deburring time.
If you cut steel twice a year, an angle grinder with a cutting disc is the honest answer and you do not need a chop saw at all.
What to buy
The Evolution S355CPSL, linked below, is a 14 in dry-cut saw with a carbide blade, cutting mild steel with virtually no sparks and mitring to 45 degrees.
Feed it slowly. Carbide teeth chip when forced, and one chipped tooth marks every cut afterwards. Clamp the work properly too — a section that moves mid-cut breaks teeth and throws material.