Customer Reviews

Hitachi G12SE2 4-1/2-Inch Disk Grinder

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I now have four of the best quality grinders on the market. Without telling you all the brands I wanted this grinder because of the quality put into Hitachi products. This is a very well made 4 1/2 inch grinder with a heavy duty rating & great quality. The grinder is a few onces heaver but that is why it's more heavy duty. I placed a 3/4" diamond blade in this grinder and had no problem removing concrete & mortar in one pass between the brick joints. None of my other grinders could handle the size or load this grinder can handle. Hitachi puts out fantastic quality tools for pros and homeowners. If you need this type of tool don't waste your money on a cheap grinder, this one will put the others to shame.

Price is little steep @ $90 but is well worth it!

Paddle switch is very well designed it locks on easily one-handed ( I tried dewalt's and it did not work nearly as well)

Seems a little heavy @ first but is really easy to handle

Wish they included a case though

Works well with sanding kit

We use this grider to trim the hoofs on our dairy cattle. It is the only one that has lasted more than 1 yr. We are on our 3rd one now. A little on the heavy side, but the durability is worth the extra weight. Until we found this grinder, we were going through different one every week to a month. I've bought 3 and I'll buy more.

Our company uses and abuses 4 1/2 inch angle grinders, and this particular model by Hitachi is the toughest of the bunch. We own Makita, Bosch, Diteq and other brands, but this Hitachi has outlasted all of them under the same conditions. I would highly recommend this tool, as it is well designed and takes a lot of abuse without breaking. We do nothing but concrete grinding, and most of our grinders last less than a year, except for this one. We own 3 of them, as they've proven to be our #1 tool.

Hitachi seems to specialize in delivering above-average tools at below-average prices. This grinder is powerful, fast, and durable. The toolless guard helps a ton, and can be used as a fence in a pinch (used a diamond wheel and straight edge to cut tile-- worked perfectly!).

There's no a whole lot to say about a grinder, other than lighter is better. This grinder isn't super-light, but not unmanageably heavy. 9 Amps is about all you'll ever need in a small grinder.

I'm not sure I like the paddle switch. I think I'd prefer a trigger switch, which is hard to find on a small angle grinder (they generally either have paddle switches or the sliding switches). The paddle switch on this unit doesn't seem to cooperate all the time-- it will lock on when you don't want it to, and it will fail to lock on at other times. I admit this is probably operator error on my part, but I have struggled with it from time to time.

Overall, this is a capable grinder at a great price. I believe the Bosch and Makita units to be the cream of the class, but they cost a bunch more, too.

I've used every brand, and none hold up to the abuse that this grinder handles. They are only $89.99 @ Lowes, and the cases are more plastic junk that ends up in land fill. If you need a case, buy a canvas tool bag, they waste less space, and can hold more acessories.

I've owned this grinder for a few years and haven't had a problem with it grinding through concrete and steel. It's a workhorse, though maybe a little bulky compared to Hitachi's newer grinders. One thing that has come to bug me to no end, though, is its lack of a carrying case. It would have cost Hitachi a measly dollar to blow- or injection-mold a case to hold the grinder and a few different abrasive grinding discs, but NOOOOOO. They were too cheap to do that, and this grinder is pretty expensive! I've emailed Hitachi, asking if they had an aftermarket case (yes, I'd be willing to pay even MORE money), and they never responded. VERY disappointing. Had I known how much I'd miss having a case, I wouldn't have purchased this model.