This Metabo HPT 4-1/2″ angle grinder is on sale right not for $29. If you were looking to buy a basic grinder, you’re not going to find a better tool for anywhere close to this price.
The same model, G12SR4, has been on sale for Black Friday before – I last posted about a similar mid-November deal back in 2018. Looking at online price trackers, this grinder’s last recent sale price was $39. Going back further, it was last available at $29 for a very short time in mid-2020.
The grinder looks to have decent reviews and a solid reputation. While this is a basic no-frills model, Metabo HPT is a big name, and they stand behind it, which means a lot. The same cannot be said about the cheap no-name grinders you can find online. It doesn’t even look like you can get a comparable angle grinder-shaped tool from Harbor Freight at this pricing.
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Features & Specs
- 6.2 amp motor, 980W max output
- 10,000 RPM
- Spindle lock (for easier disc changes)
- Slide switch (lock-on and “quick-off” feature)
- 10-1/8″ length
- Weighs 4 lbs
- Removable side handle
The grinder comes with a couple of grinding wheels to start you off with, a carrying case, and blade wrench.
Price: $29
If you’re looking for something a little different:
Bosch 6A Angle Grinder – $49
The Bosch 1375A 6A angle grinder is down to $49 right now (from $59). It has been lower in the past, but there’s no indication it’ll be further discounted from its current “special buy” pricing.
Bosch 7.5A Angle Grinder – $49
Or, this Bosch GWS8-45 7.5A angle grinder is also priced at $49 right now. This looks to be a better buy for the same money as the 6A Bosch. (Thank you Vards!)
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Joatman
Regardless of where this is made or how cheap the components are, Metabo must move a LOT of product. The margin on this has to be nominal. Maybe they’re just bleeding out older inventory.
Vards Uzvards
Last time the price was at this low level in late Feb-2020, in the holidays aftermath. So it might be just a seasonal price drop.
BTW, BOSCH 4-1/2 Inch Angle Grinder GWS8-45 is at its lowest (AFAICT) price as well right now. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HD4EH4A/
Stuart
Thanks! I added it to the post.
Stuart
It’s possible – the last time this deal came around was right before the name change from Hitachi to Metabo HPT.
But generally, the Black Friday/Black November holiday shopping season is not the time to sell old inventory.
A lot of people assume the same for certain deals, but I can’t see how it’s possible given the quantities involved.
For instance, a lot of people have been asking me if Milwaukee is replacing their M12 Fuel drills and impacts. While it’s possible, putting x-number of promo kits in y-numbers of stores and warehouses usually requires a lot of planning and new tool production.
Certain Metabo HPT tools go on sale every year, such as their 10″ miter saw. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PX44JQM/?tag=toolguyd-20
Black Friday has typically involved loss-leaders, and it’s been explained to me that certain Q4 products these days are marketed for brand familiarity and awareness purposes.
Perhaps a shopper that buys this grinder might be more inclined to purchase additional Metabo HPT tools in the future.
Joatman
Yeah, it makes sense. That’s exactly how I was roped in by Milwaukee with their $59 holiday drill kit a couple years ago. Now I’m the proud owner of a lot of their 12v line-up….with absolutely no regrets.
I was just shocked to see the $29 price for this angle grinder, especially with a hard case and 5 disks. Matabo isn’t a premium brand but they aren’t junk either. I put them somewhere around Ryobi or maybe a small notch below Craftsman.
Slightly off topic- I bought a Bosch angle grinder about a year and a half ago….mainly to sand the posts on my deck. So I needed one with a variable speed, which is what I bought. There were tons of good grinders everywhere for surprisingly under $75……but if you jump up to a variable speed model, the price jumped drastically….like double or triple. Variable speed settings or triggers are pretty common on most tools nowadays, but you pay a premium on an angle grinder. Why is that?
Jerry
Metabo makes two grades of angle grinders, or at least did. Their premium line is arguably the best in the business.
OhioHead
Jerry – :medal post, I own dark green Metabo (premium (epoxy coated motors, etc.).
Isn’t this just an “inexpensive” rebadged Hitachi grinder from years past? I know some companies by 4.5” angle grinders by the pallet(DW 402 comes to my mind) and don’t repair them when they break (cost to repair/time to repair), the crews just get a new grinder to use and abuse.
This is an excellent deal for someone who needs a brand name “no frills” grinder.
fred
Over the years, I have noticed tile guys who seem to buy cheap grinders and toss them when they stop working.
Meanwhile in our fabrication shop – we bought pneumatics like Dotco and electrics like Fein and Metabo
G Greene
I’ve been a Milwaukee guy for a long time now, 12v and 18v, but they’re losing me with their service. I bought a Milwaukee 1/4″ socket/socket wrench set. The wrench was no good right out of the case, the ball detent frozen in place so it wouldn’t accept a socket. Multiple e-mails to Milwaukee thorugh their ‘support’ website have gone unanswered. Yesterday, I called – “You have to submit through E-Service.” OK. So off to E-Service – where they explicitly state that E-Service doesn’t deal with MW hand tools. Another call, I explain the situation and the bad advice I got, and I get a grudging ‘courtesy’ mailing label sent to me, like they’re doing me some huge favor replacing their defective tool. That is crap service. I probably have 20 or more 12v and 18v tools, tons of batteries and chargers, but I’m not averse to switching platforms if this is how it goes. We’ll see how they handle the wrench when it gets back to them.
Stuart
Try this:
I’m under the impression that there’s a dedicated team handling mechanics tool warranties.
If you encounter further difficulties, send me an email and I’ll see what I can do.
Aaron
I have the hitachi version of this tool, exactly the same with a different decal, and it has been great for my purposes. General homeowner/ diy usage and for the price, definitely better than what you find at harbor freight. I got the same deal 2 or 3 years ago and I would buy it again in a heartbeat.
Travis
I have two of these, purchased last time they were on sale like this. Not the most powerful grinders, but durable and well balanced. They kick the crap out of similarly priced Harbor Freight grinders, and the difference in balance was fantastic- my wrists don’t hurt after several hours with a flap wheel. I will also say, in terms of abrasives, I love Benchmark Abrasives stuff- mostly US made, and the zirconia flap discs are amazing, flap disc life in the multi- hour range in steel, at a very, very reasonable price.
Rich
Researching the Metabo grinder and found a comment where a person pointed out that in the manual they say:
a) This power tool is intended to function as a grinder.
b) Operations such as sanding, wire brushing, polishing or cutting-off are not recommended to be performed with this power tool.
A friend’s more expensive Dewalt 4 1/2″ grinder lists such accessories as wire brushes and wheels as acceptable so such activities are explicitly part of the design.
Dewalt is 11amps vs the 6 amps of the Metabo.
If the Metabo is indeed limited to grinding it might not be that great of deal if you need to have a second tool to do those other tasks. Are they just covering their ass with a disclaimer or is the Metabo under powered or somehow not designed to handle things like wire brushes or wheels?
Travis
Mine have seemed to handle all of that just fine.
Stuart
Larger and heavier accessories might push the no-load power draw much higher and not leave enough headroom for working load. The warning could be about managing expectations.
You can’t put an engine designed for a small sedan into a pickup truck. And if you do, it might move the truck but what happens when you start piling in cargo?
Wayne R.
The heaviest load I put on mine is a Makita cup brush for cleaning up BBQ grill grates. 30-45 minutes at a whack. It’s been perfect for that and everything else I use it for as just a homeowner.
My only “complaint” is that the case isn’t big enough to hold the variety of wheels I have for it. I’d surely get another one if needed.
MM
I can see that this a “light duty” tool given its 6ah rating but I think it’s puzzling that the manual dumps all “grinding” in to the light-duty category and then puts sanding, wire brushing, or polishing as being too heavy duty for this tool?
From my experience grinding, sanding, and wire brushing can range from light-duty work that even a Dremel could do to heavy-duty work that even drags down a 15 amp 7″ grinder, while cutting off is usually fairly low in terms of power requirements but again could be all over the board. I’m puzzled that Metabo pigeonholed them like this.
Jared
Re: “might not be that great of deal if you need to have a second tool”
That’s the thing about angle grinders – the more the merrier. 😄That way you’re not constantly switching discs.
One dedicated to cut-off duties? Sweet. Another for grinding/shaping? Even better. One that just wears a flap disc or wire brush? Now we’re getting somewhere.
MM
Bingo. On many steel fabrication jobs I find myself constantly switching between a normal grinding disc, a wire wheel, and a cutoff disc. Often times a flap disc aka “tiger paw” is involved too. Having a grinder with each installed saves a ton of time compared to having to stop and change wheels.
david brock
yup, have 4 or 5 around the house just for that, faster then switching wheels, just buy another grinder for each type at this price.
Plain grainy
Off Topic; Lowes has marked down pricing on US made Craftsman rolling tool chests. Not sure how great the deals are. One chest has a wide drawer, must be around 40″ wide for longer tools.
Zack
I looked into this. The 41” boxes from the “2000-series” are on sale. I checked them out at lunch local Lowe’s and they seem fine. The shell is very sturdy, the drawers have a soft close but they seem comparatively medium-duty. I think the shell and drawers are 18- and 20-gauge respectively.
Fine choice if you need that size, at that price, but it’s not a run-out-and-find-them-sale, in my opinion. At $300 these would be a steal. At $400, an excellent value. They’re closer to $600 today.
Plain grainy
The 41” 7 drawer red model is $349.00, the same in black is $399.00. Not sure of the difference. The 10 drawer 50+ model is over $500.00, Some reviews state casters are attached with screws instead of bolts. I’ve never seen one so I don’t know of the quality. But the reviews are pretty upbeat as a homeowner type chest.
Plain grainy
Red model might be homeowners, and Black model might be heavier duty.
Bruce
A 6Amp grinder is a fine light use tool, I’ve also needed more grinder than that.
Zack
Yeah! I think this is a great second or third or fourth grinder. For me, it’s a second. Changing tools on a grinder is more hassle than on a drill. I look forward to using this for lighter duty stuff.
John
It’s amazing years later, commenters still don’t know the difference between Metabo and Metabo HPT (formerly Hitachi).
Big Richard
People still comment that 20v max is the same as 18v nominal, like they just unlocked the secret to the universe. Nothing amazes me anymore.
Stuart
Many people – and even some magazine writers who should certainly know better – still don’t know that 18V and 20V Max are the same thing.
Plain grainy
But it’s when it goes to 56v-60v that the magic happens-Flexvolt.
MM
I don’t find this one all that surprising. You’ve got two entirely different and incompatible lines of products yet the brand themes are so similar: they share the same main name, in the same font, and both use green (albeit different shades) as their color. To have brands which are so similar in appearance yet represent fundamentally different lines of tools was an poor decision in my opinion. Like Big Richard et. al. posted below if people get confused about much simpler things then this one comes at no surprise to me.
But some of this stuff you just can’t make up: Another toolguyd poster (I’m sorry, I don’t recall who or I would credit you), mentioned in a recent topic that they overheard a customer talking about wanting to avoid buying a cordless tool because it was “brushless”, and they thought that meant the tool was skimping out in some way and was inferior to the brushed version. It doesn’t help when store employees help spread confusion. When I finally found my 3/8 compact impact at HD a few weeks ago the employee who located it was extremely helpful in that regard, but then proceeded to rattle off a string of nonsense about how batteries used with Dewalt Atomic tools charged faster than those used with normal (non-Atomic) tools. I was also told that Dewalt had a new battery that was about to come out, and that this new battery would not only offer more runtime, but would also offer more *power*, even with older tools. When I asked if this might be the Power Stack battery or had anything to do with Flexvolt, Flexvolt Advantage, or Power Detect I was told no, the battery was not the Power Stack, and that it would deliver more power even in old tools without Flexvolt, Advantage, Power Detect, etc. This sounds like a misunderstanding of either the Power Stack or the new big Flexvolt battery marketing materials. In a totally unrelated situation I once overheard a Lowe’s employee tell a customer that they could interchange Craftsman and Dewalt batteries because they were both owned by SBD. It’s hard to blame customers for confusion when they hear that kind of thing straight from the shops selling these things.
Michael F
I’m heavily invested in Milwaukee and even some Makita, but I’ve been looking at Metabo HPT lately because their tools seem extremely cheap for the quality. I picked up the new compact cordless 18 gauge brad nailer to try out because of Hitachi/Hikoki’s excellent reputation for making nailers (it’s a great tool by the way). I also grabbed the 2 1/4 HP cordless MultiVolt router as it’s the only cordless router on the market right now that accepts a 1/2″ collet. Once I had a few batteries and chargers, I started investigating their other offerings and they seem to be very competitive.
One thing I’m trying to figure out is how they get away with charging so little for their batteries. A 3.0 AH compact 18V battery is only $49, whereas it’s ~$30 more than that for a comparable Milwaukee or Makita battery. Their 4.0 MultiVolt battery is only $169 (although frequently on sale for $119) and the 8.0 Milwaukee M18 battery (which contains the same number of 21700 cells) is $199. It seems like a good system to be in if their batteries and chargers are so cheap.
Tim Janson
I bought 2 of these a few months ago when they were $40. I also have a M18 Fuel grinder and a Bosch 1375a grinder (8 years old or so).
Power is just a little bit better than the M18 Fuel and Bosch.
I am a big fan of Hitachi but there are small 2 things I don’t like on these:
1. The cord is plastic-y, has memory, and doesn’t coil well
2. The switch is a little cheap feeling
The Bosch 1375a, at least my 8 year old model, has a better, more rubbery cord and the switch is solid. I woulda rather spent the extra $15 each to get more Bosch grinders.