In case you missed the heads-up from a few weeks ago, now is the perfect time to take a stroll down your local power tool aisle. Fall cleaning, holiday stock preparation, and a lull in sales are prompting some decent deals at the big boxes. The key to getting a great deal around this time of year, though, is visiting the hardware stores in person since they don’t advertise most discounts — and the discounts are probably unique to each particular store location. 

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In my Lowe’s weekly circular I found this Dewalt DC940KA 12V XRP Drill/Driver Kit marked all the way down to $99. Weighing five pounds, this heavy duty drill features a 1/2″ ratcheting metal chuck and an all-metal 3-speed transmission. The kit includes the drill, two 12V XRP batteries, a one hour charger, and a heavy duty carrying case. Lowes is offering this price both in stores and online until Sept. 30th.

Dewalt DC940KA 12V Drill [Manufacturer]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s this?]

Most people ruin an otherwise-professional-looking caulk job by trying to finish it with a finger.  News flash: moistening your finger with spit, applying dish soap, and taping off the area are “old contractor tales” that’ll leave you with a big mess.  But before you give up and pay somebody to correct your mess, you might want to give Homax’s Perfect Bead caulk finisher a try.

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Painting can be a messy and time consuming chore, but it’s easier with the right tools — like a dedicated paint pail.  With a magnetic brush holder and a scraper rim, they kick the crap out of a plain ‘ole bucket.

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If you still don’t own a grill — or maybe you’re thinking of replacing your old one — just head to your local big box this weekend and select your beef-charring favorite.  Home Depot and Lowe’s are both running Labor Day sales for the next three days offering up to 30% savings on grills (and some small appliances). 

As I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago, keep your eyes peeled for other clearance items, too.  This is one of the top-five sale weekends of the year, so get thee to the store to check out a few deals.  It’s worth your time — unless I beat you there first.

Home Depot [Official Website]
Lowe’s [Official Website]  

It’s getting to be that time of year again: Summer is ending and the change of seasonal items at the big box stores is going to happen any time now. Just today I stood under the ceiling fans at the local big box and saw little yellow tags that were marked with that glorious word, the one that will bring about the coming of the next seasonal spending orgy: “clearance.” 

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A good pack of chisels can cost a fair chunk of change - upwards of $20 or more in some cases - so why not keep a few cheap spares around? These Task Force chisels are low-grade Chinese imports that may not hold an edge as long as their high-dollar counterparts. But at $6 per pack, you can throw them in the toolbox and let anyone use them. You might get some use out of them, and you don’t have to weep if they are lost, broken, or if your shifty neighbor pockets one.

Task Force Chisels [Lowe’s]

Hitachi announced a number of new benchtop woodworking tools today, including this interesting band saw.  Its head tilts up to 45-degrees to make angled cuts while your workpiece remains flat on the table.

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Lowe’s is offering a free $50 gift card when you purchase this Hitachi 12″ dual-bevel compound miter saw with laser.  The saw sells for $319 online, but it may be a little cheaper in your local store.  It features a laser marking system that you can adjust to the left or right side of the blade, a 15 amp, 1,950 watt motor, a zero to 52 degree miter and a a zero to 48 degree bevel scale in both directions, and a tall, pivoting 5-1/8″ aluminum fence.

Hitachi C12FDH [Hitachi]
$50 Gift Card Promotion [Lowes]
Via Amazon [What’s this?]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

Yep — it’s a 6′ long metal toothpick.  And if you need to dig in hard soil, it’s your friend.  Perry writes: “This is an approximately 20 pound, 6′ long steel bar with a chisel tip on one end and a point on the other — like a pencil point.  It’s create for breaking up hard soil and for chopping through roots.  I’ve had one for a while now, and it’s a Godsend with the hard ground around me.  I’ve also hit rocks and concrete several times with no problems.”

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Ever since Hitachi became Halo fans, I’ve had a hard time finding anything interesting on their new products page.  Sure, there’s lots of good stuff there.  It just all looks exactly the same — except this one driver, which seems to have slept through the green party.

I’m not kidding.  You’re reading about this driver because it’s brown-ish.

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Lowe’s is offering Hitachi’s 18V 1/2″ cordless drill/driver kit for $100 right now as part of their Father’s Day sales — about $40-$60 cheaper than we’ve seen it elsewhere.  Its two-speed transmission yeilds zero-load speeds of 0-400 or 0-1,200 RPM, and it features a 22-setting clutch, a soft rubber grip, and a keyless chuck.  Hitachi claims a maximum torque of 400 in-lbs.

Hitachi DS18DVF3 18V Cordless Drill/Driver Kit [Lowe’s]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

Behold the power of flames: this plain ‘ole 7-piece set of Task Force screwdrivers isn’t remarkable in any way except that they have red and yellow rubber flames on the handle.  Yes, this is a shameless gimmick and a sorry attempt to part us with $12.  The only trouble is that it works – every time. 

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Lowe’s is offering a $50 gift card when you purchase a Delta Shopmaster 10″ compound miter saw for $99 (232884) and a miter work stand for $99 (193030).  That’s essentially offering the stand for half price!  The saw comes with a 40 tooth carbide blade, sliding fence, dust bag and blade wrench, and the work stand folds away for storage and includes expandable arm extensions.

Of course, you do have to deal with the rebate processing.

Miter Saw [Lowes]
Work Stand [Lowes]
Rebate Form [Lowes]

Pierce writes: “Apparently this rig runs pneumatic tools — the Lowe’s flyer shows a woman using a nail gun on a fence — using the big brother of the carbon dioxide cannisters used to power BB and paintball guns.  I’m eying this rig because my 26-gallon compressor is a thousand miles away — long story — but I wonder: will it drive three framing nails then sputter and die?”

We saw this during a recent trip to Lowe’s as well, and would love to hear from some of you that’ve used it.  Obviously it’s not going to handle major work, but could this be a handy addition for project work in tight spaces or where it’d be difficult to string line or a compressor?

Let us know in comments.

Portable Compressed CO2 Regulator [Lowe’s]

Stuey writes: “You’ve probably seen it before - that nearly indestructable yellow case that comes with Dewalt screwdriver bit sets.  Well, at Home Depot, Lowes,  and a few obscure online vendors, you can pick up empty Tough Cases for storage purposes.  They come with six dividers and are perfect for drill bits, jigsaw bits, and screwdriver bits – you get the picture. I believe Home Depot sells them for cheapest at $5 a pop.  In addition to random bits, I’ve also got a center punch, socket adapter (1/4″ to 3/8″ drive), and some other odd shaped items in mine.  I’ve found that it’s much more durable and practical than a traditional divided organizer albeit at a higher cost.  Plus it’s sized right, focusing on tool accessory storage as opposed to mass fastener-type storage.”

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Sold by Woods under the YellowJacket brand, this little gizmo is the pinnacle of cube-tap evolution, plain and simple.  It turns a single extension cord outlet into five, and locks itself onto the cord that feeds it.  There’s one lock for the inlet and a second lock for one outlet, so you can insert this at the junction of two cords and they won’t come apart. 

Look for more pics after the jump.

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