I am just as surprised as the next guy, but indeed Festool is having a closeout. If you remember, back in the beginning of 2009 Festool enacted an across the board price increase on their products. The average price increase for 09 was just under 5%, this closeout sale offers savings of up to 25%; so there is still a considerable amount of savings. Keep in mind that the sale is only for select products, but these products include: the Domino Joiner, Cordless Drills, Orbital Sanders, Multifunction tables and more(14 items in total).

The term closeout means “to dispose of all remaining stock”, so why is the Domino on sale? It is still a pretty new tool, and Festool just recently added new accessory options for the Domino. It could be that Festool is changing something as simple as the packaging or contents, or even mean a new model is on the way.

Whatever the reason, enjoy the sale while you can and pick up what you need before the sale ends.

Update 10/30/09: Shane from Festool was kind enough to point out that there were some minor changes made to fence and base of the Domino (link). This is the reason for the closeout, but don't be put off as many users are still using the older model without problems. If you do find out later that you need these changes, you can buy replacement parts.

Festool Closeout Details

During my recent look over at the Ridgid website I noticed something interesting. Ridgid is now re-branding a few of the more common MagSwitch products. This is likely to mean you have a pretty good chance of getting these at your local HomeDepot, or having them ordered from HD if they can not be found in your area. This is a smart move for MagSwitch if HomeDepot makes them available in most of there stores. This could also do a lot to get the MagSwitch name out there.

Starting this Sunday up until November 8th, Home Depot will be offering a drill trade up program. Simply bring in your used or broken power drill and Home Depot will give you 15% off of a new Lithium-Ion cordless drill. HD will then recycle your old drill and save the world; a win win for everyone.

Also, though not as cool, from November 5th – 15th Home Depot will be offering a trade up program for old Christmas lights. Bring in your old or broken Christmas lights and HD will give you a $3 off coupon towards new LED Christmas lights, good for up to 5 redemption.

Both trade up programs will take place at all Home Depot U.S. Stores.

Update 10/27: Here is the Home Depot Drill Promo Page

As part of Makita's plan to rid the world of power cords, they have added two more cordless tools to their lineup. You might not have expected cordless vacs from Makita, but it is something they have offered in the past and something most of us can use.

Their new cordless vacs come in two models, the first (Model BCL180ZW) uses the Makita 18 volt LXT batteries, and the second (CL100DZ) uses their 10.8 volt batteries. They are both about 18 inches in length total, and can be used for both floor cleaning, and broken down for hand held cleaning.

You are looking at a continuous run time of 10 minutes for the 18 volt compact battery (1.5 Ah), and 12 minutes for the 10.8 volt. You can get up to 20 minutes of run time with the BCL180*, when using one of the Makita 3.0 Ah batteries. The 18 volt model is also available as a kit, including 1 compact battery and charger. All three models include Vacuum, Extension, Floor Nozzle, Crevice Nozzle, ans 2-Stage Filter.

The Cl100DZ, BCL180ZW, and BCL180W are suggested to retail for $59, $89, and $149 respectively.

Makita Tools
$ Makita Cordless Vacs - Amazon