Ace Hardware Black Friday Tool Deals: Milwaukee, DeWalt, Craftsman and More

Introduction

Ace Hardware is easy to overlook when the big-box tool sales roll around, but the chain carries Milwaukee, Craftsman, and DeWalt under one roof, and its early Black Friday “Red Hot Buys” event includes a mix of familiar and genuinely useful deals. For anyone living outside a major metro, the closest Ace is often a shorter drive than a Lowe’s or Home Depot, and stock levels at this location were notably healthy.

This roundup covers the standout deals from the sale, what each is worth, and a few honest caveats before you spend. Overall, most offers match what the big boxes are running, with a handful of small wins if Ace happens to be your nearest option.

Milwaukee M18 Deals

The headline Milwaukee offer is the M18 compact drill and driver kit at $149 after an Ace Rewards coupon, which lines up closely with comparable promotions at the big-box stores. A random orbital sander sits at $99, a fair price for a brushless-adjacent shop staple. Expect fewer buy-one-get-one offers at Ace than at Home Depot, but stock was plentiful across the wall.

If you already run the M18 platform, the smaller add-on deals matter too: a two-pack of 25-foot tape measures and box cutter bundles have appeared in past promotions, and the Shockwave impact driver bit set drops to about $60 with the Ace Rewards discount, roughly matching the Home Depot equivalent.

Milwaukee M12 Deals

The M12 Fuel brushless kit is priced at $179, which is a solid entry point into Milwaukee’s compact 12-volt platform. M12 tools suit homeowners and tradespeople who value lightweight handling for cabinetry, electrical, and finish work, and the Fuel brushless version brings better runtime than the older brushed motors.

There is not much in the way of aggressive bundling on this line at Ace, but availability was strong, which counts for a lot during peak tool season.

DeWalt PowerStack Kits

DeWalt’s PowerStack kit lineup is part of the sale, and the key sweetener is a free bonus tool with purchase, one option being an impact wrench. The shelf display made it hard to confirm whether the kit included the 2.7Ah or 5Ah batteries, so double-check the specifics before you commit.

Around the PowerStack display you will find the usual DeWalt range: compact circular saws, a one-handed reciprocating saw, oscillating multi-tools, $99 drill-and-impact driver combos, and a two-pack of 3Ah batteries similar to what other retailers have run.

Craftsman V20

Ace carries the same Craftsman V20 sale that Lowe’s is running right now, so there is no meaningful price edge between the two. What differs is the rewards structure: the Ace Rewards program works quite differently from Lowe’s or Home Depot programs, so it pays to understand the mechanics before checkout.

For V20 owners, this is a straightforward opportunity to fill gaps in the platform rather than chase a bargain you would not find elsewhere.

Diablo Carbide Reciprocating Saw Blades

Ace stocks an unusually large Diablo section, which is a real advantage. Diablo’s carbide reciprocating blades have earned a strong reputation, and the sale pricing included single packs around the $12.99 to $18 mark. When asked to compare, the honest verdict among users of various premium blade lines tends to be simple: the other options work well, but Diablo carbide offers the best value for most people.

Reciprocating blades are expensive enough that the holiday season is generally the smartest time to buy. Pruning blades also deserve a mention: they last a long time when used on fresh green wood free of nails and screws. If you want to spend even less, budget blades from online marketplaces perform surprisingly well for light-duty work.

Milwaukee Packout Storage

Packout is on hand at Ace with a buy-more-save-more structure: spend $400 or more and save $150, which works out to better than 25 percent off. That mirrors Home Depot’s version of the same promotion and is one of the more compelling numbers in the whole event.

On brand alternatives, ToughBuilt and Flex make storage systems with similar modular appeal, and either would be a reasonable second choice if you are building a system from scratch.

Craftsman Overdrive and Hand Tools

The Craftsman Overdrive line in its dark gunmetal finish is a find here, since the full display rarely shows up outside a massive big-box footprint. The finish looks genuinely distinctive next to standard chrome. One practical caveat: the ratchet’s forward-reverse switch is awkward to operate, and at $40 for the ratchet alone, it is a tough sell. The 49-piece Overdrive set at $115 feels overpriced.

The better value nearby is the 105-piece mechanic’s set at $69.99. It contains some solid pieces alongside plenty of filler, but at that price the useful core makes it worthwhile. Smaller items worth noting: a $99.99 230-piece mechanics tool set matching the Lowe’s version, $9.99 drill bit and screwdriving sets, an organizer, and a staple gun. On the flip side, small wrench packs at $32 are cheaper online, so compare before buying even with the lifetime warranty.

Yeti Coolers and Benchmade Knives

Ace’s outdoor section feels like a mini outfitter store, carrying fishing gear, boating supplies, and a large Yeti cooler display alongside nearly all-Benchmade knife selection. Yeti items carry a sale with a free $10 gift card rather than an explicit dollar discount, so the value depends on whether you were buying anyway.

The case for Yeti remains strong: the brand holds resale value remarkably well, which matters more than raw performance for many buyers. Budget competitors offer comparable performance at roughly half the price, but they do not carry the same name recognition or resale strength. Benchmade pricing showed meaningful savings, around $115 off on some models, though nothing that screamed limited-time urgency.

Overall Buying Advice

Across the board, the Ace sale roughly mirrors Lowe’s and Home Depot. If a big box is nearby, you will likely find equivalent or slightly better offers there. If your closest Ace is significantly closer, the strong stock levels and the Packout promotion make a stop worthwhile. Small hand tool deals, Diablo blades, and Milwaukee bit sets are the categories where Ace feels most competitive.

No steel deals were running at the time, and outdoor power equipment selection was thin, limited to a couple of Craftsman blowers. Packaging deals like Packout tumblers have gone on sale in past events but were not discounted during this visit.

Conclusion

This Ace Hardware event is a quiet, sensible sale rather than a spectacle. The M18 drill kit, the Packout spend-and-save, Diablo blade pricing, and the 105-piece Craftsman set are the picks with real substance. As Black Friday approaches, the deals are likely to deepen, so it may be worth revisiting in a few weeks before making any large purchases.