This week, I want to talk about one of the most indispensable tools in my shop: the Dremel rotary tool. I love Dremels. I don?t get paid to write that?I buy all my own Dremel tools, and whether it’s the Dremel brand or not probably doesn’t matter.
This rotary tool is simply a high-speed motor with a small chuck at the end to grip the shanks of various accessories. The combination of high-speed and specific accessories to cut, grind, sand, carve, brush and polish (have I missed any") makes the multi tool incredibly useful for motorcycle work.
As with any cutting tool, the general concept is simple: a harder material can be used to cut (or grind) a softer material.

My current Dremel MultiPro This is the third one I’ve owned in around 15 years. The earlier two eventually quit working, but they lasted me a long time, and, honestly, they were probably abused. I keep buying the Dremel brand, because I know they will take a beating. I haven?t used a battery-powered Dremel: I use it in my shop, so I stick with a mains-powered version. This particular model has a variable speed motor, with a spindle and a small chuck at the end. Frankly, I have never run my Dremel at anything less than full speed, so a single speed model would probably be adequate. Dremel?s website does however advise slower speeds for cutting and grinding metals, and slower again for plastics.
Most cutting or grinding tools work best at a particular speed range (measured in meters per mi...