The most popular Dremel is the rotary tool. It is among the most versatile tools available for whatever project you wish to do. The rotary Dremel has tips for engraving, polishing, cutting, grinding, cleaning, carving, drilling and sanding. There isn’t much you can’t do with it.

Pets and Dremel

Part of owning a dog is grooming. While many people think nothing of bathing their pet, a lot of people shy away from nail trimming. If the nails are not properly cut they can split and cause the nails to catch on the rug or furniture. The nail can also be cut too short and cause pain and bleeding. With the dremel and a sanding drum, you can sand you pups nails to the right length with a lot less fear of mistakes or injury. Sometimes the sound may be intimidating to the dog, but with a little time and patience you can use the sanding drum on their nails. It is best to do each nail for a few seconds and then move on to the next one. Some heat will be generated and it’s possible the dog will not like that at all.

Craft Projects

If you do small wooden craft projects, the Dremel is a great tool for smoothing out those rough edges. It can also be used to drill holes in the wood and save lots of time for the assembly of your masterpiece. The selection of tips and tools is huge and you can pick and choose exactly what you need to complete the chore. There are also cutting, sanding and carving kits available. There are 6 available routing bits as well as a cut-off wheel.

Theft Protection

There are an assortment of tool kits that fit the Dremel. You can get attachments in sets of anywhere from fifty two to one hundred eighty five pieces. There are also engraving kits that can be used with the same body. As you acquire your skills you can use these tools to monogram metals or even glass. This comes in very handy to put identification marks on your electronic equipment to give you something else to tell officials in case of theft.

Many craftsman use their tool to make a complete wooden project. This is possible because of the assortment of router bits that are available. The proper router bit gives a professional touch to your project.

Many types of jewelry can be created and polished with the Dremel. The jewelry can be engraved with the engraving tools and polished to a high shine. To attempt to list all of the projects that can be completed with this high speed rotary tool would take an encyclopedia. It is durable and accessible. You may even find one in your podiatrists office to help remove those painful calluses on your feet.

Whatever your project, be it shaping metal or plastic, designing jewelry to trimming Fluffy’s nails, there is a Dremel tool to suit your need.

In the past, I usually used a utility knife with a grout blade.  I would dig it into a crack in the grout and begin “chunking” the grout out. Grout would go flying and somewhere along the line I would usually chip a piece of tile off… to either fill in with new grout or pop the tile and replace it.

With the right attachment, you can buzz down the seam between the tiles and remove the old grout.  The difference between what your utility knife can do and what your Dremel rotary tool can do are night and day. The seams between the tiles are completely clean.  No loose pieces of grout anywhere. 

Here are the steps you will need to take to get this job done right.  It’s much quicker than you think.

You will need four items that you can pick up online or at Lowes:

1. The Grout Removal Attachment
2. Grout Bit
3. Safety goggles
4. Ear plugs if you don’t like the high pitched sound echoing off the shower walls.

Do note that if your gap is less than 1/8 of an inch it is easier to break your grout bit.  I would suggest a more narrow bit or switching to the Demel Multi Max.

1) Put the grout bit in your dremel tool chuck and then screw on your grout removal attachment.  The attachment is great because it allows you to control the depth and the angle at which you word.  It is better to start shallow and then make a second pass at a slightly greater depth.

2) Find the speed of your Dremel to go between 15-20,000 rpms. This is the recommended setting when working at the angle set by the attachment.

3) Use the guides on the attachment to keep your tool cutting through the grout so it does not chip the tile.  It is easiest to work down, by pulling the tool down, rather than working up.  I find it easier to work left to right on the horizontal seams. Remember to work slowly.  Let the tool do the work as you pull it through the grout.

Click here to view the embedded video.

4) Make a second pass at a greater depth to remove the desired amount of grout.  This also helps thoroughly clean out the seams.

5) One last trick I use is to get a can of “spray air.” These are the aresol cans that spray air for your computer.  Take that and spray between the seems to get out any grout dust so you have a nice clean seam.

6) Clean up the mess and prepare for regrouting.

Most repairs are generally confined to a small area of the shower or tile job and do not require you to do all the tile.  I can usually knock out a job like this in about 15 minutes.  Most repairs can be done in less than half an hour, even with clean up.  Then just regrout.  The job looks excellent.  It all starts though with a good tool.  The larger the seam, or gap, the easier the job is.

Just watch the brief video above that shows you how the tool works and really how easy it is to remove grout with a Dremel rotary tool and the right attachment.

I am not sure how much longer corded models will remain on the market. It is not long any regular power tool, like a drill or a jig saw. With a high speed tool, you tend to do more precision work. Not having a cord to knock into things, get caught on something, or otherwise interfere is a huge plus.

The Cordless Dremel Rotary Tool I Recommend

Having owned 2 previous Dremel tools, when I found out about the improved battery, I went out and bought the Dremel 7700. My son was building his car for the Pinewood Derby, and I could think of no better time to go out and get one. One of the things about this tool is that it is go-anywhere.

We took it out to his scout troop and worked on several of the cars together. After working on several cars, their wheels, and their axles, there was still plenty of battery to spare. A friend of mine who had owned one of the original cordless models – his would have been dead after about 15 minutes.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A couple of the features that this model has is 2-speed, either 10,000 or 20,000 rpms. It comes with several tools and attachments in order to do any level of work. Mine came in a bag, like the picture on the left.

The reason I included the Amazon link on the left is that is where I bought mine. You save 40% over the regular price that you could find at Home Depot or Lowes.

Of course, it is good for many things besides building cars for cub scouts. It is good for many other types of hobbies, from doll furniture building, to model railroading, to other fine crafts. The Dremel Rotary Tool is also good for getting out and doing some more rugged jobs. I have used it for:

1. cleaning old caulk around my window frames
2. cleaning up old tile glue on the floor
3. drilling holes in hard to reach places
4. sharpening my saws
5. polishing some precious stones
6. engraving some metal plates
7. cutting old screws out
8. doing finish work on a fine furniture

There are many other things. The Dremel Rotary Tool, model 7700 is a great tool to add to your workbench. You’ll be suprised how much it gets used.