Dremel no. 1100 Stylus rotary tool

MOST OF US own big, all-purpose power tools: electric drills, circular saws, and pad sanders. We use them to make picnic tables, hang pictures in our living rooms, and build wall shelves above washing machines. But there’s another category of power tools – smaller and more specialized than those in your garage – that are especially useful to train hobbyists: rotary tools.

Rotary tools are great for cutting and smoothing track, cleaning and polishing locomotive parts, grinding metal pieces to shape, and just about any other small-scale task for which a traditional power tool is too cumbersome. I bought a rotary tool several years ago and would be lost today without it.

Among the newest members of this family of tools is the Dremel Stylus. Like previous rotary tools, the Stylus enables you to cut, polish, grind, carve, clean, etch, sharpen, and sand nearly any surface. The business end of the tool holds a variety of attachments (Dremel calls them “accessories”), 25 of which came packaged with our sample tool, along with two sizes of collets (collets hold the attachments to the rotating shaft of the tool). Dremel also makes dozens of other specialized attachments.

A knob on the back of the Stylus allows you to dial in the speed of the tool from 5,000 to 25,000 rpm. Different surfaces, from plastic to steel to ceramics, require different cutting, grinding, and polishing speeds.

Speed and attachment choices are explained in the instruction booklet.

Unlike previous cigar-shaped rotary tools, the Stylus is designed foremost to fit in your hand. It can be held like a pencil, gripped like a pistol, or even held upside-down between your thumb and forefinger for a clear view of close-up applications. It is compact, so the motor case doesn’t hinder your movement the way longer-bodied rotary tools do.

The Stylus also is cordless, allowing you to bring the tool to your work area without dragging along a power cord. This feature is especially useful when building or modifying a train layout.

The Stylus comes with its own docking station to store it or charge its lithium-ion batteries. The batteries can be re-charged at any time; you don’t have to let them run down first.

For a toy train hobbyist, the Stylus has it all. It’s lightweight and cordless, fits your hand, and utilizes all the Dremel attachments.

DREMEL NO. 1100 STYLUS ROTARY TOOL
Price: See dremel.com
Features: Variable speed, lightweight, ergonomic design
Pros: Comfortable and functional shape, replaceable Lithium-ion battery pack, useful instruction booklet tells you which attachments are used for which tasks
Cons: None

Made in Mexico for Dremel