A Review of the Dremel 1100-01 Stylus Multi-Function Tool

While looking for something on Amazon, and wading through the numerous ads for National Power Tool Day, AKA father's day, I came across an ad for the Dremel 1100-01 Stylus. I bought one of these several years ago, excited by the thought of having a tool that could do almost anything. Now that the novelty has worn off, two years later, I thought it would be a good idea to read a review of it.

First off, let me address the idea of the Dremel tool being a "multifunction" machine. If you believed the package, you would think that you are getting a device that could function as a drill, a router, a saw, a sander, and handy gadget capable of doing just about anything else you needed to do. While the Dremel tool is certainly a cool device, it falls substantially short of being such a fabled universal power tool. It can however, with the right set of attachments, do quite a bit. Buy it a stand and a router bit, which, if not included, will set you back about 20 bucks, and you have a nice little detail router. Certainly not useful for the things you might normally use a router for, but handy for small inscribing projects. You can write your name and a piece of wood with it!

The sanding drum is another useful feature you can put on the Dremel 1100-01 Stylus. It is included, and will allow you to quickly shape small pieces of wood, and smooth out rough corners. You'll also find the polishing wheel to be helpful, in conjunction with a polishing compound, easily available from any hardware store. Depending on the setup, you can use it to do anything from polishing silver to sharpening chisels.

There are a couple departments in which the Dremel 1100-01 Stylus falls short, however. First is as a saw. Although you may have had grand visions of using the Dremel 1100-01 Stylus as a sort of handheld bandsaw a replacement, expect no such thing. The rotary saw proves to be inaccurate at best, and largely completely nonfunctional. In the best of cases, it will scorch the heck out of the peace you're working on. The grinder wheels also prove to be a bit of a letdown. While they do remove metal, they're totally useless for sharpening chisels. In fact, they are a great way to completely ruin your chisels. Instead, use felt wheel loaded with "black" polishing compound. This, in conjunction with a water stone, will do great things for all edged hand tools.

One other point would be to avoid the temptation to buy the "snake", the thing that attaches to your Dremel tool and allows you to use it without wielding the whole apparatus. Although it looks like it would make the job easier, it is if anything even more unwieldy than the device by itself.

Oh, and by the way, don't actually get the Dremel 1100-01 Stylus. Instead, get one that plugs in. The battery, well a good idea, just doesn't deliver the power you need.