The Dremel Multipro, formerly known as the Moto-Tool, is nothing more than a palm-sized motor attached to a rotating shaft. The versatility of the Multipro comes from the fact that it can be wielded like an engraving tool, it has a near-infinite number of accessories and attachments, and it spins at speeds that would shred a standard power drill.

I have Martha Stewart to thank for our Multipro. My wife was watching TV one day when Martha used a Multipro with a drill press accessory to make a faux Tongan Fertility Necklace out of hand-polished kukui nuts...or something like that. Say what you want about Martha Stewart, but the woman is no stranger to tools.

"I'd like one of those," my wife said.

"You mean, as a gift?" I asked.

"Sure," said Cindi.

No man in his right mind should consider giving a woman a tool or appliance as a gift, but this was different. She *requested* it. So a few weeks later, the Dremel Multipro joined the household tool collection, complete with the drill press accessory favored by Ms. Stewart.

So far, my wife has only used the tool a couple of times. She hasn't found many uses for it, but *I* have. So what is the Multipro good for? It can sand, route, shape, smooth, sculpt, buff, cut, clean, drill, polish, grind, and engrave. It's not meant for heavy-duty jobs--that's what power tools are for--but it's just the thing for small jobs and detail work.

Here are some of the things I've used the Multipro for:

I had to put a striker plate into a door frame, but the hole was a bit too small for the door latch. I used the Multipro with a grinding attachment to enlarge the hole enough to fit the latch.

I have a pair of Rollerblades that I use almost daily and they require regular maintenance. I sometimes use the Multipro to clean and polish the bearing housings, especially if there's any rust on them.

We built a wardrobe and had trouble getting the mitered cuts on some of the trim to match up. No problem: the sanding attachment on the Multipro made it an easy job.

The screw holes in some L-brackets were too small for the size of the wall anchors we wanted to use. It was too late to go to the hardware store. A few minutes of grinding with the Multipro enlarged the holes enough to save the day.

Cindi wanted to drip-irrigate some plants in the back yard. I used the Multipro to put tiny holes in the empty 2-liter soda bottles that now serve as our irrigation system.

Our upstairs neighbors left a swing set in the backyard that had to be dismantled. The bolts and screws were fused with rust. Rather than wasting elbow grease with a hacksaw, Cindi and I (mostly Cindi) used the Multipro to cut the bolts off.

There are only a couple of drawbacks to the Multipro: it's often *too* fast, and it doesn't always have enough power. It has five speeds, topping out at a blistering 25,000 rpm. That's over 400 revolutions a second, enough to easily char and blacken wood and melt plastic. Unfortunately, its motor isn't always strong enough to be used at some of the lower speeds. Sometimes it'll slow down or stop entirely in the middle of a job. And sometimes the delicate cutting disks crumble in the middle of a task; I guess it's a good thing the Dremel kit includes several of them.

Outside of these limitations, the Dremel Multipro is a versatile tool that lends itself to a wide variety of projects and uses. I've seen a flexible shaft attachment that looks like it would be invaluable to model builders. I've been meaning to try it out with the router attachment, but I've misplaced the router box.

A brief word of advice: it's possible to get the Mutlipro by itself, with no attachments, but you'll be wanting accessories sooner than later. So it makes sense to just get one of the full kits, like the unimaginatively-named #3955, which includes most of the basic pieces.

I hardly ever fish with dynamite these days, and I've gained a proper appreciation for good tools. Any day now, I'll be able to snatch the pebble out of my master's hand and leave the monastery. I haven't figured out how yet, but I'm pretty sure there's a way to do it using the Multipro.

- Andrew Sasaki [5/29/98]