10 Ways To Use Your Rotary Tool

A rotary tool is a multipurpose, hand-held power tool with a quickly spinning motor tip that you can use to grind, sand, hone, and polish materials. Due to their numerous attachments made for various applications, rotary tools are standard in toolboxes. A rotary tool can serve as a portable, user-friendly substitute for more powerful power tools when equipped with the appropriate rotary tool bits.

How to Use a Rotary Tool?

1. Build A Miniature Bench Top Grinder

Here's a clever trick to free up your hands when using a rotary tool for delicate tasks like sharpening. Two radiator hose clamps are used to secure the rotary tool to an angle bracket that has been screwed onto a board. Avoid overtightening them to avoid damaging the tool housing. You can clamp the tool to the board either horizontally or vertically.

2. Fix A Dishwasher Rack

Have the days of your dishwasher rack passed? You can fix it. Remove the old vinyl and rust by inserting a wire brush into a rotary tool. Brush continuously until you reach all-new metal.

3. Chainsaw Sharpening

A rotary tool can quickly and efficiently sharpen your chainsaw's cutters. Three grinding wheels in standard diameters are included with the chain sharpener, along with a guide that quickly fits into the rotary tool to regulate the cutting depth and angle (the sharpener also comes with a stone and guide for sharpening lawn mower blades). When using it, be sure to wear safety glasses.

4. Cut Through Difficult Conditions

Repairs for kitchen or bathroom faucets that go wrong can be a nightmare. The all-purpose rotary tool is a secret weapon used by qualified plumbers. You can use cutting wheels to cut down the side of a jammed faucet cap. You'll replace the plastic seal, so don't worry about removing it. But refrain from cutting the brass threads.

5. Make Tile Curves

Use a rotary tool with a tile-cutting bit to create curves in the tile. Make the first pass after setting the bit's cutting depth to 1/4. Once you've cut all the way through, make more passes, putting the bit 1/4 inch deeper each time.

6. Pumpkin Carving

With a rotary tool, you may adorn pumpkins quickly. The small grinding attachment is handy for removing only the top layer of pumpkin skin. Compared to a complete hole in the pumpkin, this lets some light through but not nearly as much. With the tool, it's simple to follow a pattern as well.

7. Repair a Door Latch

Using a rotary tool and a metal-cutting carbide burr, remove any material from the interior of the strike plate. Take a tiny bit out, then shut the door to check the latch. You should scrape the metal until the door latch catches.

8. Dispose Of Stripped Screws

Here's how to remove screws with stripped heads. To reduce the circumference, mount a cutoff wheel in a rotary tool and grind it against some scrap metal. Make it such that it can only cut into the screw head and not the wood surrounding it. Now carefully loosen the damaged fastener by grinding a slot at an angle to the original slot in the screw head.

9. Use An Eraser To Clean a Mini Sanding Drum

When the sanding drum on your rotary tool becomes clogged, use a rubber pencil eraser to clean the surface. To remove the chips and muck, operate the tool at a low pace while pressing the eraser into the blocked drum.

10. Cinch Clamps On Pex Supply Pipe Must Be Removed

For cutting either type of PEX connector, a rotary cutter with a cutoff blade works nicely. Cut off the end of the tubing to get a new section for the newly installed connection. This is done after removing the crimp ring or cinch clamp and pulling the PEX supply from the fitting. Replace the fitting instead of risking a leak if you damage it with the rotary tool.