The Multi Tool - Description & Uses
In this hobby guide I will explain how best to use a multi tool (A dremel drill is a popular
brand name for a multi tool). I will explain what attachments will be useful for the
hobby and how to use them. The tool can be used for preparation of miniatures,
pinning, and terrain making and even helping to paint. A multi tool by definition is a tool that can do multiple things. In this case it is a hobby
item that has interchanging attachments. It is electric and is very similar to a drill. It has
'collets' to attach the pieces into the drill. It has different speeds the tool can spin. This
will allow you to work at fast speeds or slower speeds depending on the work you are doing.
For best performance when using the tool regarding speed, try to keep the speed even and not
too high. As a general guide use slow speeds for large attachments and high speeds for small
attachments. When doing engraving work try to hold the tool like a pen, but be sure to keep
the ventilation slots clear to allow a continuous flow of air. However when using the tool
for heavy work, hold the tool like a hammer. Attachments that come with the most tools, I will explain how each attachment can be used
in this hobby. My drill came with 65 attachments, though there are sets that can be bought
which have more, and I have also seen expansion sets, with replacement pieces and new attachments. The attachments are all shown in the picture, with brief labels of what they are. I will go into more details of these now. Here I will explain how to use all the attachments in the set to there best potential. This will hopefully allow you to make
the most out of the tool in this hobby. Grinding Tools - 12 pieces Engraving Tools - 20 pieces Collets - 3 pieces The collet and attachments works as follows: Here is a picture showing the collet, clamping jaw, locking pin and an attachment and shows how they should fit together. Grinding Disks - 6 pieces Polishing wheels - 2 pieces The advantages of using this method are that you can achieve a metal looking armour very easily and
quickly without using metallic paints. However a spray undercoat cannot be used for the rest of the model
and you will have to be careful when undercoating with a brush so you don't get any paint onto the armour. Grinding wheels - 8 pieces Drill Tools - 5 pieces Screw Tools - 5 pieces Sanding Blocks - 2 pieces Brush Attachments - 2 pieces
In the hobby these are a great substitute for manual files. While you would normally use a
craft knife or miniature files to remove mold lines from your models theses grinding tools come
in all shapes and size to help you to remove these lines easier with no manual work required.
However if using these to prepare your models be sure to keep the tool on a slow speed, and slowly
work on the miniature till all the lines are gone. If you go in to fast and aggressively then you
could risk damaging the detail on the model.
Again these tools come in lots of shapes and sizes, these are very useful to use in terrain making.
I have found them useful for making walls with little effort. The trick is to cut a piece of polystyrene
to the size you want your wall. Then cover it in polyfiller and smooth it out. Then when the polyfiller
has entirely dried an engraving tool can be used to etch a design into the wall such as a brick pattern.
While you could use cardboard stuck on the polystyrene to reach a similar effect this method looks good up
close, as the indentations are deep and realistic. Examples of the sort of results that can be achieved are shown here.
These are used to hold attachments in the tool. They come in 3 sizes to allow all the attachments to be fixed
securely into the tool. The way to use these to is explained below.
The set comes with 3 collets (see picture of all attachments above), these are in 3 different sizes.
The Clamping Jaw of the tool will come off to allow a collet to be placed into the tool. Hold the locking
pin and twist the clamping jaw to release it.
Choose the right size collet for the attachment you wish to use. Then place it into the tool.
Then press on the locking pin and twist the Clamping Jaw to securely fasten the attachment into the tool.
You should clamp the attachment into the tool as short as possible, to prevent them from bending when
working on the highest speed of the tool.
These are flat disks with a thin sanding area on the out side of the disk. This provides the user
with a small sanding device. This could be used for smoothing small wooden edges when making terrain
that is wooden, such as a Rohan watchtower. This is perfect for the hobby, as everything has to be
on such a small scale anyway. However if the wood were balsa wood I would stray away from using these,
as balsa wood is quite a fragile soft wood, using a grinding tool would easily break it, especially if
using it on a high speed. The replacements that come with it can be used when the original runs out.
To replace the disk, simply unscrew the screw at the top, and this will loosen the attachment and the
grinding disk will come off, and a new one can be placed on then the screw tightened again.
These are used to polish metals, either gold or silver. One useful use these have, is to make metal
areas on your model look like either polished or beaten metal, with very little effort. The trick
is to use the polishing attachment and the tool and use it polish all the armour areas on the model.
This will only really work on metal warriors of minas tirith models such as the trebuchet loaders,
siege loaders, captains and banner bearers, or knights of minas tirith. This is because this method
is really to be used on larger models, however since the WOMT are mainly armour it will work on these
too. Once you have polished the armour it is time to give it a black ink wash. This should preferably
be 1 part ink to 1 part water. This should hopefully run in the crevices in the armour and generally
darken the armour. You can then rub away some of the ink if you want a more polished armour with a
rough cloth, or if you just want a beaten and used look to the armour you can just leave it as
it is. Here is an example of the result I achieved very easily using this method. I went for a
more battle worn for my armour. 
These are basically the same as the grinding disks; the only difference being is that it is that the
sanding area is much wider than the thin one found on the grinding disks. These are more suited to sanding
rough wooden edges. As I am an avid diorama maker I have worked with plinths for diorama bases, I have found
that these can sometimes have rough edges and often need a good sanding. These disks can do exactly that but
again taking away the manual aspect of this so can do this in a fraction of a time. The replacements that
come with it can be used when the original runs out. To replace the wheel, simply unscrew the screw at the
top, and this will loosen the attachment and the grinding wheel will come off, and a new one can be placed
on then the screw tightened again
These are possibly the most useful tools in this set. The drills can be used for all types of pinning and
drilling in this hobby. This is a very fast process compared to a pin vice as it is all electric. This can
mean deeper holes can be made for stronger pinning. To pin successfully, first choose a suitable place to
pin on your model. Then start the drill on a slow speed to make the first mark in the metal, this should
provide an indentation in the metal to guide the rest of the drill into. Now turn up the speed to just
under maximum speed and drill a deep hole into the metal. Now do the other in the place where they will
fit together in the other piece of metal you wish to pin. Not get a paper clip and cut a short length off
and insert it into on of the holes. Then put superglue on the rest of the metal, and press it onto the
other one, making sure that the paperclip goes into the other hole in the metal. This should hold the
2 pieces together firmly once the superglue is dry.
These are not what the name suggests, they do not work to screw into materials, rather they are used to
house some of the other attachments. There are 3 that hold the grinding disks and are different sizes
lengthwise. There are also 2 that can hold the buffering attachments, they are the white circles that
can be seen in the picture under 'grinding wheel and attachments'. These can be used to generally polish
metals and other surfaces, like the polishing wheels they do not serve much of a purpose in the hobby.
These are blocks to sharpen the attachments such as the engraving tools on, there are 2 blocks as one is
longer but rougher and so get the job done quicker but it wont be as neat. The other block is shorter but
has a smoother finish on it. This will take longer to sharpen the tools, but it will give a neater finish
on the tool in the long run. It is personal preference in the end in which you use.
These are brushes, which can clean things quite effectively. I think the best way to use them is to use
them after doing minor terrain work or conversion with metal. When doing small pieces of terrain on your
workbench it can often make quite a mess with dust and things, this is also the case which metal
conversions as it can leave lots of bits of metal if filing areas. So I use this brush to sweep away all
the dust from my working area, as sometimes it can be transferred onto the brush when I lay it on the
workbench. This will then get in the paint and could ruin the figure I am working on, or potentially
could infect the paint, and ruin any future miniatures.
As you can see here a multi tool has it many uses in this hobby alone, and can have many more in other
situations. I would recommend it to anyone; it is a great investment in the long run, especially for
avid terrain builders. The kit can prove quite expensive but is well worth the money in my opinion.
