Yes!
I love to use power tools, and have a couple drills I like that fit a woman's hand nicely and don't weigh 500 lbs. I don't have a Dremel but I'd really like one, mostly for the sanding attachments. It would come in so handy with furniture refinishing (one of my favorite things to do) when trying to get into those tight nooks and crannies that a detail sander is too large for. We bought my brother one for Christmas one year, Dremel brand, and it was packaged with a lot of extra tips. He uses it all around the house, but not sure for what ;) They don't market those things heavily for women, but I would bet around Father's Day they would have some good deals where they've added extra accessory tips.

I've used my dremel to cut rusted bolts from the toilet tank. Not a lot of fun and took a long time but it worked. Also used it with a special bit to remove ALL the grout from the bathroom floor at DS #2 home before putting in all new. I've also used it some for sanding hard to reach areas when refinishing furniture. There are so many uses, these are just some ways I've found.
Ok, I just did a little search of 'dremel projects' and found this site: http://au.dremel.com/html/projects/projectfinder_fr.html
So, I'm off to do a little more exploring .... :)

I use the dremel for so many things, I even bought a second one for doing my dog's nails. If you have a dog I highly recommend it! LOL

Here is a link that might be useful: dremel directions for dogs nails

Try to get one via Freecycle, eBay, or Craigslist (there's a wanted section under "for sale") and see how much you would use one before you hork up the bucks for a new one. We bought one in 2004 and when we went to pack the basement stuff for moving last year the dust was so thick on the case that you couldn't see the color of the plastic. :-/

I use mine to drill holes in plant pots that aren't pre-drilled.

I have three! I use them all the time to grind/shape things that just don't fit right, remove grout, drill holes in tile, cut off rusted bolts, sand in tight spots, etc.

The cordless is great when you are in a tight spot.

I just love "playing" with them. I'm sure I have tips I'll never use but so far they have come in really handy.

It is the perfect tool to create Pine Wood Derby cars!

I got one for doing my dogs' nails. To tell the truth, it's pretty slow on their nails and they aren't crazy about it. Plus all my dogs are hairy so I have to use a plastic bag and poke their nails through (to keep their hair from tangling in the Dremel shaft). So I use it between nail clippings with the clipper.

I love it for doing my own nails! It especially makes my toenails easy to do. It's also a lot faster on my fingernails than an emory board -- though I usually do the final smoothing with the e.b.

One end wasn't straight where the hardware store guy cut out my Plexiglas for my faux stained glass window -- the guy left a little excess at the end of the cut. The Dremel took care of that in seconds.

Everyone who has used it to remove grout -- could you comment on that in more detail please? Would you tackle a bedroom floor project if you didn't have to? I'd love to change out my grout on two bedroom floors... but I'm not sure if I want to start that project.

It's also great at getting rid of the dry spots on your heels and feet. :)

A dremel? Oh, yes! Although you are right that it is marketed to men and has few instructions. Mine has lots of attachments that I'd love to know how to use. Note to self: sanding awkward to reach nooks and crannies when refinishing furniture!

I also bought mine for the dog nails -- very effective and my three are fine with it. It is also good for my feet (with a different sander), an unexpected bonus :-)

I'd love to hear more uses for it. I like multipurpose tools!

Keep those ideas coming, please!

I trim my parrot's beak with my dremel. And I occasionally drill holes with it.

Oceanna, DS2 and I removed the grout from the floor in his very small bathroom. The tile were the very small tiles, the smallest being 3/4" square. The grout lines were very narrow. There were some loose tile around the tub and toilet and the grout was no longer white. DS bought my MIL's house and it was built around 1937. Anyway the repair to the loose tile would have had nice white grout and would have made the rest of the floor look horrid. So, we spend an evening taking turns with the dremel and a hand grout removal saw. The hardest part, other than spending so much time on the floor, was trying not to chip the tiles. We did chip a tiny corner off here and there BUT the floor looks much better now with the clean, white and SEALED grout.

Graywings, I do my birds' nails with it too.

Mari, thanks for sharing your experience. Was the Dremel the best tool for it or was the grout removal saw better? Or would you recommend both? Was it hard to do? Slow going?

The dremel was much faster and easier but the saw did less damage. If I remember correctly they were less than $10.00, so worth it to have both. It wasn't hard to do but was slow going because of the very narrow grout lines. I saw today on the website I listed above that there is an attachment that they recommend when removing grout. I think you can set the depth so you don't remove too much.
You asked if I would change out the grout in a bedroom. I'd have to answer by saying that I would have to really HATE the grout that is there and not be able to find any other solution. Have you thought about just changing the color of the grout?

How, Mari? I bought the dye stuff and used it in one of the bedrooms. It doesn't last; it wears off. So I painted the grout in the other bedroom with latex paint. It lasted about the same amount of time, which isn't long. So I was thinking if it isn't too hard, I'd remove and replace it with the right stuff. But it sounds like an awful job that would take a lot of time.

Bestyears, I hope you don't mind the hijack ...
Oceanna, sorry to hear the grout dye didn't last. I have a similar prob in my entry, kitchen, bath & back hallway. The grout is a taupe color, but after 20 years the grout is varying degrees of brown ... lighter in the front hall and much darker in areas of the kitchen. In other words - dirty!
I got a quote a couple years ago from a grout cleaning co and they quoted over $900.00! A few months ago I tried again to clean it and found a system that looks like it will get it back to close to the original color but I used white vinegar and I've since read that is an acid and can cause grout problems down the road. So far, the area I did seems to be fine. I don't see any changes. My plan is to clean it all this way (sometime in the near future ...) and then seal it really well. The grout was not sealed when it was installed.

I have one collecting dust in the garage. I wanted to get rid of it but hubby wouldn't let me (he has a thing about not selling tools). Every time I tried to use it for a project, it's so hard to control that I ended up with a mess.

MRY, when you used the Dremel to remove old grout was that porcelain or ceramic tile that chipped? Maybe that's the solution for my grout problems, remove it with the Dremel and regrout.

Personally, I'd wait till I had a need for one before buying it. They aren't cheap. I gave DH one for Christmas years ago and he liked it but couldn't think of a use for it. He's used it a couple times since then, once to take the shark edges off of stone that he had cut.

wow,thanks for all the ideas... I'm still undecided, but leaning toward asking for one. I don't have a dog (or a parrot LOL!) but since I'm constantly in 'project mode' I bet I'll figure out times to use it... If I was really mean, I would wait for the Father's Day promotions and then give my husband one!

Dremel also has engraving bits that you can use to label valuables (your other power tools) and bikes, etc.

I think it's mean to drill holes in your parrot's beak. ;)

Seriously though, I have a Dremel, and I've maybe used it twice. The 2 times I've used it were great, but I don't find much use for it weekly.

My drills, reciprocating saw and my mouse sander are all used a LOT more often.

flyingflower, I'm pretty sure it is ceramic tile. The house is about 70 years old and it's the original tile. Even with the tiny pieces that chipped off, it still looks better with bright white grout! Maybe you could try it out in a closet, or behind the loo, just to see if you think it is worth the time, effort and aching knees and back. Be sure to get the proper bit for the dremel. This is basically how they remove tiles that have broken and need to be replaced. They would saw out all the grout, generally break the tile to be removed and then chip it out.
Be sure to let us know if you decide to go for it!

Thank mry, you have given me hope for this outdated bathroom. I hate to rip out white tile just because the grout made it look dated. That alone will save a ton of money and make DH very happy. The thought of grinding all that grout is daunting. Will have to wait until next year. I sure hope the Dremel digs through the grout quickly, theres so much surface area to cover. Talk about sweat equity!

It was the very fine grout lines that made it so difficult and was the main cause of hitting the tiles. Also the tiles are all 3/4", 1 1/2" squares and 3/4" X 1 1/2" rectangles. the pattern did not give us any lines longer than 1 1/2 inches. It would have gone much faster if the tile had nice LONG lines of grout.

Here is a link that might be useful:

My tiles are all 4"x4" so there are long lines of grout. What would make this a no-go is if the dremel bit wears down too frequently and it ends up costing a lot of money in bits to finish the job. But I'm sure they make a variety of bits that will be durable for this application.
Too bad I don't have larger tiles, there's a lot of grout to grind out!