Dremel 290-01 1.15 Amp 7,200 Stroke Per Minute Engraver includes Letter and Number Template

I wanted to learn engraving so I bought this little inexpensive tool. The first thing I ever did turned out really well. I engraved a hummingbird and a flower on a glass. Since then I have engraved names on stainless covered books and frames. A little loud but works well for me.

I was repairing defects on some small aluminum castings, using grinders and files. The shapes are complex, which sometimes requires very careful control of the tool. I found that a chisel (hit with a hammer, or pushed) was best for some things, and it occurred to me that a vibrating chisel would be even better, because it would allow even more control. There are such things, but they tend to be rather expensive. My search led to fossil preparation, which uses vibrating chisels, but they mentioned that for fine work a Dremel 290 is better. Put in a special tool in place of the engraving tip, and away you go! Seeing that Amazon had it for only $12.99, eligible for free shipping, I thought "can't go wrong with that". I just got it, ground a tiny chisel out of some 1/8" music wire rod, and tried it out on a block of aluminum. It curls up little chips very nicely. I think it will be a useful addition to my tool set. As an engraver, I like the fact that you have some control over the vibration. I have a 'Wen Electric Pencil' which doesn't have that, and sometimes it kicks back quite a bit. As to the Dremel, I agree with others that the 'chuck' doesn't look very strong, but for the price, you can't really expect anything better. So, 4 stars for quality, plus one star for versatility.

I purchased three of these with diamond point tips for etching at work.
They get used daily and provide quality identification making on a variety
of materials from plastics, to metal. We have found the diamond tip exceptional in making on tempered metal, and case hardened steel. The new design and style are superior to the old design, and greatly reduce fatigue in those long marking cessions.
Further, the new design allows a greater degree of control when marking in tight spaces.
We have found these tools to meet and exceed the needs of our organization.

this product works well.. i use it to engrave my luggage.. so even if the tag gets ripped off the airline can still see my contact info. i also use it to write on power adapters so i know what product they go to. Dont you hate it when you have all those little black adapters and they dont have a name on them? well just write Timmys R/C car, or Daddys Nokia cell phone etc.. and problem is solved.

The engraver works really well on plastic, takes a little more time on metal. The diamond point bit seems to work great.