Dremel has been making tools since 1932. Ours is the original high-speed rotary tool. For a lot of years, the Dremel rotary tool was the little known secret of hobbyists around the world. They used it for everything from polishing connections for model railroad tracks to carving beautiful and intricate bird decoys. A few years ago, the word began to get out, and do-it-yourselfers began snapping up Dremel rotary tools. For years, we literally couldn't make enough of them. It's a phenomenon! And only the Dremel Rotary Tool System has this unmatched assortment of accessories and attachments to make it the most versatile rotary tool you can own.
Albert J. Dremel was the inventive genius who founded the Dremel Company back in 1932. The company was, and still is located in Racine, Wisconsin.
Albert J. Dremel held a wide range of patents, 55 in all. They included everything from electric erasers to the first design of the now standard walk behind rotary lawn mower. He formed the Dremel Company in 1932 with an electric razor blade sharpener as his first product. Before the advent of disposable razors, this little device was a real money saver. He quickly brought razor blade manufacturers to their knees. Then, they cut blade prices in half and quickly brought Albert to his knees.
Not one to give up easily, Albert then came up with perhaps his greatest invention ever. A high-speed rotary tool dubbed the Dremel Moto-Tool. Compact, lightweight and incredibly versatile, it was an instant success with hobby and craft people. Throughout the years, our rotary tool has enjoyed various nicknames including the "pocket machine shop" and the "electric Swiss Army knife."
Other inventions of Mr. Dremel include the electric shoe polisher, an electric screwdriver, a whole line of power sanders and scroll saws, an electric fish scaler and even a device to keep automatic tabs on a chicken's egg production.
A few of these inventions have survived the test of time. You'll still see our shoe polishers around everywhere. But alas, chickens currently have to rely on other means to keep score. And likewise, now fishermen have to clean their catch the old-fashioned way.
Albert Dremel was as generous as he was inventive. In 1948, he became famous across the United States for giving his employees 30% year-end profit-sharing bonuses. Back then, profit sharing was a pretty radical idea. He also introduced the notion that it was a boss's responsibility to give his workers a safe, comfortable work environment.
As inventive as Albert was, it was nothing compared to the inventive ways people found to use their rotary tools. In the 1940s, the Defense Department used them to create the first atomic bomb. Military doctors pioneered dermal abrasion techniques to reduce scar tissue from battle wounds. Around the same time, not coincidentally, the Dremel rotary tool was also enlisted as an electric tattoo remover. (Apparently a lot of the troops returning home to loved ones found this function quite useful.) Podorthists have since adopted the tool for use on shoe inserts. Dentists use it for crafting dentures. It even had a bit part in the movie "Jurassic Park," appearing at the dig site of actors Sam Neill and Laura Dern.
Today there are more than 17 million rotary tools currently in use, with that number growing daily. Dremel is the leader in rotary tools. Though the Dremel Moto-Tool started out as a hobbyist/craft tool, now with more than 150 hundred available bits and accessories, it truly is one of the most versatile tools any homeowner can own.
