6 Useful Accessories For Milwaukee's Rotary Tool

It's hard to understate the versatility of a rotary tool, since its relatively-simple spinning shaft can be paired with hundreds of different attachments with various use cases. With these dozens of assorted accessories available, one tool can help you accomplish numerous tasks across all kinds of disciplines, including woodworking, jewelry making, automotive work, and household repairs — among many more.

The M12 Rotary Tool is part of the Milwaukee's line of portable 12V power tools, which are generally designed to be compact and lightweight enough to be used in all sorts of different locations and for extended periods of time. The product has a strong overall user score from Home Depot customers, with one of its most commonly praised features being its compatibility with several attachments sold by other brands. This is especially useful since, despite being a high-quality device like Milwaukee's top-rated M12 tools, it isn't sold with a lot of different attachments. 

Milwaukee also doesn't sell separate accessories, either, so if you really want to expand the versatility of the tool, you'll need to rely on other brands. Most attachments aren't sold individually but instead as components of larger accessory kits. The upside of this is that you often won't need just one specific attachment, and by having many other accessories on hand, you may be inspired to use the rotary tool in ways you hadn't previously considered.

Here are six useful accessories for Milwaukee's M12 Rotary Tool that are available for purchase, as well as various accessory kits that include them. More information on how these accessories were selected can be found at the end of this list. Home Depot sells the Milwaukee M12 Rotary Tool for $79.

A flap wheel is a flexible rotary tool attachment that consists of many abrasive flaps arranged radially around the bit, which allows it to bend and conform to the shape of the surface you're working on. This allows you to use the Milwaukee M12 Rotary Tool to effectively smooth, polish, finish, or sand — among other things — objects that feature curved or uneven surfaces.

These surfaces can be made of wood, metal, plastic, fiberglass, and other materials, which also increases the versatility of the rotary tool. A flap wheel is also self-renewing by design — providing more abrasive material, such as sandpaper, as the exposed layer wears off. This extends the life of the bit and allows you to use the tool for longer before needing to replenish the accessory.

Flap wheels are available in various grit levels, such as fine or coarse, which lets you really customize exactly how you want to use your rotary tool. A flap wheel is included with the WEN 282-Piece Rotary Tool Accessory Kit, which is compatible with the Milwaukee M12 Rotary Tool. This kit has a 4.6 out of five average customer score, based on over 2,500 Amazon reviews, so even if you're just looking for a flap wheel, it's worth buying the entire set. 

Plus, it comes with a useful protective carrying case with a transparent top to easily locate the attachment you need. The kit also includes a bottle of polishing compound, as well as a wrench to quickly swap out accessories, which include brushes, grinders, cutters, drill bits and more, in addition to the flap wheel. The WEN 282-Piece Rotary Tool Accessory Kit with Carrying Case (product code 230282A) has a list price of $25 on Amazon, but is currently discounted for around $20.

Nailers, routers, and saws make up some of the best Milwaukee power tools for woodworking, but with the right attachment, the brand's M12 Rotary Tool can also be included in this list. One of those attachments is a sanding drum, which can be used for smoothing, refining, and shaping not just wood surfaces, but metal and other materials as well, which makes it highly useful if you're into crafting or DIY projects.

The cylindrical drum that attaches to the rotary tool is covered with abrasive sanding sleeves that are replaceable, so you can swap them out for fresh ones as they dull down from use. You can find sanding drums with both fine grit for smoothing or finishing, or coarse grit for shaping and material removal — which can be more easily done by using Milwaukee's rotary tool at higher RPMs. The drum and tool do all the work for you — in fact, you want to be careful not to apply too much pressure as that can cause uneven sanding (as well as wear out the drum sleeves faster).

One set that includes various sanding drums is the Dremel 160-Piece Rotary Tool Accessory Kit with EZ Lock Technology, which has an excellent 4.8 out of five overall user score, based on over 9,100 Amazon reviews. That shouldn't be much of a surprise if you remember that Dremel created the original rotary tool, which is why many people even call rotary tools made by other brands a "Dremel tool." The kit includes a transparent case and Dremel's EZ Lock system for lightning quick accessory changes.

The Dremel 160-Piece Rotary Tool Accessory Kit with EZ Lock Technology (product code 710-08) is available from Amazon for $40 and is even cheaper if you purchase the tool from Home Depot.

One creative way to use the Milwaukee M12 Rotary tool is for engraving, as there are multiple different types of accessories that can accomplish this. This includes a Round-Shaped Engraving Bit, which allows you to engrave fine details into wood, metal, plastic or other materials. These engravings can include initials or names for custom keychains or other nameplates or jewelry, or they can be more abstract designs for visual flair on any number of DIY crafts.

Ryobi makes a handy 16-piece Carving and Engraving Kit that includes several different rotary tool accessories that can be used for such applications, and the kit naturally includes a 1/16-inch Round-Shaped Engraving Bit. While Ryobi is a distinct competitor to the Milwaukee brand, its accessories are compatible with the latter's M12 Rotary Tool. Plus, it's highly rated by Home Depot customers who've used it, rated an average 4.6 out of five based on over 170 reviews, with 98% of customers recommending the product.

Carving and engraving are right there in the name of the kit, but the accessories included with it can also be used for grinding, polishing, and cleaning. Ryobi says they can be used on glass and stone, in addition to wood and plastic. These attachments, which fit a ⅛-inch collet (found on the Milwaukee M12 Rotary Tool) can also be used with other Ryobi tools in addition to the brand's own rotary tool, making the kit especially versatile. The Ryobi 16-piece Carving and Engraving Kit (product code A90AS16) is available from Home Depot for $21, as well as for just $20 on Amazon.

Obviously, many rotary tool accessories are used for polishing, but they don't necessarily need to be abrasive like sandpaper. A felt wheel is made of several compressed layers and lets you use the Milwaukee's rotary tool for buffing and polishing glass, brass, aluminum, steel, acrylic, polycarbonate plastic, wood, and certain stone materials — including marble. In addition to buffing out scratches, a felt wheel can also be used to apply wax or polish to materials like wood for even further finishing.

Since it can be used on metals like gold or silver, this accessory can be especially handy for jewelry making and maintenance. Others use it on automotive parts or restore antiques or other household items, such as other tools, while its polishing capabilities can also apply mirror-like finishes to certain materials and are useful in decorative crafts among other applications. A felt wheel can even be used for cleaning tasks, as it can allow you to use your rotary tool to remove corrosion, oxidation, and other stains from metals and the like.

The Workpro 476-piece Rotary Tool Accessories Kit is a massive set of all kinds of helpful rotary tool attachments, and it includes two large felt wheels and six small ones. Based on over 400 user ratings on Amazon, it has a very positive 4.6 out of five customer score, so if you really want to get the most of your Milwaukee M12 Rotary Tool, you should certainly consider picking up this comprehensive accessory kit. With so many small pieces, it's convenient that Workpro sells the kit — which includes grinders, cutters, drill bits, and other wheels in addition to felt options — in a travel case with a large handle and transparent window. Amazon sells the Workpro 476-piece Rotary Tool Accessories Kit for $29.

Like many other rotary tool attachments, a bristle brush can be used for cleaning, polishing, and removing debris from a range of different surfaces. Since the accessory is made of many bristles consisting of nylon, metal, or other fibers, it's especially useful for more precise applications, and can perform these tasks without scratching or otherwise damaging the materials you're working on. These cleaning tasks can include removing rust, dirt, grease, and other debris from very tight spaces like grooves, engravings, and small crevices. In addition to polishing, a bristle brush can also be used to remove burrs and strip paint, and — by removing oxidation or other fine contaminants — it's great for preparing surfaces for painting, soldering, or jobs you might be using the rotary tool for.

If you plan on working with glass or delicate items such as electronics, nylon bristles are safer to use than wire bristles, which are more suitable for rust removal, deburring, and other heavier-duty tasks. There are even bristle brushes made of horsehair or other natural fibers for gentle polishing or cleaning, as well as brass brushes to use on soft metals.

While it's a good idea in general to use eye protection when working with a rotary tool, safety glasses are especially protective when using bristle brushes since there's a risk of bristles flying into your face along with other debris. Along with stainless steel and brass brushes, the WEN 282-Piece Rotary Tool Accessory Kit includes three different bristle brushes, among many other different attachments. Based on over 2,500 ratings, the kit has a 4.6 out of five overall customer score. The WEN 282-Piece Rotary Tool Accessory Kit with Carrying Case has product code 230282A and retails for $25 on Amazon, but is currently discounted for around $20.

A rotary tool shield is a particularly special type of rotary tool accessory, in that — unlike many others, including those on this list — it's not an attachment to be used on the tool's head, but a supplemental attachment meant for your own protection. Since it attaches in a different manner, it's meant to be used in conjunction with other accessories, such as brushes, wheels, or cutters, while you work. The shield acts as a barrier between you and the materials you're working on, so that flying debris, as well as dust and sparks, produced by the actions of the tool won't fly into your face or damage items in your near vicinity.

The SE Rotary Tool Shield is sold independently and is not part of a larger accessory kit. While it really only has one use case, this shouldn't deter you from buying the product, as safety is just as important as functionality when it comes to power tools. It has a very impressive 4.8 out of five overall customer score on Amazon. That's based on just 24 reviews, though one customer specifically noted that it "fits great" on the Milwaukee M12 Rotary Tool. It easily clips or screws onto most rotary tools, in fact.

The shield is 2-by-2-inches and is transparent, which gives you an unobstructed view of what you're working on. Since you can look right at the point of contact with less risk of injury to your eyes, the shield affords you better control of the tool and allows you to be more accurate while you work. It's still a good idea to wear safety glasses even while using the shield, of course. The SE Rotary Tool Shield (product code KL1830RS) is available from Amazon for $10.

The attachments selected for this list of useful accessories for Milwaukee's M12 Rotary Tool were purposefully chosen to provide a wide range of applications, rather than focusing on just one field, such as woodworking, or just one use case, such as grinding. No matter how you use or plan to use your rotary tool, you should find at least some of these accessories helpful for your specific tasks. Additionally, most of the items selected for this list are included in commonly-available accessory kits (as many are not sold individually), so that if you do decide you could use one or more of these attachments, you won't have much trouble acquiring them.

In order to ensure that the recommended accessories or kits that include the accessories are reliable and well-made, the feedback of customers who've purchased and used them was referenced when assembling this list. These average user scores were sourced from either Home Depot or Amazon, as both retailers have large bases of customers reviewing their products. The larger the pool of customers, the more reliable the user rating is, as any outlier reviews made in bad faith (whether positively or negatively) won't skew the overall score.

Where Home Depot's website is used as a reference, none of the recommended tools in this list have lower than a 4.3 out of five average customer score, based on at least 170 (if not hundreds more) reviews. Where Amazon is used as a reference, the recommended items have at least a 4.6 out of five overall customer score, based on at least 400 reviews, if not thousands more. The sole exception to this is the SE Rotary Tool Shield, whose score was only based on 24 user ratings, which makes it a little less reliable. However, at least one specific review went out of its way to mention the shield's exceptional compatibility with the Milwaukee M12 Rotary Tool.