Abstract: A compliant rotary powered tool that has been designed with the ability to be gripped by a mechanical arm yet which allows the power tool to be operated against a three dimensional surface as effectively as if operated in the hands of a human operator. To allow accurate and sensitive control of the tool without requiring a mechanical arm beyond the capabilities of the present state of the art, a degree of compliance is designed into the tool itself. The structure which produces the compliant nature of the tool allows the tool itself to maintain an appropriate predetermined contact force between the tool and the work surface regardless of imprecise control of the mechanical arm. The structure which produces this compliance also compensates for lack of touch and feel in the mechanical arm and allows the tool to follow a three dimensional shape while maintaining a constant pressure of the operating surface of the tool against the work surface.