Checked 22 September 2026
Stone carving tools
A handheld rotary tool takes small grinding tips, wheels and drills to cut details into stone. Choose the shape of the tip for the cut you want, then check that its shank fits your tool.
Match the tool to the cut
A carving needs tools that reach its curves and recesses. A bench cabbing wheel handles the exposed surfaces; a rotary tool reaches the rest. Choose separate tools for shaping, sanding and polishing.
| Task | Tool family | Check first |
|---|---|---|
| Shape a recess or detail | Diamond-plated or sintered bur | Head shape, head diameter, grit and shank size |
| Sand a curved surface | Resin-bond point or flexible miniature wheel | Access, flexibility, grit and wet-use instructions |
| Polish a small face | Miniature backing disc and matching pad | Disc diameter, pad system and polishing compound |
| Drill a small hole | Solid diamond drill, including Triple Ripple | Cutting diameter, usable length and chuck capacity |
| Cut a larger circular hole | Diamond core drill | Outside diameter, cutting depth and mounting |
Older kits often carry the names Nova point, Mini-Nova and Mini Flexodisc. Each is a different system with its own mounting, described below.
Diamond burs for shaping
A bur's head decides where it can cut; its shank decides whether the handpiece can hold it. Order by both: a three-millimetre head can sit on a shank of any size.
Foredom's diamond burs use 3/32-inch shanks and come in several head shapes and sizes. Foredom rates them at about 125 grit. For a narrow recess, choose by head diameter and length, not by the photograph.
Inland's sintered burs include round, cylinder, cone, flame and other shapes. A sintered head carries diamond right through its bond, and Inland says its sintered burs last 5 to 10 times longer than diamond-plated ones. Inland's flat-head cylinder, for example, comes in 100, 220, 325 and 600 grit. Buy a few shapes and grits for the surfaces you need to reach rather than the largest assortment.
Nova points & Mini-Novas
Nova points: shaped sanding and polishing heads
Diamond Pacific's current carving range lists resin-bond Nova points from 60 through 50,000 grit. Four shape codes cover small and large pointed ends (N1M, N1L) and small and large rounded ends (N2M, N2L). The mandrels are 3/32 inch, and the points must be used with water.
Order a replacement by shape code as well as grit, so each finer point reaches the same surface as the coarser one. A broad rounded point may not reach the bottom of a recess that a narrow one shaped.
Mini-Novas: flexible miniature wheels
Mini-Novas are loose resin-bond wheels, separate from mounted Nova points and the six-inch Nova carving wheels. Diamond Pacific's 2020 catalogue, page 29, lists them in ½, ¾ and 1 in diameters, one, two or three layers thick, with a 1/16-inch arbor hole for its M1 or M6 mandrels. Its sets contain one each of 280, 600, 1,200 and 3,000 grit, and the wheels are used wet.
Diamond Pacific's online store doesn't list Mini-Novas (checked 22 September 2026). Ask Diamond Pacific for them by diameter, layer count and grit, and read the grit on each wheel of an older set before you order replacements.
Mini Flexodisc, Miniflex & polishing pads
Crystalite's current brochure, printed page 15, lists the Mini Flexodisc system. Mini Flexodiscs are rubber backing discs, ½, 1 and 1½ in across, on ⅛-inch shank mandrels; they carry no abrasive themselves. Self-adhesive discs and pads of the same size stick to them:
- Miniflex plated discs for sanding, 70 to 600 mesh.
- Miniflex resin discs for polishing, 600 to 3,500 mesh. Crystalite says to use Miniflex discs wet.
- Mini Crystalpad pads, pre-polish and final-polish, for diamond compound.
- Mini Polypad pads for oxide polishing powders such as cerium or tin oxide. Crystalite says never to use Polypad pads with diamond compound. Crystalite brochure, printed page 12.
The 84-piece Mini Flexodisc kit, C5201900, holds 12 backing discs, 12 mandrels and 60 polishing pads in the three sizes. Keep a separate pad for each compound or grade, and label the backing as well as the container, so an unmarked spare doesn't carry a coarser abrasive into the polishing stage.
Mandrels & handpieces: check both ends
A mandrel connects a loose wheel or disc to the handpiece. Its arbor fits the accessory and its shank fits the chuck or collet, and the two sizes often differ: a wheel with a 1/16-inch hole can sit on a mandrel with a ⅛-inch shank.
| Part number | Accessory end / arbor | Handpiece shank | Listed use |
|---|---|---|---|
| C5432210 | ⅛ in | ⅛ in | Mini Flexodisc |
| C5432230 | 1/16 in | ⅛ in | Thin-Flex discs |
| C5432240 | 1/16 in | 3/32 in | Thin-Flex discs |
Crystalite mandrels and carving tools (PDF).
A collet grips one shank size; a jaw chuck covers a range. Foredom's handpiece compatibility chart (PDF) lists the sizes each handpiece takes. Its H.30 chuck handpiece takes shanks up to 5/32 inch, but its H.18 and H.20 quick-change handpieces take 3/32-inch shanks, or 1/16 inch with an adapter, and no ⅛-inch shanks. Check your handpiece model before buying a ⅛-inch mandrel.
Three millimetres and ⅛ inch are different sizes: ⅛ inch is 3.175 mm. Follow the fit that the accessory and collet makers state. Don't enlarge an abrasive wheel's hole or improvise a sleeve to make a mismatch work.
Diamond drills: hole size, core size and shank
A solid drill cuts the whole hole; a hollow core drill cuts a ring around a central plug. A core drill's outside diameter sets the hole size and its inside diameter the plug size. Check the shank and the drilling depth as well.
Crystalite solid and Triple Ripple drills
Crystalite's current brochure lists standard drills at 0.75, 1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 2.00 and 2.50 mm. Triple Ripple drills use three flutes and come in 0.75, 1.10, 1.40, 1.80 and 2.10 mm. These are cutting sizes; check the shank against your chuck separately. Crystalite drill range, printed page 17.
Core drills
Core drills need a rigid mounting and enough cutting depth for the work. Crystalite's core drill table gives all three sizes for each drill: C5210030, for example, has a ¼-inch outside diameter, a .156-inch inside diameter and a 3/16-inch shank. Order from the table rather than from a seller's single "drill size".
One entry in that table can't be right: core drill C5210170 has an 11/16-inch (.6875-inch) outside diameter but a .968-inch inside diameter. Ask Crystalite for its correct dimensions before you order it.
Water, speed & dust
Nova points, Mini-Novas and Miniflex discs are all used wet, and Crystalite's drills need a continuous flow of water or other lubricant. Arrange the water so it reaches the tool but not the motor or its controls.
Take the speed from the maker of each accessory, not from the motor's maximum. Foredom gives 6,000–12,000 rpm for its diamond burs with 3–6 mm heads and 20,000–35,000 rpm for smaller heads. Crystalite gives 5,000–20,000 rpm for all its drills. Foredom diamond burs; Crystalite drills (PDF).
Stone dust can contain respirable crystalline silica. Water reduces the dust but doesn't on its own make it safe. NIOSH recommends wet methods and ventilation, and advises against dry sweeping or cleaning with compressed air. Wear eye protection whenever the tool is running.