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Shaping Jade – The Point Carver

The point carvers used at NWSSA symposia are horizontally mounted drill presses that have had the base, stands and tables removed.

New Point Carver from a drill press with water delivery in front.

The beauty of point carvers is that a small piece of jade or a chosen gemstone, can be taken from the rough to a polish with a variety of different diamond abrasives.

They are portable and affordable, a must have in any jade carving studio!

Note splash guards and soft edges on the water tray.
Point Carver set up, drill press, drip water, tray, and splash guard.

There are 5 speeds which can be adjusted easily with a Jacobs chuck opening up to 1/2″.

They were a product of the California jade community, to build them this way in the early 2000s. The Chinese carvers have used fixed point carving machines for decades as have the NZ Russian and European carvers.

Gallery below shows tools and techniques of using a point carver.


Grinding with medium grit plated diamond wheels in point carver.
Grinding with plated long drum in point carver.
Small, Medium, & Large inflatable drums with Silicone carbide sleeves for small scale jade pieces.
Creating an inside groove on a pendant with rounded diamond burr in point carver
Tiny diamond burrs can be used in the point carver for detailing.
A useful tool in the point carver for making flats is the face of plated lap wheel and is good substitute for a grinding wheel.
Diamond wheel in point carver
Cutting grooves with plated diamond wheels in point carver.
Using Pat Barton’s rolled up Silicon Carbide sanders.
Using the Point Carver.
Small Sculpture made on Point Carver.
Using a maple wheel to sand and shape a shell.

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