Reference
Description and usage
The stylus was a tool used to make marks on wood to help the carpenter plan out the shape he would make.
Translation
ISA 44:13: Two different implements are possible for the Hebrew word sered, although both would have the same function. One possibility is a pointed tool used to scratch marks in the wood (NRSV “stylus”); the other possibility is a soft red stone, similar to chalk, with which the carpenter could make marks on the wood (GNT “chalk”; NASB “red chalk”; NIV “marker”). A good model that expresses the meaning of the second clause in this verse without explicitly mentioning this tool is CEV “then draws an outline.” See also the comments at Chisel, plane.