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Gallery | Contact | Hints & Tips | Blog | Articles | Tutorials Some Hints and Tips Safety First As with any heated object, be careful where you put the pyrography pen, because it can burn you or your work desk. Never leave the burning unit on when you aren't using it, as it presents a fire hazard. Maintain Your Pen Keep your pen sharp and clean to avoid a build up of carbon, use a wire brush. Practice good maintenance to improve the performance and prolong the life of the tool. This will keep your instrument from burning the wood unevenly or not working at all at some point. Keep the Pen Moving Keep the pen moving while you are working. Letting it sit in one spot for a split second can burn an ugly black blob on your design. Make sure it is in motion from the moment you place it on the wood until the moment you take it off. Practice Practice before working with a new type of wood or new pen, and play with the temperature. Each pen cuts differently, and each type of wood has its own density and texture. Taking a few practice runs to familiarize yourself with the wood or pen can save yourself hours of work doing the piece over again. Burn Lightly, Then Darken When burning a large area, start by just burning it lightly, and then assess your work to see if it needs more. Go over the area again to darken it just a little, and assess again. Keep repeating the process until you have just the right amount of darkness. Doing it this way keeps you from burning it too much; you can always make the area darker, but you can't make it lighter. Choose the Right Wood Choose the correct type of wood before starting on the project, as the wood has a role to play in obtaining the different shades and colours you desire. Many craftsmen prefer basswood for its creamy and pale natural color, which provides a good background for different shades and tones. Other popular choices include sugar pine and butternut. Beginners often prefer white pine, one of the cheapest pieces of wood to purchase, which has a soft surface that burns easily. Burn your wood on a smooth surface, a rough patch or uneven surface could move the tip of the tool away from the desired line. If your surface has any rough patches or chisel marks, smooth them out with sandpaper before attempting to burn the surface. This will help you maintain a steady hand while burning the wood. Use the Right Burning Tool You'll find many different varieties of wood-burning tools. Look for a tool that feels comfortable in your hand and has a thermostat setting to control the temperature level; differences in temperature create a striking variety of shades. If you find yourself involved in wood-burning projects on a regular basis, you may wish to keep an assortment of burning tools and accessories to prepare yourself for any project. I use both, hot wire and a solid bit that are tempreture controlled. I prefer the hot wire as it has more control. Care and Cleaning Because the burning tip of the tool can become extremely hot, you will need some insulating material like a glazed tile to rest the tool on when not you're not using it. As the tool burns into the wood repeatedly, the tip will start building a residue of carbon. This buildup will eventually alter the carving edge or point of the tool, and your strokes will not have the desired effect. You can clean this residue by moving the tip quickly across a piece of sandpaper or a wire brush, I have a brass wire brush. Burning Techniques The tip of the wood-burning tool has three areas you can use to make different burn patterns on the surface of the wood, the blade, the point and the side. You'll generally use the blade to make lines of different thickness and depth, the point for dotting and intricate patterns, and the side for shading and for creating different tones on the wood. Remember that the correct speed of your stroke and not the pressure creates a fine work of art. Your stroke speed will determine the depth of your lines and shadow effects. If you want to create fine lines, use quick strokes. The more time you take in your stroke, the more the tool will burn the wood, giving you darker and deeper lines.
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