Wood burning or pyrography is a technique used to make patterns on wood surfaces. A hot tool is generally used to create a variety of surface textures on bare wood. In this article I will explain how to use Pyrography tools.
In ancient times, this form of art was used to decorate wooden tools and instruments. Wood burning has advanced, enabling even creation of 3D patterns on wood surfaces.
Since pyrography is an easy art to learn, you can create several decorative designs on wood within a short time.
Amazing art form
Wood burning is an inexpensive and fun way to make commercial and household wooden decors. Pyrography is often combined with painting and carving to create distinctive designs on wood.
Whether you are a woodworking enthusiast or you are just a talented drawer, wood burning is a technique that you will enjoy doing. To make your wood burning project successful, you need to know how to use a wood burning tool and also learn some vital tips on pyrography.
Materials needed for wood burning
- Pyrography pen and a holder
- Piece of wood preferably softwood with fewer surface grains
- Paper towel
- Sander
- Carbon paper
- Printed pyrography designs
How to use a wood burning tool (pyrography pen)
Introduction on Pyrography pens
This is a pen-like device that transfers heat to wood through a metallic tip. Since various pyrography designs require different pen tips, the tools must come with several of them. The common pyrography pen nibs available for wood burning include the dot, shading, groove and calligraphy tips.
A pyrography pen holder ensures that the pen is not lying on the wood surface or working bench when it is not in use. Some pyrography tools come programmed to operate at different temperatures.
Using a pyrography pen
To use the tool, you should insert the tip that you want to use and then switch it on. When switching from one tip to another, you should use pliers to avoid burns. To use the pyrography pen, plug it into an electric source, switch it on and let it heat up for a few minutes while resting on the holder.
When the tool is heated up, use it to draw the patterns on the wood surface. To ensure that the wood is burnt to a recognizable level, you should go slow and steady with the pyrography pen.
Scrap wood for practicing
If you are a beginner in wood burning, you should practice with scrap wood first before going to the actual drawing on the main pieces. You should also make sure you try out all the pyrography tips that come with the pen to learn about the kind of patterns they make and the time it takes for them to get hot.
To help you have an accurate estimate of the time it will take to have the needed surface burns on the actual pieces, use a wood scrap that is similar to the actual wood pieces.
Method to be followed in wood burning
Choose the wood to use
Pyrography needs a piece of wood that will pop out the designs clearly and also produce good gradient shadings. Woods with natural aromatic oils should be avoided in wood burning as they may cause intense smells when the oils burn.
Go for softwood
The reason why hardwoods are most of the time also avoided in pyrography is that they consume a lot of heat to burn their surfaces. Woods with rough surface grains also consume a lot of heat when making patterns on them. Softwoods with fewer surface grains are the right choice.
Treated woods
The wood you use for your pyrography project should be fresh, preferably with no pre-treatment. If you, for example, use wood that had previously been finished with a stain, the burning process could lead to the production of harmful fumes or the worst, the start of a fire during wood burning. Pre-treated wood should be therefore avoided at all cost in pyrography.
Wood preparation
There is no wood working project that can be successful without preparation of the wood surfaces. The most crucial step needed for this project is sanding. Use sandpaper or a power sander to make the surfaces of the chosen wood as smooth as possible. You should also cut the pieces to the shapes needed for wood burning. If you don’t have time for all these processes, you should purchase pre-cut and pre-sanded pieces from your local wood store. The considerations on other fabrication steps when buying these wood pieces should, however be kept in mind, as discussed above.
Fix and trace the design on the wood
Using your printed outline, transfer the design using a heat press or a standard iron to the prepared wood surface. Outlines can also be transferred to the wood through tracing using a carbon paper. You may think that design transfer is a method of killing creativity, but think about it, even the most experienced wood burners use it. You should view this step as a method of saving time. Moreover, what matters at the end of a wood burning project is the final result of the burning itself. This should, however, not discourage you if you would like to spare a few minutes to draw your guidelines by hand.
Burn the outlined patterns
This is the most critical step in this project. The rule of thumb here is steadiness and patience. Although a few mistakes are acceptable for beginners, you would not like to mess up on several wood pieces. To reduce the hustle during this step, always ensure that the burning is along the wood grains.
During burning, you should also make sure that you wipe off the pieces of wood that get stuck on the tips of a pyrography pen using a paper towel. Be very careful to ensure you don’t get burned by the hot tips.
To burn along the outlines, hold the pyrography tip as any other writing pen and let the heat penetrate the wood following the guidelines keenly. Focus on making smooth single stroke burns. You should, however, make sure that tip is not on the same spot for long to prevent burning through the wood entirely. Make sure that you are using the right tips for all your patterns to reduce errors.
Finish the wood
Finishing processes are done to fill the spaces left between the burnt outlines. The shading tip can be used to fill large empty spaces while the calligraphy tip can be used for smaller spaces. Medium heat is recommendable when you are filling the spaces since the more heat you use, the more opaque your final design will be. Filling black is easier, especially if you are not experienced in design shading and filling using gradients. Finishes such as wood stains can also be added to the designs to enhance their appearance.
Tips on pyrography
Start with simple designs
As said earlier, creativity is vital in wood burning. However, you should not overwhelm yourself with very delicate designs and patterns when you are a beginner. You can begin by practicing how to draw letters then proceed to larger models such as flowers and pet images. After a while, you can start using your newly acquired skills to create amazing DIY wood fashion jewelry!
After a lot of practice, you will have mastered all that is required in wood burning. This will reduce errors when you get to actual business.
Darken the lines after the whole pattern
Do not start the darkening work up until you are done with the entire model. This is not advisable as any mistake made will result in the disorientation of the outline pattern that cannot be reversed. Add your darkening layers when you are done burning the outlines.
Tip sets
You can use different groups of tips for particular classes of wood burning designs. If, for example, your pyrography project involves drawing letters only, you should acquire pyrography pen tips related to drawing letters. Purchase the tip sets in the same place you bought your wood working tool to ensure compatibility.
Have a metallic bowl with ice-cold water
If you are done with your project and you want to cool the tips instantly, it’s best to use cold water in a metallic bowl. The tips should, however, be wiped and thoroughly dried before storage to protect them from rusting. Hence, the tips should be detached entirely from the pyrography pen before dipping into the water to prevent electrocution.
Combined movement of both the pen and the wood
Many people think that the piece of wood should’nt be moving throughout the wood burning process. This should not be the case, especially when you are making large rounds to follow the outlines. Moving the wood reduces hand strain that may occur during these delicate maneuvers. However, you should be careful when moving the wood to avoid slips that may cause severe burns.
Where to start
If the pyrography project is for own use, keep the designs limited to what you like. If you decide to draw a design just because you saw it on another piece is not recommendable. Choose a design that you will enjoy drawing and one that you will like seeing on the pyrographed wood when it is time to use it. This is not to imply that you should not research on the varieties that are available for the design you choose.
Conclusion
Pyrography is one of the woodworking projects that you will always be proud of the results, especially if you master the art. Since this project requires a relatively smaller amount of capital to start up, anyone with the will can venture into wood burning.
If you acquire the right wood burning tool, follow the pyrography tips discussed above and maintain a strict observation of the safety measures, then you will never go wrong with wood burning.
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