#pyrotips

Hi there! I’d refer to my pyrography tips section (you can locate it in a tab at the top of my blog) for several posts and answers like this one. I think the most helpful one would be this one.

I’ll also briefly describe my process for you. I work with wood either sourced from Etsy sellers or purchased at craft stores. My current favorite wood to work with is birch or linden. After I’ve chosen the wood for the project, I clean all of my tips with a Colwood cleaning cloth, which is very effective. I also have a Colwood burning unit, which is a fantastic machine. I highly recommend the company! I will warn you, though, that they have an extremely wide selection of specific tips, which can get you to spend far too much money for a beginner. I certainly did! So if you go that route, be selective, only buy a few, and expand your tip collection as your needs/skills grow. 

After your tools are cleaned and ready to go, begin drawing with a light pencil. I prefer artist’s pencils, avoid mechanical ones. It can be really difficult to remove the pencil if you get dark/mechanical ones. If your sketch is off, don’t worry, get the general shape out lightly so you have guidelines for your burning. I am someone who needs the sketch to be almost exactly what the final product will be, so this process takes me the longest. If you need to erase, use either a rubber or white eraser, since colored erasers can get into the grain. My favorite tool for erasing is isopropyl alcohol. It will remove most pencil marks with ease. 

Then, I begin burning. Personally, I do all of my line work, remove the pencil, and begin detailing or shading. If you have a kit pyrography tool, I think this is where you can get most frustrated. If you can’t control your temperature, it is incredibly challenging to get the shading you’d like. I recommend unplugging often to reset it and cool down the tip. That way, you have more control. If you already have a more advanced burner, I’ll only mention that it is good to be patient and not turn up the temperature too quickly. That will create excess burning past the lines you’re working within. 

After that, I begin my painting process. I work with watercolors and acrylics. I don’t know how much information people want on that part. I’ll just mention that watercolor can be a tricky business. The grain of the wood can take the water (and therefore the paint) to unexpected places. So patience is key.

Once I’m done painting, I go back and burn any line that has been near the paint to ensure clean lines.

Finally, I seal it with whichever appropriate sealant I have. When I’m working on only burning and traditional looks, I may stain the wood and seal it with a wood-specific sealant. For the paint + wood creations, I have a general sealant that is safe for jewelry, so people can wear my creations or hang them on the wall.

Hi, little-annie97,

What Colwood machine do you have, exactly? If you can only get two settings for heat, I’d recommend two things:

1) Check what tips you’re using.  I only use a few tips for shading. In this post, I show five different tips in the second photo.  I use #2 and #4 for shading.  The second one is for textured shading, the forth one is for smoother shading. Make sure your tips are super clean - I like the Colwood cleaning cloths, but there are a variety of different methods to clean nibs.  I recommend trying to avoid the heating method, which is essential heat your tips to such a high heat that the ash and impurities burn off of the metal.  This weakens the metal, and I can personally say that these tips are susceptible to bending and breaking at a much faster rate.

2. Are there only two heat settings? If so, I recommend burning at the low level and slowly, slowly, slowly going over the same area again and again until you reach the desired shading. I know this sounds tedious, but this is what I do.  I’m very cautious about burning at too high of a level, since this can create inconsistency and cause you to burn too dark. I will work over an area for what seems like an inordinate amount of time to  eventually achieve the look I want. That’s why I often warn people that this art is time-consuming- I spend hours on even a necklace to get the shading I desire! You’re definitely not alone. A deep well of patience is needed to get a lot of this work done.

Absolutely, 13sammyowl!

First of all, be prepared for a very time consuming art.  Pyrography can be a bit tedious and if you try to cut corners, it will show in your work.  So just understand that slow & steady wins the race, especially when you’re beginning.

I use a Colwood Superpro II to burn.  I don’t think it is necessary to start out with a very expensive piece of equipment, but I also want to convey that you will definitely have different results with specialty equipment over hobby/craft store burners.  These burners can be inconsistent with heat (sometimes just heating up randomly and creating sloppy burns) and can get incredibly hot.  Just be patient, unplug the machine when necessary, and begin again when it has cooled a bit.  I think purchasing one of the hobby kits can be a great way to figure out if you want to delve deeper into pyrography, just understand the limitations that are present when you’re purchasing that machine.  And be aware proper shading with the craft store option is incredibly tricky.

That being said, don’t go crazy with purchasing everything you see on pyrography websites. Start with a good machine and a few tips, and you’ll probably be set for a good span of time. More on equipment and tips here.

Stick with really soft woods to start, like basswood. They’re easy to draw and burn on, and the dark burns on the light wood look really nice. 

Remember that pyrography is essentially drawing with a fire pencil, and keep that in mind if you’re frustrated with your end result.  Drawing is the most important thing a pyrographer can do. Draw often, draw more, and then draw again with fire.   

Clean your tips/nibs! It helps create a more beautiful line.  More on how to clean your tips here.

Don’t freak out over mistakes.  There are small steps you can take to minimize the damage.  Of course, with wood burning, there is only so much you can do.  So even if you can’t salvage it, chalk it up as more experience and move on. More on mistakes here.

Don’t burn on finished woods! I hear a lot about people who try to burn on a finished guitar.  This will ruin the guitar and your health.  Most finishes are toxic, and you can poison yourself.  If you have a project that you want to work on, sand it down before burning.