PYROGRAPHY

Wood Burning.

Essentials

For Beginners.

By

Clarence Arthur West.

Copyright 2020.

Table of Contents.

INTRODUCTION.

Part I.

Introduction To Pyrography.

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION TO WOOD BURNING.

The Evolution of Wood Burners.

CHAPTER 2

BASIC MATERIALS AND TOOLS FOR PYROGRAPHY.

☐​ Materials to burn:

i. ​ Wood

ii. ​ Leather.

iii. ​ Paper.

iv .      Gourds.

v. ​ Bark.

vi. ​ Bones, Nuts and Ivory.

vii. ​ Animal Horns, Antlers, And Teeth.

☐​ Design or Pattern:

i. ​ Carbon paper:

ii. ​ Tape.

iii. ​ Sand Paper.

iv. ​ Wet Paper Towel.

v. ​ Pencil.

vi. ​ Erasers.

vii. ​ White charcoal pencil

CHAPTER 3.

TOOLS FOR WOODBURNING.

i. ​ Wood-Burning Pen.

ii. ​ A Profession Burning System Or Wood-burner Kit.

iii. ​ Pliers

iv. ​ Burning Nibs or Tips.

v. ​ The Razer Tip Wood Burner Pen.

vi. ​ Standard Fixed-Tip Pen.

vii. ​ Heavy-Duty Fixed-Tip Pen.

viii. ​ BPH (Binding-Post Interchangeable-Tip) Pen.

ix. ​ The Branding Tips.

Other Material and Tools Needed for A Wonderful Finish.

• ​ Polyurethane:

• ​ Krylon Spray:

• ​ Tung Oil:

• ​ Mod Podge:

• ​ Rag or Brush:

CHAPTER 4

HOW TO USE YOUR WOOD BURNER.

Step 1: Purchasing A Good Tip/Pen Combination Woodburner.

Step 2: Understand The Time It Takes Each Gauge To Heat Up.

Step 3: Have A Good Understanding Of The Wire-Nib Wood Burning Tips And Their Uses.

Step 4: Know And Identify The Different Solid-Point Woodburning Tips And Their Uses.

Step 5: Understand The Type Of Wood You Are About To Burn.

Step 6: Consider Following The Sequence That Most Pyrographers Use.

Step 7: Do Not Press Down Too Hard On The Wood With The Wood-burning Tip.

CHAPTER 5

SAFETY MEASURES/PRECAUTIONS IN PYROGRAPHY.

1. ​ How to Clean Your Wood Burner Tips.

2. ​ A Wood Carving Strop With Aluminum Or Red Oxide Rouging Compound.

3. ​ Steps To Cleaning The Tips With Emery Cloth.

Some Safety Materials and Precaution s .

CHAPTER 6.

PYROGRAPHY TECHNIQUES & PRACTICE.

☐​ Practicing Wood Burning Strokes.

☐​ Pen Tip Profile And The Texture Fill Pattern.

■​ The Curved-Edged Shader.

■​ The Ball or Loop Tip.

■​ The Square Shader Tip.

■​ The Spear-Shaped Shader.

☐​ Temperature Setting.

☐​ Speed Of Your Hand Motion.

☐​ The Number Of Layers To Burn.

☐​ Media To Be Burned.

☐​ Making Straight And Curve Lines.

☐​ Steps In Making Dots And Stipples.

☐​ Shading.

More Advance Strokes From Other Wood Burner Tips.

• ​ Calligraphy Tips;

• ​ Universal Tips:

Making Holes In Your Wood.

CHAPTER 7.

WOOD DESIGNING.

1. ​ MAPPING/BASIC TRACING TECHNIQUE.

• ​ Flexible Tracing.

2. ​ IMAGE TRANSFERRING.

• ​ The Tracing Tip.

• ​ How To Transfer The Image To Wood.

Tracing With DO-IT Yourself Stencil.

Adding Colors To Your Design.

Using Wax Based Oil Pencils Or Crayons.

Using Gel paints.

Using Wood Gel Stains.

CHAPTER 8.

FINISHING YOUR ART WORK.

Basic Finishing Technique For Pyrography.

1) ​ Sanding:

2) ​ Wiping:

3) ​ Use Of Lacquer And Shellers:

4) ​ Application Of Oils:

Using Finished Wood As The Base.

• ​ Water-Based Tint:

• ​ Water-Diluted Glaze:

Part II.

Pyrography Ideas.

CHAPTER 9.

WOODEN TOYS.

☐​ Letters Blocks.

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

Step 5:

☐​ Wooden Domino.

☐​ Tic Tac Toe Boards And Chips.

☐​ Finished Product.

• ​ Wooden Puzzles:

• ​ Steps Involved In Making A Wooden Puzzle.

• ​ Thread Spinner Toy.

CHAPTER 10.

SMALL WOOD ACCESSORIES.           WOODEN KEY-CHAINS.

☐​ BRACELETS.

☐​ BAMBOO ADJUSTABLE BRACELETS.

☐​ PUSH BACK TWIG EARRINGS.

CHAPTER 11.

WALL DECORATION.                           WOOD PLATE DECORS.

☐​ EDUCATIONAL MAPS.

☐​ WALL PUZZLE.

☐​ DANDELIONS ON PALLET WOOD.

CHAPTER 12.

FLOOR DECORATIONS.

☐​ Tidal Bowl.

☐​ Easter Eggs.

☐​ Bamboo Flower Vase Holder.

☐​ Faux Antique Gourd Tea And Wine Set.

☐​ Faux Antique Gourd Jar.

☐​ Cactus Pot.

CHAPTER 13.

WOOD BURNED HOME PROJECTS.

☐​ Gourd Bird House:

☐​ Playful Stools:

☐​ Crafting Table Top.

☐​ Keepsake Boxes.

☐​ Tool Box:

How To Make Your Own Tool Box.

☐​ Magnetic Reminder Board.

☐​ Cake Turn-table.

☐​ Door Tags.

☐​ Coat Rack.

☐​ Scented Candle Holders

CHAPTER 14.

SOME PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES.

☐​ Put On Nose/Face Mask:

☐​ Wear Protective Eye Goggles:

☐​ Use Untreated Wood:

☐​ Maintain A Safe Temperature:

☐​ Get A Seat Strap:

☐​ Avoid The Emergence Of Excess Smoke Why Woodburning:

Conclusion.

INTRODUCTION.

Pyrography is the ancient art of burning words, images and designs into materials such as woods, canvases, fibres, metals, leathers and other materials. The art or technique is based on the creation of decorative designs on a surface (wood, leather paper, gourds, bark, nuts, ivory etc.) by burning or scorching with hot metallic instruments.

The word pyrography is coined from two Greek words; pur which means ‘ fire’ and graphos which translate to ‘writing’. Pyrography therefore transcribes to ‘writing with fire’. Although it is commonly referred to as “wood-burning,” however wood-burning is technically pyrography done on wood. Wood-burning is just an aspect of pyrography. Pyrography on the broader scale can be done on wood and any other receptive surface.

This ancient art has been around for many centuries, with the oldest recorded pyrograph dating as far back as before 700AD.

Part I.

Introduction To Pyrography.

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION TO WOOD BURNING.

W ood burning is a branch of pyrography that deals with stroking wood with a heated pen to produce decorative burn marks, attaining a wide range of effects. It is an ancient art that was used to decorate and brand various tools and musical instrument. Wood burning is still very much adored in today’s world. These creative patterns created on surface can be done using different tools and materials.

The Evolution of Wood Burners.

Wood burning began as far back as the 17th century. It was first described by the term “writing with fire”. The practice was carried out by different cultures throughout the times including Europe, Egypt and Africa. During the Han Dynasty in China, it was called “fire needle embroidery”. Later on it was known by the term “Pokerwork”. However, by the coming of Victorian era, pyrography machines were invented and the term ‘pyrography’ was formed.

In the early times, traditional woodcraft would just consist of heating a pointed metal object in a fire. During the 19th century, Alfred Smart a Melbourne architect realized that if hot, water-based paint was applied to the wood, large ranges of color and tint could be achieved. Furthermore, he discovered that this hot, water-based paint could be applied to the wood by pumping benzoline fumes through heated hollow platinum pencils. Hence, the arrival of manual wood burning pens. This was a turn-around for woodcrafters as it improved the whole wood burning process.

In the 20th century the electric pyrography equipment was invented.  This provided an easy, more automated wood burning process.

CHAPTER 2

BASIC MATERIALS AND TOOLS FOR PYROGRAPHY.

C reating a good pyrographic work, involves getting the right materials and tools. The basic materials include:

☐        Materials to burn:

There is usually a surface upon which the writing is done. This surface can be made of any materials ranging from wood to leather to Paper to Ivory to Gourds to Bark and to Nuts, and the commonest of all being wood. Each of these materials can receive different beautiful design. It is however, your choice to make. The important thing is to understand your preferred material as proper handling surface upon which the design is to be made matters a lot.

Below we will be discussing each of these mates:

i.             Wood

A large number of wood types can be burned, but some are more suitable for pyrography than others. A finer contrast between the burned image and the surface is obtainable when a Light-colored wood is used. On the other hand, the burned image tends to get lost in the background when Dark wood is used. Wood with minimal grain is most preferred than heavily grained wood.

Little grain wood gives a blank canvas for burning but when the grain is excess the expected result is negatively affected. Furthermore, soft and evenly textured wood allows for easy impression and are more consistent to burn. Hard wood may be able to achieve this but only when a powerful pyrography machine is used.

The form of wood is dependent on the intention of the user. Cabinet or furniture-quality plywood is more suitable if the work is to be framed and hung. Planks made from solid wood will serve better for signs, handy items and wall hangings. Wood blank occur in untreated forms. Wood with bark edge provides a natural and receptive already framed surface to burn.

Picture frames, kitchen utensils, boxes, plaques, and other functional items are made from a variety of woods hence can be burned. Pyrography can also be applied on furniture. Even the wooden features of a house, like kitchen cabinets, can have an individual touch added to them. It’s important to remember not to burn on a wood that is already treated or sealed.

ii.             Leather.

The awesome thing about burning leather is that there is no wood grain to fight. The heat needed is cooler than what is required for wood. The nib sinks properly into the surface. Leather can serve many purposes. It can be used on items, such as belts, bags, dog collars etc. it can also be displayed in a frame as a decorative design. Though the pros of leather are excellent there are still a few downsides. One of these downsides is the smell. Leather works stink a bit. Also, leather frequently gums up during burning.

As a result of these gumming the nibs are always dirty and requires frequent cleaning. The frequent cleaning will prevent the nibs from sticking and hopping across the surface behind.

A well-polished leather can be of high price than wood and as well not be easy to come across. Smooth, unblemished, pale, vegetable-tanned leather is preferable for obvious reasons. Cowhides, buckskin, moose, and kangaroo are the suitable leather for pyrography. However, you must avoid any chromium-tanned leather. It is recommended to use vegetable-tanned leather instead.  Leather treated with oil or wax is also no recommended for burning.

Many soft leathers are chromium-tanned or bleached and the fumes caused by burning these could be harmful to the health and should be avoided. For a finished product will be handled often, protect your leather from dirt and moisture with a leather conditioner or leather lacquer. A varnish spray will retain the flatness and rigidness.

iii.             Paper.

Paper requires a lot of patience and gentler approach than some other forms of pyrography. It is very resilient during burning. Finished products from paper pyrography are beautifully appealing. An advantage of paper over wood is that pater is always available and may never have to spend hours searching for the perfect piece of wood.

In addition, paper is affordable, plentiful, and easy to frame and present.  Suitable paper for burning include: hot-pressed paper, cold pressed paper and acid-free rag paper. Cold-pressed paper is characterized by a rough texture. Hot-pressed is smooth to work and thus preferred by the beginner. As much as rough paper can create interesting effects, the features should not be disregarded.

A choice on the thickness of the paper is dependent on what the user wants and the experience level. Burning a thin paper amplifies the likelihood of piercing through and also limits the heavy-handed and textural of the user. While it can be possible to burn on colored cardboard and paper and achieve some exciting results.

However, for safety reasons the kind of chemicals or dyes used to color the paper must be carefully considered.

iv.             Gourds.

Gourd pyrography usually yields aesthetical, natural and realistic themes. Challenging features of Gourds is that it burns dirty compared to some types of wood!

The user will therefore clean the nib as the work proceeds. Burning gourd is trickier than flatwork because of their spherical shapes; special attention must be paid to how the work is held. Gourd burning uses the regular tips, however the surface is harder and more slippery to burn than the regular flat timber.

This can cause an odd skid, and, for that reason, a sharp skew could be used to burn the lines. The knife-like tip is a recommended nip for burning gourds. This nib possesses a feature that allow it dig into the surface and anchor itself. This helps to prevent accidents and promote a neat crisp line. The gourd shell can also be cut out into pieces by using a hot nib. If desired by the crafter, colors can be used in conjunction with burning. acrylic paints, leather dyes and pencils, can be used for various effects. A spray vanish can be used for the finishing.

v.             Bark.

Bark pyrography involves the use of a wood burner to create special decorative effect on papery bark of tree. Bark is an interesting material burn, but only if you have a practiced hand. The soft and spongy surface makes it difficult for lines to hold their edge. This surface also prevents shading from being uniform. Though it may create a nice romantic effect, it is however challenging. It is recommended only for high-contrast work or simple subjects.  Silhouettes will create a nice look on this medium.

vi.             Bones, Nuts and Ivory.

Bone and ivory burning is usually done by craft men with high expertise and bravery. Both media must be cracked by a red-hot nib used for extended periods, so the ivory must be burned in short bursts. Another material that can be burned is the dried nut ,Tagua. It is also called palm ivory or vegetable ivory. Though hard to find due their special nature, they are however sold in some woodcarving supply shops and specialized stores.

Bone (Deer Jaw) Pyrography.

Nut pyrography.

Tagua Nut Pyrography.

vii.              Animal Horns, Antlers, And Teeth.

Animal horns, antlers, and teeth are very rare burning media. They are mostly used as pins or pendent. An antler work is done by cutting crossway on the lower end of the antler forming a disc.

The light-colored area is smoothened with a sandpaper to give a flat surface. The surface forms an ideal canvas for burning. The design is therefore crafted on the surface.

Antler Pyrography.

☐        Design or Pattern:

The design or pattern to be inscribed is printed on a paper.

i.                    Carbon paper:

Carbon paper is one of material used for tracing. It is placed under the design and taped to the wood. It creates a clear dark line of the pattern on the wood. The line is easily carved away without leaving any stains or rubbing off on the wood.

ii.                 Tape.

Tapes can be used to tape down the design while tracing into the wood.

Sand Paper.

Sandpaper is used to prepare the wood surface and clean the tips of wood burning pens. Fine grit papers are used to smoothen the wood surface and clear away oils or contaminant.  It is better to use ultrafine sandpaper for the wood burning pent tips as coarse sandpaper could damage the pen tips.

iv.               Wet Paper Towel.

Wet paper towel is important to clean up tools and the wood surface.

v.                  Pencil.

Pencils are used to sketch out the patterns, effects and ideas on the wood before burning.

vi.               Erasers.

Erasers are used to erase any extraneous drawings and lines that didn’t get covered during when the outline was burnt.             

White charcoal pencil .

Using charcoal pencil to mark spots will prevent that area from burning. The wax in colored pencil will melt but charcoal will resist burning.

CHAPTER 3.

TOOLS FOR WOODBURNING.

There are quite a number of pyrography or wood-burning tools that are used for the purpose of these craft. They include:

i.                    Wood-Burning Pen.

A wood-burning pen is a very simple electrical tool used to burn patters and design on a wood. It is also known as pyrography pens. Typically, a wood-burning pen consists of interchangeable tips. There are a variety of wood burners available at different prices and quality.

ii.                 A Profession Burning System Or Wood-burner Kit.

A Profession burning system or wood-burner kit comes with a variety of pens that are plugged into separate ports. There is a toggle switch that allows you to switch back and forth between the pens. There are also a variety of tips. There are several choices of wood-burners. They include;

Burn-master,

Colwood,

Detail Master,

Everglades,

Nibs-burner,

Optima,

Razertip.

iii.             Pliers

Pliers can be used for changing the burning tips.

iv.              Burning Nibs or Tips.

The nibs are used for creating the design and details on the surface of the choice material. They are two types: The Solid Points or Tips and Wire Tips.

The solid interchangeable tips are brass-made. The end of the tip has a screw with which they are fastened into the front end of the burner. They are beginner friendly and commonly used for branding.

Common solid tips are Universal tip (which are perfect for both fine line work and shading work) include;

Calligraphy tip (for lettering),

Flow tip (for large area fills),

Cone tip (for detailing) and

Large shading tip (for adding shadows).

These tips are available in different sizes, shapes and names depending on the manufacturer.

Wire Tip nibs are made from high-quality nichrome wire. They are perfect for shading, writing, and fine detailing in your artwork. Wire tips include: Spoon points, feathering points, PowerPoints, Skew tips, Spear tips, Knife tips, Groove tips, Writing tips, Ball Stylus tips etc.

v.                  The Razer Tip Wood Burner Pen.

Razertip’s standard pyrography pens are the smallest, most versatile brands of pyrography pens made. They consist of fluted barrels which permits the free flow of air.  Consequently, the pens run cooler and are more comfortable to hold.

This is a tremendous feature loved by many woodcrafters.  It is of three types: The Standard, the Heavy-Duty and the Interchangeable.

vi.              Standard Fixed-Tip Pen.

The standard razer pens are the smallest, most comfortable pens made today.  They are perfect for fine detail designs.

vii.          Heavy-Duty Fixed-Tip Pen.

The heavy duty pyrography pens consist of a larger pen body. This is because it was built for maximum durability.  Their connector posts and tips are heavier than the other pens. Heavy duty pens require an elevated level of heat setting and so a heavy-duty cord is best to go with it.

viii.       BPH (Binding-Post Interchangeable-Tip) Pen.

The Binding-post Interchangeable-tip pen is the pen with the highest level of versatility. It is adaptable and serves different purposes. It allows the crafter purchase those less frequently used but important tips. It also allows the pyrographer customize his or her own tips.

ix.              The Branding Tips.

Branding tips are special strong tips that can be used to burn special branding effects to the wood. Branding tip 1 when applied with vertical strokes create star in circles shape. Branding tip 2 creates stripped circles and criss-cross patterns.

Branding tip 3 can create a diamond or square in a circle and even give a lattice look. You can also make you of the branding iron and alphabet branding tips shown below.

Branding tips 1, 2 and 3 respectively.

Other Material and Tools Needed for A Wonderful Finish.

Some of the materials and tool that can give good finishing are listed below.

•        Polyurethane:

Polyurethane is commonly used by wood crafters because it can be applied with either a rag or a brush. However, polyurethane will make the wood darker so it is recommended that the art is coated with a satin polyurethane with several coats.

•        Krylon Spray:

Krylon spray sealants come in spray cans and in many different styles. They are very easy to apply. a flat style Krylon sealant is recommended to reduce any sheen or reflectiveness that glossy finishes would leave.

•        Tung Oil:

Tung oil is/are known to darken wood nevertheless it can be used on your burned work. It is applied with a rag. A light coat of the oil is sufficient for the finish. Allow the wood in it. This helps to deeply preserve the wood.

•        Mod Podge:

A mod Podge is a material recommended for finishing bark. It is applied with a sponge or brush before or after burning. The finish hardens the bark thereby keeping it in place so that it doesn’t fall off and make a mess.

•        Rag or Brush:

The finish or sealant is usually applied on the rag and brush before being applied to the wood.

When it comes to handling sealants and finish, your mind need to take note of some of the precautions given below.

1)  Take note of the temperature indicated by the manufacture of the product for use. Generally, experts recommend that your wood should warm to at least 70°F (21.1°C).  This rule exempts oil finishes. This helps the finish set right and fast. Also you should warm up the finish too. A cool finish might produce bubbles when you start to apply. Therefore, warm up the finish and the wood.

2)  Also note that different finishes have different chemical constituent that may not be compatible with each other. Therefore, avoid mixing your finish whether before applying or during application.  Mixing finishes could have a devastating effect on finish or inhibit from it from curing properly.

3)  Do not dip your brush directly into the can of sealant or finish. This is to prevent contamination of the sealant/finish. For instance, if it used on a stained or dyed wood or even a leach wood the color of the wood can transfer into the brush and contaminate the product it is therefore advisable to measure out a small amount of the product into a bowl or jar for use.   

4)  Instead of applying 1 thick coat to the wood, apply at least 3 thin coats of finish rather. This gives a better finish result. Take note to evenly distribute the thin coat to all parts on the wood as well as the bark. 

5)  The choice to use spray on or brush on the finish does require any special rule unless a color has been applied to the wood. If a color has been applied, then spray-on finish is recommend to be use first. The choice to use a brush later is all yours, but ensure it is the same finish type.

6) When using a spray on finish, ensure to spray uniformly. Let the pace be steady as you move across the surface.  

CHAPTER 4

HOW TO USE YOUR WOOD BURNER.

B elow are some of the steps/procedures to be taken towards ensuring a successful use of the pyrography wood burning pen.

Step 1: Purchasing A Good Tip/Pen Combination Woodburner.

It is recommended that you consider buying a wood burner which tips can easily be changed by replacing the entire handle. Wood burners can reach temperatures of 750 to 1050◦F (400 to 565 Celsius). It is not easy to change the tips while the tip is still hot as this can damage the tips. Screw-style and solid point tips burners are commonly made of soft brass metal.

The soft metal takes about five minutes to cool down to a temperature where the tip can be removed safely with the fingers. Use of objects like pliers is/are not recommended. However, a wood burner that use a tip/pen combination does not need the tips to cool down before the handle is removed.

Step 2: Understand The Time It Takes Each Gauge To Heat Up.

A thicker the wire indicates a smaller gauge. Have a good understanding the gauge tip and length of time it will take your pen wire to heat up.

Step 3: Have A Good Understanding Of The Wire-Nib Wood Burning Tips And Their Uses.

A =Skew tip.

B= Spear tip.

C= Round tip.

D= Chisel tip.

E= Ballpoint tip.

The skew tip is slanted and angled. Commonly used for burning long running lines.

Spear tip possesses an edge with is pointed. It is mostly used for burning fine details and in tight places

Round tip is a circular point. Use this tip when you don’t to create a depression.

Chisel tip is perpendicular at its edges. It is commonly used for burning quill lines.

Ballpoint tip has a tiny ball at its tip end. It is commonly used to write.

Step 4: Know And Identify The Different Solid-Point Woodburning Tips And Their Uses.

A= Universal tip.

B= Calligraphy tip.

C= Extra fine tip.

D= Shading tip.

The universal tip is versatile and serves all purpose. It can be used to burn the outline of designs and create straight lines. The calligraphy tip is used to write naturally and create curved lines.

The extra fine tip is used for detailed work, straight lines, and creating tighter curves. The shading tip is commonly use to fill-in and shade large areas, as well give your work some shadow effects.

Step 5: Understand The Type Of Wood You Are About To Burn.

Softer, lower density, woods such as basswood tend to burn faster and require lesser heat. Hard woods such as oak take more heat and burn slower.

Step 6: Consider Following The Sequence That Most Pyrographers Use.

Step 1: Prepare the piece by using a sandpaper to give a smooth finish.

Step 2: Transfer or draw a design on the wood using either a graphite paper, carbon paper, or soft pencil.

Step 3: Burn the outlines.

Step 4: Add filling and shading.

Step 7: Do Not Press Down Too Hard On The Wood With The Wood-burning Tip.

Let the tips do the work, gently. Do not force them. Be aware that too much pressure can bend hot tips.

Fumes create from wood burning cause serious health problems. So it is best that you work outdoor or in an area with good ventillation.

Pressure-treated wood, Medium Density Fiber (MDF), and wood which has been stained or finished contain chemicals which can emit harmful fumes during burning. Plywood is recommended safe for burning. However, you must avoid the adhesive areas.

CHAPTER 5

SAFETY MEASURES/PRECAUTIONS IN PYROGRAPHY.

W hile performing wood-burning/pyrography, it is pertinent to say that just like other craft, there are precautionary measures to be undertaken so as to keep a healthy working environment and stay safe. They include the following:

1.    How to Clean Your Wood Burner Tips.

For the most perfect burning strokes, use a clearly bright tip, and as you burn, the tips of your pens will begin to collect resin residue from the wood sap and carbon build-up from the burned wood.

This gives the tip a carbon coat leaving them black and crusted after a long time. That black carbon can even be transferred to your project and appears a long, thin dark gray streaks in the work. Carbon can cause your tip to lose heat or to create uneven distribution of the heat to your tip. The tips could be cleaned long before the carbon build-up becomes too intense.

Material for cleaning the pen tips include:

1) Sandpaper:

Sandpaper (320 grit) can be used to brush the buildup or residue off the tip. Rougher grades of sandpaper are not recommended. Do not hold the paper or touch it longer if the tip is still hot.

2) Knife:

Knife can be used to remove the carbon residue on the tips. It is done by scraping off the residue over piece of scrap paper or wood to get rid of the mess.

3) Emery Cloth:

Emery cloth of 600-grit or finer can be used to clean badly coated tips.

2.   A Wood Carving Strop With Aluminum Or Red Oxide Rouging Compound.

Before use, prepare the strop with aluminium oxide coating. The wood-burning pen can also be clean by any leather or synthetic strop used to sharpen wood carving tools makes a wonderful cleaning board for any pen tip.

3.    Steps To Cleaning The Tips With Emery Cloth.

1)  The first important step in cleaning your pen tips is to unplug your burning unit and allow the pen to fully cool. A hot pen tip can burn the emery cloth or even the leather strops.

2)  Fold the emery cloth into quarters, small enough to secure all sides with your fingers.

3)  Gently pull the tip of the pen over the cloth.

4)  Use as little pressure as possible as you clean the tip to avoid distorting or bending the burning wire of the tip.

5)  The tip is pulled across the strop using gentle pressure until the tip returns to its bright color tone of gunmetal blue.

6)  Lastly, after you must have cleaned your pen –tip with the aid of a clean and undamp cloth, for effective carbon remnant removal.

Some Safety Materials and Precaution s .

It is necessary that your safety and that of those around you is guaranteed while carry out your project. Below are some safety precautions you can follow and material to wear so as to achieve safety during burning.

Safety Materials

Two major areas of the body are covered by these materials during burning. These areas are the fingers and the nose. Protecting your finger prevents blisters. Covering your nose reduces the amount of smoke reaching your lungs,

Finger protection materials:

Leather gloves,

Rubber finger guards,

Finger heat shield,

Thick cord heat shields

Smoke protection materials:

Face mask (P95 smoke mask),

Table fan,

Air purifier.

Safety Precautions:

Do not use a treated, painted or finished surfaces. The chemicals used for them can release harmful fumes during burning.

Make sure your work area is ventilated. Get a small table fan to blow off the smoke while you are working.

Avoid placing the work on your lap during burning. If you do, smoke from the work goes directly to your face and puts you at risk of inhaling fumes.

Before you burn on a media, do a proper research on the toxic properties of the constituent material.

Ensure that you unplug your burner when not in use.

Avoid leaving your hot burning pen unattended to. It can result in a fire.

If you need to keep your pen while working, set it on a pen stand or ceramic tile

CHAPTER 6.

PYROGRAPHY TECHNIQUES & PRACTICE.

☐        Practicing Wood Burning Strokes.

There are so many strokes and patterns that can be created in pyrography. Achieving a desired design only involves the combination of wood burning pens, good understanding of how to handle each stroke pattern and the tonal value of the stroke.

There are six major elements determine a wood burning stroke. They include

Pen tip profile.

Texture fill pattern.

Temperature setting.

Speed of the hand motion.

Fill pattern counts in layers.

Media to be burned.

☐        Pen Tip Profile And The Texture Fill Pattern.

Each pen tip profile creates a unique stroke pattern. It determines the shape and width of each stroke. Little or no pressure is needed on the pen tip. The burner also requires no force or push. One trick is to know when to open or tighten the stroke. The texture fill pattern determines the style or finished look of the area. The image below describes the strokes, texture or pattern that can be formed by each pen tip.

Practice Board Showing Patterns or Strokes Made By Each Pen Tip-

Colwood Pen Tips From Top To Bottom: Curved-Edge Shader, Looped Tip Pen, Micro-Loop Pen, Square Shader, And The Spear Shader.

N.B: The name is based on the manufacturer.

Each of the pen produces its own unique strokes and filling.

■        The Curved-Edged Shader.

The curved-edge shader can create a shaded line strokes and extremely thin lines. It possesses a thin metal tip that is thinner than the spear shader.  When used by wide edge of the belly of the curve, the shaded forms a graduated wide, shaded line strokes. If the pen is held along the sharp, pointed edge of the pen extremely thin lines can be burned. Sometimes, this shader can even be able to cut and sculpture the wood depending on how the pen is held.

■        The Ball or Loop Tip.

Ball tip or loop tip pen are perfect to create thin line fills. As a result of the slightly wide burning of these tips, they can create even line. Therefore, they are best for tight scrubbie stroke fills.

■        The Square Shader Tip.

The square shader is a unique pen with a thick wire, bent at right angles in order to accommodate a huge amount of hot metal directly onto the wood. It can create a wide, sometimes coloured stroke that fills a large portion swiftly. When one edge of the tip is used, it creates long, thick-to-thin grass and hair strokes on the wood.

■        The Spear-Shaped Shader.

The spear-shaped shader has a tip shaped as the name implies. This tip is bent at an angle from the pen handle allowing the flat, wide area of the shader to lie directly onto the board. This will burn long, pull shading strokes on the wood.

When the pen tip is used on its edge, giving you a wide area of the tip for your burn strokes. 

☐        Temperature Setting.

The temperature used for each stroke is important as it affects the tonal value of the wood. When set at low temperatures pale tonal value burns are created.  As the temperature rises the strokes attain a darker tonal value.  Each wood burns at a different rate and so your choice of temperature will depend on your project.

There is need for you to regulate the thermal settings so as to give room for your kind of work pattern. For instance, Poplar burns quickly showing pale values as low as 2 and black toned burns as you near 4.  Birch on the other hand burns a little bit slower. It can form a pale value around 3 and does not reach the black tones until 7 to 8.

☐        Speed Of Your Hand Motion.

Movement made slowly will creates beautiful dark deep lines or shadows. When the speed is fast and light, it makes light fine lines or shadows. Also, if the pen stays on an area for long it will create a darker scorch and burn deeper into the wood’s surface.

☐        The Number Of Layers To Burn.

When you layer your fill patterns you can slowly elevate the tonal value darkness of the section you want to. A temperature gauge can help you determine your tonal value in a section. You can also add deep tones by laying new layers of burning strokes over a formerly patterned fill. 

☐        Media To Be Burned.

The media to be burned will influence the tonal values and line work. As explained in the first chapter of this book, material to be burn is vary from wood, to leather, gourd, nuts, animal skins etc. Before you begin to burn you must research on the temperature range that the surface can accommodate.

It is also needed to ascertain the amount of detailing that you can work. Research has it that the kind of surface you choose for your specific wood-burning project, will go a long way to decide the range of temperature that will be allowable as well as the value of burn and work detailing.

Making Straight And Curve Lines.

Straight and curve lines are one of the typical wood burning strokes to practice if you are still new. Straight lines are simple but curve line could be very difficult sometimes. However, curved lines add more interest to your work than straight lines. The following step could be followed when making lines

Step 1:

Place the round point into your wood burning pen and heat up the burner.

Step 2:

Hold the burner like you hold a pencil just in the same angle you write with your pen, put the point on the wood.

Step 3:

Draw the burner towards you in a smooth way with a consistent pressure. If the pressure is frequently changed the color of your line could vary.

Step 4:

Make sure you lift the wood burner immediately you pause or complete doing your stroke, otherwise it will create a burn in a spot and blot the pen as well.

Step 5:

For straight line burning, you will require a steel ruler as a guide. It will ease your work.

Step 6:

If you are creating a curve line two techniques can be implemented for guidance. You can choose to first break the curve line point by point and thereafter join each point to one another slowly. 

Otherwise, you can use a graphite paper to map out the contour line, following it with the pen.

☐        Steps In Making Dots And Stipples.

Dots and stipples will give your artwork a special, interesting and more complex details than lines. A major trick to create a perfect dot or stipple is the ability to control the pressure. Below are the steps you can take to make a dot or stipple.

Step 1: Put spherical or dot tip in your wood burner.

Step 2: Hold it the same way you handle a pen or pencil and start to heat.

Step 3: First, lift the tip a little above the surface of the wood or any material that you want to burn.

Step 4: Place the tip directly on the surface. Allow it to stay up till your desired dot size. The longer it stays the bigger the dot. Do not press the wood burner on the wood. Allow it stay till a hole is melted.

☐        Shading.

Shading is an important pyrography technique that cannot be ignored. It gives your artwork a more illustrative expression. Many pyrographers find the technique of shading hard to master due to its challenges. The shading point is one of the pen tips available for this technique.

Important steps that can help you improve your shading skills are described below:

Step 1: Place the shading point into your wood burning pen and heat.

Step 2: Hold the wood burning pen like you would hold a pencil.

Step 3: Let the pen be held in an angle that allows the entire flattened part of the tip touch the surface of the wood.

Step 4: Move the wood burning pen in a circular motion to give a gradient effect. Take note that the longer it stays on the same spot the darker the shading will be.

Step 5: Continue the movement to a lighter layer.

Step 6: Repeat the shading until you get your desired effect.

More Advance Strokes From Other Wood Burner Tips.

Aside the tips, some other solid point pen tips can be used to make certain advance strokes, some of these tips are calligraphy tips, Groove tip and Universal tip.

Calligraphy Tips; This tip has a thin, flat and rectangular point that can create fine lines and letters

Universal Tips: This is the most common solid point tip. It can be used for both fine line work and shading work. They are used to draw lines of varying thickness.

Making Holes In Your Wood.

Some woodworks especially tiny woods require that holes be made in the wood. To achieve this, you would need a round or groove tip. A groove tip burns groove into the wood there by creating a hole.

The Procedures for making a hole is as follows:

Step 1: Place a round or groove solid tip in the wood burning pen.

Step 2: Hold the pen as described when making a dot.

Step 3: Allow the tip to remain on that spot for a long time.

Step 4: Slightly press the wood burner into the wood and then let it remain.

Step 5: When the hole has been created, flip the board and incise the tip on the same spot from the back.  This is to make your work neater and to create the hole on both sides.

CHAPTER 7.

WOOD DESIGNING.

E very pyrography work involves a design. The design is drawn on the wood before the wood is burned. Sometimes it could involve create a design on the wood directly from the mind of the crafter but rarely happens except the crafter is very excellent.

Most times the design is first created on a sheet and then transferred onto the wood to be burned. The latter happens by two methods.

Mapping/Basic Tracing Method this involves the pattern on the wood by hand.

Transferring the image with a device.

1.     MAPPING/BASIC TRACING TECHNIQUE.

This technique involves tracing the pattern on the wood by placing it over a graphite paper. The steps involved are:

Step 1: Draw or print the design on a clean white paper. Replicating the design on other sheets will be wiser incase a mistake is made during the mapping process.

Step 2: Prepare your wood with the sandpaper. 

Step 3: Place the paper over the wood and slide the graphite in between them. Make sure that the graphite is on the wood.

Step 4: Trace your pattern on the wood using a pencil or a pen

Step 5: Press the pen securely to guarantee that the graphite is moved on the wood along with the pattern being traced.

Step 6: After tracing, take away the graphite paper and the layout

Step 7: Slightly darken any light line on the wood.

Step 8: Use the wood burner pen to burn the design permanently on the wood.

Step 9: After burning, erase the graphite and pencil lines from the wood.

Step 10: You can choose to leave the design the way it is; or apply a tint or finish.

•        Flexible Tracing.

Many beginners find it difficult to work on rounded parts of a craftwork by just using a pen and paper. It is however recommended that a non-infusing interfacing is used to map the designs around that area.

A non-infusing interface is a non-adhesive woven or non-woven fabric commonly used to hold a garment. However, in this case it is used to transfer images from a printed design to a rounded surface. A fusible interfacing may leave a mark on the surface, so it is not advisable to be used.

You could follow the previous step for tracing. However, in this case, the design printed or drawn is placed above the interfacing, while the graphite is place below the interfacing.

A masking tape is used in this case to hold the designs around the boundaries of curve.  More pressure should be applied to the pencil when tracing because a non-infusing interface is thicker than the ordinary paper.

2.     IMAGE TRANSFERRING.

Another technique for the mapping the pattern on the wood is by image or photo transfer. This technique involves the use of certain tool such as a tracing tip and a printer to map a layout on the wood.

If the photo is big, an iron can be used instead of a tracing tip. Proper care must be observed when using an iron so as not to burn the wood.  This technique is faster and smoother compared to the first.

•        The Tracing Tip.

The tracing tip is a flat, huge, round and heavy tip. It is heavier than other tips. It works like an iron and lets you use large dark dots for your pattern. It doesn’t really come with all wood burners so you might have to buy it as an extra accessory.

•        How To Transfer The Image To Wood.

Step 1: Print the design in a notepad using a printer. A LaserJet printer is most recommended, some other printers may not function well on wood.

Step 2: Place the paper, facing it down unto the wood. You can use a covering tape if need be.

Step 3: Attach the tracing tip to your wood burner.

Step 4: Put the tip onto the paper and iron it in a circular motion.

Step 5: As you iron, ensure that the whole layout in the paper are covered. Do not go beyond the paper

Step 6: Repeat the process twice so as to make sure the design is transferred.

Step 7: when you are sure of the transfer, slowly remove the paper.

Step 8: Darken any line that is too light.

Step 9: Trace your layout on the wood.

Tracing With DO-IT Yourself Stencil.

This technique involves using a DO-IT yourself stencil to trace out and a chalk to transfer the image to the wood. This is a limited technique as it can only be used for solid and consistent styles.

However, this is technique is cleaner and excellent to try out. The material needed are: Paper cutter, chalk, double sided paper, tape band and binder separator. The steps are listed below.

Step 1: Print your design out on a paper.

Step 2: Place the binder separator on top of the paper.

Step 3: Inspect your layout and mark the areas you need to be careful in order not to reduce for the stencil.  Mark the entire areas that are likely to get eliminated after cutting with a tinted pen.

Step 4: Carefully cut your desired pattern.

Step 5: When your stencil is done, position it over a wood.

Step 6: Shield the cutout areas with the color chalk.

Step 7: Remove the stencils and burn the location with the chalks on wood.

Adding Colors To Your Design.

Adding colors to your wood burning will give your styles a better expression and dimension.  If you desire to add color to your work you will need to use such materials such as a water-based wood stains, oil, gel paints etc.

Using Wax Based Oil Pencils Or Crayons.

Wax gives better results with wood. One good about wax based oil pencils is that their application and color management can be handled with bare hands. In the occurrence of a mistake they can be easily removed by using a gray and white eraser.

The shades can be sand-off gently to lighten the colors. A finger or cotton bud can be used to blend the colors.

Using Gel paints.

Gel paints are more complicated to use than oil pencils. They stay longer on a surface than an ordinary paint and gives more time for the artist to do different strokes or patterns on their designs.

However, when a mistake occurs especially on a multi shaded design the colours may blend and give a different colour. It is therefore necessary to use a clean towel to take in the excess gel paint on the already applied colour before adding another shade.

This will make the paint dry faster to accommodate a new layer.

Using Wood Gel Stains.

Wood gel stains are like fluid stains but they do not drip. They are not so easily absorbed by the wood. This helps to retain the genuine wood look of the craft. Another good quality of the paint is that the colours can easily be blended using a paint brush.

CHAPTER 8.

FINISHING YOUR ART WORK.

C otton cloth and paper do not necessarily require a seal after the work is completed. Vegetable-dyed leather may only require a water-proof coating of oil added. Wood however requires a sealer or finisher. Wood burn art-works changes over time due to the oxidation and darkening of wood, this result in fading as there appears to be a less contrast between the canvas and the burned lines.

Therefore, when the art work is done, application of finish is required to protect piece. A finish or sealant helps to slow down the rate of oxidizing and fading. It is also a necessary coat to seal your work from dirt, to give the concluded work a shine, and to protect the work from any coloring added during burning.

The finish or sealant could be of spray sealer, brushed-on varnish, or an oil finish depending on the choice of wood and the crafter. Furthermore, when the finish has been applied it is necessary that the artwork be placed under direct sunlight and UV light.

Basic Finishing Technique For Pyrography.

Certain techniques are required for a good finish. These techniques are explained below.

1)  Sanding: This technique is done by using a fine grit sandpaper to remove rough spots by smoothening the wood. To do this, the first step is to cut a tiny portion of the sand paper. A large piece may touch your main work and damage it. The next step is to lightly scrub it over the part that needs to be finished.,

2)  Wiping: A dry, neat, soft and tidy cloth is required to clean up the work after finishing a design. A wet cloth can be used if the dust is hard to wipe.

3)  Use Of Lacquer And Shellers: Lacquer and shellers lighten the burned colour of wood. They also make the wood tougher and last longer. It also gives your work a genuine wood look. Lacquer and shellers are best applied through spray-on. Using a brush will smear the shades.

4)  Application Of Oils: Oils such as tung oil, olive oil and other mineral oil can be applied to on the completed work to give it a shiny appearance. Lacquer leaves your work with a sparkle but the effect can be tricky. It is therefore recommended that oils be used rather than lacquers as it protects the color and provides a pure shimmering result.

Using Finished Wood As The Base.

Pyrography designs can also be added on a design and finished woodwork. It gives a wonderful touch to the work. However, it can sometimes be harmful especially if the material used for finishing the work is ignitable.

Some material that can be used for finishing a wood base includes:

•        Water-Based Tint:

Water based tint can be used to finish the wood base. It is made by weakening dyes on the water and applied on the wood using a cotton rounds or soft towel. The dye tints the wood yet preserves the grain. The challenge however is that the tint takes a long time to dry therefore you would need to wait for about three days before you can burn the styles on.

•        Water-Diluted Glaze:

Acrylic polish is another product for fishing a wood base. The polish can be made dissolving the acrylic paint in water. The ratio of water to paint is depending on how thick you want the polish. A thicker polish forms a glaze. During burning the glaze may release fumes. Nevertheless, you do not need to dry the wood for too long. A thinner polish contains more water than paint. The wood will need to dry for a long time before work can start.

Part II.

Pyrography Ideas.

CHAPTER 9.

WOODEN TOYS.

T he length you can go with wood burning is limitless. Wooded toys such as toy cameras, wooden dolls, wooded doll houses etc. can be design through wood burning.  Wooded toys never go out of fashion and are healthier giving that plastics are non-biodegradable. Wood burning gives you a chance to create your own pattern, design and toy story. You can give your kids a better play experience. Let’s begin.

When burning wooden toys, the first step is to craft out the wood to the shape you want. The choice of wood is yours to make. It is best to select a wood that will make your design more attractive to the kids.

If you choose to sketch from your heart, you can directly draw on the wood. However, if you are not an expert, get a paper and trace out your sketch. Then place the sketch on the wood and trace. Thereafter, burn the pattern on the wood using your wood burning pen.

☐        Letters Blocks.

Letter blocks are important learning guides for children. You can express more love to your child by creating his/her own customized letter blocks. To create a beautiful letter block, the following materials are required; Wood, Saw, Sandpaper, Wood burner, designs.

The following steps can help create and design a Letter block:

Step 1: Select the wood that best suits you. A dry locally harvested rough-cut lumber is recommended.

Step 2: Make wooden blocks by using a saw to chop the wood into blocks. The blocks can be about 2inches square. 

Step 3: Use the sand paper to smoothen the surfaces of the block.

Step 4: Sketch the design on each surface of the block. You can trace the printed design on the surfaces.

Step 5: Burn the patterns into the wood. This must be done lightly.

☐        Wooden Domino.

Wooden domino is one item that has been used to express pyrography ideas. Creating a wooden domino usually starts with finding the right wood and cutting it into the right size and amount. After cutting out the wood, begin your wood burning process. For your pen tips, you need to select a tip that can construct dots and sometimes a thick straight line. Create these patterns on your wood.

☐        Tic Tac Toe Boards And Chips.

Pyrography can also be applied in creating wooden games such as tic tac boards and chips. The first step is to get the proper tools required. These tools are Table saw, Drill press, 1/2" and 5/8" drill bits, Sand paper, Ruler, Pencil, Router.

Materials needed are: Wood: 5"x5" x 1.25" thick, Oak dowel: 5/8" diameter x 7" long, Magnet: 0.437" diameter (x2), Flat washer: 1/2" diameter (x4), Super Glue, Wood stain or finishing oil, Paint (2 colors).

With your materials and tools ready we can begin!

1)  The first step is to get the tic tac toe design to be drawn on the surface of the wood. Form the base by chopping the board to 5 inch square. Your wood should at least be

1.25" thick.

2)  Measure the grid on the wood surface using the measurement shown in the image below. Set the table saw blade to a height of 0.125 and a thickness of 1/8".

3)  Make the four incisions as shown below. Mark a hole at the center of each square using a punch to notch the wood. Use a drill to further deepen the holes about 1/4" into the board.

4)  The slot in the base can be cut using a Router or by doing multiple passes over a table saw.

5)  The next step is to create the compartment hole at the side.

6)  Next create the washer holes. To create the washer holes, use a 1/2" bit.

7)  Place four 1/2" diameter steel washers metal slugs in the base holes. Use a glue to attach them.

8)  Remove the panel from the cutoff portion of the original block of wood.

9)  Drill the magnet holes at the locations shown. Place in the magnet gluing with a super glue.

10)          You can choose to burn a design of your choice on wood at this point.

11)          Use sandpaper to break the corners and finish the base and panel with oil.

12)         Cut the dowel in to pieces using a band saw. Use a drill or the sandpaper to reduce the dowel diameter down by 1/32 of an inch before cutting into pieces.

13)                      Paint the dowel pieces with any color of your choice.

☐        Finished Product.

•        Wooden Puzzles:

Wooden puzzles are ideal toys for children and can even serve as fun for the adults. It stimulates learning development for children and improves their capacity to pay attention to details. As a parent or guardian you may want to consider the option of getting your child a puzzle. If you have a scrap wood piece you might want to consider the option of creating a wooden puzzle.

Wooden puzzles require only small amount of wood. Another good thing is that the wood doesn’t have to be of the same type. You are encouraged to use different types of wood as it will fill your puzzle with different natural colors.

Additionally, you might want to give it a pyrographic design on your wood. This will involve getting wood burning pen. So, making a wooden puzzle doesn’t require many financial expenses. However, it requires a lot of time and work so you must be ready to give it your full attention.

•        Steps Involved In Making A Wooden Puzzle.

Decide which puzzle you want to make and your wood working competency.

Analyze the complexity of your puzzle plan. Do this very carefully because it will determine the output.

Cut the wood precisely into the puzzle parts. This step is key, because even the smallest of errors from the calculated dimension can lead to a problem during assemblage.

Thereafter use a sandpaper to smoothen the puzzle parts to give them a smooth even nature. Good sanding allows easy assembling and disassembling, and to avoid hand injuries by wood splinters while playing with puzzle.

Paint the puzzle or apply finish if you desire.

•        Thread Spinner Toy.

Thread spinner toy is usually made using a plastic button or paper. However, you can create a pyrographic version. This pyrography could be done on a paper or wood. However, it could be easily done on a wooden thread spinner.

Creating a wood burned thread spinner first involves getting a small, flat rounded wood. Better still you could carve out a piece of small flat wood and use a sander to smoothing the edges.  When this is done, trace the design you want to create on the wooden surface just like you would when you want to make a wood burned locket. Then burn your design on the pen using a wire tip. You can bore the holes for the string with a solid groove tip.  Attach your string/thread.

CHAPTER 10.

SMALL WOOD ACCESSORIES.           WOODEN KEY-CHAINS.

A  wooden keychain is a common needed accessory. With knowledge of pyrography, you can design your own keychain. Materials and tools needed are: a piece of flat or scrap wood, screw eye pins, sand paper, wood burning pen, key-chain ring, mini saw, drill machine (optional).

Get a soft flat wood and cut your desired length. You can mark out the spot where you want to cut on the wood before cutting. While ensuring you smoothen the wooden surface while using sand-paper. Pierce a hole into the upper part of the wood either using the screw pin directly or a drill. Using the drill is not compulsory but it will make the pin insertion faster and safer.

Use your wood burning pen to draw or write your desired design. Attach the keychain to the screw eye pin. Your keychain is ready for use.

☐        BRACELETS.

Pyrography lets you brand your bracelet specially. Bracelets pyrography could either be in form of leather or wood material. The difference in both is in the material. Each material is prepared for burning differently. If you use a leather, you will need to have your leather bracelet, pyrography pens, color or spray (optional), stencils or your printed design.

You can leave out the stencil if you choose to draw free hand.  Begin by tracing out your design on the leather. If you draw from your head, then sketch out your design on the leather. The next step is to burn in your design with a wood burning pen.

There are some specially made leather burning pens such as the Walnut Hollow Leather Branding Pen. When you are done with designing, you can color with leather color paint. For a wooden bracelet, the process is similar. This time you will need a wood burning pen.

☐        BAMBOO ADJUSTABLE BRACELETS.

Crafting on a bamboo bracelet is similar to a wooden bracelet. However, proper care must be taken as the beads are tinier. The design burning in this case is more of free hand. Proper handling of the wood burner is necessary so that the designs are consistent all round.

☐        PUSH BACK TWIG EARRINGS.

Wood burning can also be applied to create beautiful wooded earring. It starts by selecting a good piece of wood. Ensure that it is not damage or wet. Clean up the wood and cut out a large rectangular portion. On the surface of the wood, highlight the shape you want the earrings to take using a pencil. Your earring could be oval, rectangular, triangular etc. depending on your preference.

Use a saw to cut out the shape. Use the sandpaper to smoother the sides of the shape. Cut the sharpened wood into thin slices (about 4-6mm). Use sandpaper on the surface of the slices to remove abrasiveness and give a smooth surface. Sketch your design on the surface of the wood. Then burn in your design using a wood burning pen.

After burning you will need to tat your wood so as to preserve the wood life. Preservation can be done by soaking the work in linseed oil with wax and to dry for some days. Next, attach a twig earring holder to the upper edge. Your earrings are good to go.

CHAPTER 11.

WALL DECORATION.                           WOOD PLATE DECORS.

W ood plate décors are commonly used wall and table decorations. Designing a wood plate décor begins with getting the wood. Preferably, you can get an already cut portion of timber. You can choose to retain the wood bark. The look of the work will take the shape of the plate used. Draw or print out the image you want to burn on the wood into a paper. Place the paper on the wood surface.

Insert a graphite between the wood surface and the design. Begin your tracing. After tracing, take out the graphite and the design. Use the wood burning pen to burn in your designs. You can use a ball point tip to link the patterns and then use other tips to achieve your desired pattern. It is advisable that you try out the effect of your pen on a scrap wood before applying it on the main work. The next step is to seal your work with a sealant or finish.

☐        EDUCATIONAL MAPS.

Maps are timeless piece of knowledge. A wooden crafted map would last longer than the normal paper. The map patterns can be engraved in wood by burning. All you need to do is get the areas you want to show printed on a paper. Thereafter you can trace them into your wood and burn.

☐        WALL PUZZLE.

Create awesome moments in your home by adding a wall décor that is fun and educational. The method for creating a wood burned wall puzzle is just as in burning other wood designs. The key thing is to have a clear understanding of what you want to design.

☐        DANDELIONS ON PALLET WOOD.

Creating this pattern will require you to burn design on the pallet. This means that you would have to get your pallet woods ready and joined. Print the design on a sheet large enough to go across your pallet wood. The wood burning pen can be used to burn the dandelion pattern on the wood. The pallet on its own can be burned by using a hand-held torch and wood stain.

CHAPTER 12.

FLOOR DECORATIONS.

☐        Tidal Bowl.

☐        Easter Eggs.

Wooden eggs can last forever! Pyrography makes your Easter egg an artistic beauty. Begin with dyeing the wooden eggs with egg dyeing kits and vinegar. Leave the eggs in the vinegar bowl until they attain the desired color. Allow them dry.

Choose your desired pattern or design. Print it out on a paper. Place the printed paper on the egg and trace. Afterward, burn in your design.

☐        Bamboo Flower Vase Holder.

You might want to give your bamboo flower vase holder a more creative look instead of using it plain and normal. Pyrography is the perfect art to bring your expression into reality. All you need is a wood burning pen and design.

☐        Faux Antique Gourd Tea And Wine Set.

Gourd pyrography is a special area of pyrography already discussed in chapter one. Burning gourd require special care and attention. The key trick is to make sure you are comfortable when burning the gourd. This makes your work more organized and perfect.

☐        Faux Antique Gourd Jar.

☐        Cactus Pot.

Wood is a great material for cactus. It has high resistance to cold temperature and can hold water for a while. A wooden cactus pot gives you an opportunity to inscribe a phrase or brand your vessel.

CHAPTER 13.

WOOD BURNED HOME PROJECTS.

☐        Gourd Bird House:

After making your gourd bird house, you add a little artistic design by wood burning. Whatever your design may be all you need is a good wood burning kit. Ensure to take the proper precaution mentioned earlier for gourd pyrography.

☐        Playful Stools:

You can play with your designs on stool. Add up some creative design by following wood burning procedure. Below is an example of wood burned stool with a name inscription.

☐        Crafting Table Top.

Wood burning can be used to create the top design of a mine craft crafting table.  First, create the chest-like design on a sheet or print. Transfer the image to the top of the box either by image transferring or tracing. Then, burn the wood along the traced patterns.

☐        Keepsake Boxes.

Keepsake boxes can be designed with pyrography. Get a design of your choice and apply to the surface following the wood burning techniques we have discussed. Ensure not to use wood burning pen when it is too hot. During burning, do not turn the pen or your hand. Turn the toolbox rather. Work on the lid separately from the box as this is easier.

☐        Tool Box:

Burning a tool box is almost similar with the keepsake boxes,

How To Make Your Own Tool Box.

A simple tool carrier like the image above can be made by hand. This kind of tool box require six wood pieces. One to serve as the bottom, two to serve as the sides, two for the ends, and a dowel handle.

Materials needed include: wood (clear pine), diameter dowel, wood screws, pilot drill bit, countersink, screwdriver, auger bit, bit brace, pull saw, 120-grit sandpaper, Small block plane, wood varnish, wood putty.

Steps:

Get a good and clean wood with neat edges and without large knots.

Choose the size of your box.

Lumber the square. Use a T-square to create a line, one inch of the board end. Trim it off.

Measure and cut out the pieces using a saw. Here you should cut each piece equally. If you use an interior dimension of 36”, cut each wood at 36”.

Measure and cut a double 1×6 and a single 1×10.

Measure 6 ¼” from the bottom of your 1×10 and mark that spot on both sides of the board.

Measure 11 inches from the end of the board. Find and mark the middle of the measurement by using a combination square.

Use 1” radius set pencil compass on the 11” mark. Create a circle.

Use a steel ruler to link the mark at 6 ¼” with the tangent of the arc.

Reset your compass radius to 5/16”.   Draw another circle to create a 1 ¼” hole on the 11” mark.

Use the pull saw to trim the tip of the triangle closely.

Drill a hole for the handle with the brace and bit.

Clean up the rasping end with a rasp. This will give it a nice radius.

Repeat the process for the second piece.

Attach end pieces to the bottom board. Ensure you screw into the middle of the bottom board. Use your steel ruler to measure in your 3/8” and mark. Mark a line with the combination square across the bottom of the sidepiece.

Drill into the wood and place your screws into the drilled holes.

Add glue to the end of the bottom board. Hammer in your screw.

The bottom and end pieces should form a right angle.

Attach the dried side pieces tightly to the end pieces. When you are sure it fits firmly and squarely apply a glue at the edges of the side pieces facing the end piece.

Apply some wood glue to the end of bottom board. Arrange the bottom piece with the end piece.

Set them with a hammer. First drive in the middle screw, and make sure that the entire work still lines up.

Measure 3/8” from the edge of the end piece. Use a drill and countersink to make holes for the screws.

Ensure both pieces are lined up. Drive the screw into holes

Place the dowel through the two end pieces. Ensure the dowel measures the same as your bottom board plus 1 ½”.

Cut the dowel. Apply a little glue to the inner hole. Insert the dowel into the end pieces.

Fasten in your screw from the bottom piece to the side pieces. Follow the same technique used with the bottom and end pieces. Drill in and countersink. Drive in your screw.

Use the sandpaper to smoothen your work.

You can choose to create design on your tool box using wood burning technique.

☐        Magnetic Reminder Board.

Though most magnetic reminder boards are made of steel, a wooden box can give a more creative and unique output.

☐        Cake Turn-table.

☐        Door Tags.

☐        Coat Rack.

☐        Scented Candle Holders .

CHAPTER 14.

SOME PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES.

In every craft or work safety and other forms of protective ways towards maintaining a good health of mind and body during and after work, (not just pyrography alone) is sacrosanct. Please it is good you are always aware of this and you are encouraged to take the following and try to make them habits while wood burning.

☐        Put On Nose/Face Mask:

Most importantly, try to always put on a face mask. This would prevent the entrance of fine dusty particles emanating from the wood burning work from gaining entrance into your mouth and nostrils.

☐        Wear Protective Eye Goggles:

Wearing protective eyeglasses that are not medicated but are very clear and transparent, would go a long way to help save your eyes from getting contaminated with fine wood dust and toxic substances that would have emanated from the wood.

☐        Use Untreated Wood:

The idea for using untreated wood during wood burning is simply for the sake of safety. This is to prevent the intake of some of the preservative chemicals that would have been applied in the cause of conserving the wood for a long time.

☐        Maintain A Safe Temperature:

Always allow the pyrographic tool to cool down for at least 5 to 6 minutes before changing the tip of the tool. Do not be too much in a rush to complete a given job/project. It might mar your work. Take it slow and steady and you will be glad you did.

☐        Get A Seat Strap:

Remember to always place the heated pyrographic tool on the wooden seat strap which you will create to allow for the tool to cool down. Do not use a rubber strap as this would melt away, if not now, later!

☐        Avoid The Emergence Of Excess Smoke Why Woodburning:

This may result if the heat on the pen is too much.  When you experience such a situation, turn down the heat level of the pyrographic pen or unplug completely so as to allow for cooling.

Conclusion.

Pyrography is an aesthetic craft. You can create your design on any surface provided you follow the recommended guidelines listed in this book. All you need is to give it your time and discipline.