How to Woodburn
The old adage of practice makes perfect applies to woodburning as well. More importantly, you’ll be discovering your woodburning style as you hone your skills. Even if you use the same type of wood, woodburner, wire tips, heat setting and design template, the result will be different from anyone else’s. Your style will be unique!
In this blog, I present general woodburning techniques and the factors that can affect the heat fluctuations that you’ll experience while woodburning. Achieving consistent woodburning marks takes practice and patience no matter which woodburning tool you choose. When choosing a woodburner, you may want to consider its ability to provide heat stability.
How well your woodburning tool retains heat depends on many factors. Having an understanding of these factors will help you better control your woodburning marks.
If you woodburn indoors, your tool’s heat retention can be affected by a draft coming through an open window or a nearby fan. If you’re woodburning outside, a breeze may cool down your tool. You may be inclined to turn up the heat setting of your woodburner in these situations only to then realize that your woodburning marks are getting too dark. The surface of the wood will also cool down your wire tip, especially when it initially comes into contact with the wood canvas.
How to avoid the “dreaded blob” and achieve consistent woodburning marks
If your wire tip hesitates in one spot, a dark mark will be created. Some pyrography artists refer to this mark as the “dreaded blob.” There are a few techniques to avoid the dark mark, which most often occurs when your woodburning tool initially touches down or lifts off the wood surface. Basically, anytime your tool hesitates on the wood, you may end up with a dark mark. One of the techniques to avoid the “dreaded blob” is to envision a plane landing and taking off smoothly. Essentially, you need to keep your wire tip in motion as it first touches down and lifts off the wood surface.
Hot tip: Keep your wire tip moving on the wood surface
Other techniques that pyrography artists use to temper the heat include blowing on the wire tip, placing it in front of a desk fan for a few seconds or making the initial contact on a scrap piece of wood. I use a piece of denim scrap to temper the initial heat. You can try a lower heat setting to initially touch down on the wood surface and then increase the heat setting. No matter what heat setting you use, however, you still need to guard against the “dreaded blob.”
Factors that influence your woodburning marks
While you woodburn, you may notice that the marks are getting lighter despite the fact that the heat setting hasn't changed. When I notice my woodburned marks getting lighter, I’ll lift my wire tip off the wood surface and let the heat recover for 10 to 15 seconds rather than increase the heat setting. It can feel counterintuitive not to increase the heat setting in this instance. Increasing the heat setting, however, will darken your marks as your wire tip recovers and maintains its heat setting. If the marks are not as dark as they should be for a particular heat setting and the heat isn’t recovering well, your wire tip may need cleaning.
Regardless of your heat setting, the speed at which you woodburn will influence the lightness or darkness of your woodburned marks. The faster you move your wire tip, the lighter the marks will be at the same heat seating. Slowing down the speed at which you woodburn will make your marks darker.
I mentioned above the “dreaded blob” and factors that can influence the ability of your wire tip to retain heat, such as how clean they are. As you woodburn, carbon builds up on your wire tip. When it does, you may notice inconsistencies in your woodburned marks. Having a buttery smooth wood canvas to begin with will also contribute to a smooth woodburning experience. Read my blog on tips for a buttery smooth wood canvas to find out how to prepare your wood canvas.
Crisp woodburning marks start with carbon-free wire tips
While my wire tip is still hot, I use either a piece of denim scrap or soft brass brush to remove carbon buildup. When I feel a bit of resistance on the wood surface, I’ll wipe my spear shader tip on the denim or scrape my writing tip against the soft brass bristles. Whether I use the denim scrap or a soft brass brush depends on the shape of my wire tip.
In addition to keeping my wire tips carbon-free while I’m woodburning, I regularly give my wire tips a thorough cleaning when they are not in use. I use the rough side of a leather strop and fine aluminum oxide to clean my wire tips. Read my blog on tips for carbon-free wire tips to find out how and why you need to remove carbon buildup from your wire tips.
Woodburning ergonomics
I use Razertip’s standard pens, which I hold much like a pencil or pen. I rest my hand on the wood surface as I’m woodburning. If I need to, I use another piece of wood of the same thickness to rest my hand while woodburning on the edge of my wood canvas. You may notice some pyrography artists use their pinky finger as an anchor point while they are woodburning or rest their wrist on a bean bag. The most important thing is to find a method that is comfortable and ergonomic for you.
Your hand and arm muscles should be relaxed. Let the heat from your wire tip do the woodburning. Very little pressure is needed to make marks on your wood canvas. Applying too much pressure as you’re woodburning can damage or break your wire tip.
Wire tips and their versatility
There are many wire tips to choose from depending on the woodburner you purchase. You can woodburn any design with four basic wire tips: writing tip, skew tip, spear shading tip and ball stylus tip. With a skew tip, you can draw thin straight lines. I prefer the spear shading tip over the spoon shading tip because I can use the toe of the spear shading tip to shade in small corners. The spoon shader tip is the preferred shader to use if you shade using the small circular shading technique.
Wire tips are so versatile that some pyrography artists can complete an entire design with a single wire tip. You can shade using a writing tip and draw a line using a spear shader, for example.
Having said that, some wire tips are designed for specific purposes. Each wire tip has its limitations. It would be difficult to woodburn a tight circle, for example, with a skew tip. A writing tip can flow in any direction. Both the skew and writing tips can be used to draw lines. A skew tip is useful to draw thin and straight lines; a writing tip, to draw slightly thicker lines. The writing tip works well to draw curved lines and circles. It’s also used to draw letters and write with.
Stippling
Available in various sizes, the ball stylus tip is used for stippling and to write with. Stippling is a technique that uses dots to create areas of light and shadow. The closer your dots are on your wood canvas, the darker the area will appear. The further apart the dots are, the lighter that area will seem. This technique is similar to pointillism that visual artists use in their paintings.
Woodburning techniques
When drawing a line, it’s easier to pull the wire tip towards you. It gives you better control when you can see the wood surface that you’re pulling towards. You’ll therefore need to turn your wood canvas as you woodburn. Some pyrography artists use a turning table to make it easier to turn the wood canvas while they’re woodburning. I prefer to turn my wood canvas manually. There are times when you’ll want to push rather than pull your wire tip because it makes sense to. There are no set rules — you can experiment with both pulling and pushing your wire tip.
Hot tip: Whether you are drawing a line or shading, you’ll have better control with short strokes
The most common wire tips that are used for shading are a spear shader and a spoon shader. When shading, the techniques vary depending on what you’re shading. If you want an object to look three-dimensional with light and dark shadows, you’ll want to shade in a way that your wire tip follows the object’s contours. If you’re filling in a flat area of your design, you can shade by moving your wire tip in small circles or back and forth in a linear fashion. Whichever you choose, you’ll need to blend the marks to make the shading look uniform.
I discussed earlier the heat fluctuations that occur while woodburning. Since the initial contact with the wood canvas may create a dark mark, you can compensate for this by touching your wire tip down in an area of your design that will be darker. As you’re woodburning, you’ll discover other ways to compensate for the heat retention of your wire tip. If a line of your design tapers off, start woodburning at the thicker end. Woodburn from a darker to a lighter area of your design, given your wire tip will naturally cool down as it stays in contact with the wood surface.
Some pyrography artists will shade the darker areas of their design first. Others will start light and go over the same area as often as necessary to achieve a darker value. Which approach you use will depend on your personal style and the result you wish to achieve.
“Erasing” woodburned marks
Naturally, woodburned marks are not easily erased. If you make a mistake, you have a few options. You can modify your design in a way that the mistake is no longer visible. You can use sandpaper or a sander to sand down your mistake. You can use a razor blade or hobby knife to scratch away a mark. Another option is to use an engraving pen to remove the marks.
As the saying goes, we all learn from our mistakes, and sometimes we make happy mistakes.
Enjoy woodburning and stay cool!
